Potluck!

Our next meeting on March 15th will be a potluck!  Besides getting your dish ready, get your recipe ready too.  We share all the recipes on this blog.  Eating and reading, two of my favorite things.  I'm getting excited.

In the News

There was an article in the Sunday Statesman that related to our selection next month.  Here it is:
Idaho internment camp site gets additional land
MINIDOKA - The Minidoka National Historic Site where thoughsands of Japanese Americans were confined during World War II will add 138 acres to its current 300 acres.
      The Conservation Fund purchased the property in 2008 from a private owner and held it until recent U.S. legislation allowed the National Park Service to buy the land late last year for $380,000.
     Saturday marked the 69th anniversary of the order for forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese-Americans.

We've Got Something to Talk About

March Selection

Our selection for March is the well-named book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford.  We are going to have the best discussion!  There is so much to talk about; parent/child relationships, Chinese/Japanese cultures and relationships, the culture of the early '40s, the home front during WWII, Seattle, the Minidoka internment camp, friendships, love, and jazz.  This book isn't a page-turner, but it's thoughtful, well written, smooth, and a fascinating story.  The narrative jumps back and forth between the war years and 1986.  The writing, the story, and the cast of characters remind me of jazz music - lots of interesting sounds and rhythms that somehow blend together smoothly.  I think you'll like this book.  I know you'll like our discussion.
Tuesday, March 15th
Elaine Soto's home
6:30 - Potluck

February's Fine Discussion

On February 15th the book group sent some left-over Valentine love to Leslie Albrecht Huber and her book The Journey Takers.  We wished Lyn was there to hear Melissa sing the praises of this book choice.  We were few in numbers (6), so I wanted to get the word out that this is a book that you'll not only want to read, but also own.  This is the amazing Leslie Huber's well written story of her search through her family history, while raising a family of her own.  It's also the touching stories of her ancestors that journeyed to America.  Her lines have been taken even farther back, and we travel with her to the places that they lived and learn the history of the area which fills in so much of their stories.

I'm going through something right now that keeps pointing me to the importance of family history and this book has changed me.  I haven't even finished reading it because I've lent my copy out, but I can see by studying places and history, I'll be able to put "the stories" behind the names I find, even if they didn't leave a journal.  I'm motivated to start the work!  Thanks to Kay for hosting.  Her living room is beautiful and I think the comfy ottoman makes a beautiful design statement.  If you weren't there, you missed a great discussion and all-you-can-eat Valentine cookies.  Don't miss reading this book though.  It's a keeper.

Zippy

I said I'd post a review on this book, but haven't had time until now.  I'll bring it to our get-together on Tuesday in case any of you want to borrow it, and if you haven't read it, you should be anxious to get your hands on a copy.   

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel, is a memoir of a girl growing up in Mooreland, Indiana, in the 1960s.  Zippy, the narrator, is irreverent, imaginative, hyperactive, wise, and witty.  One of my favorite parts was when her mean older sister tells her she's adopted and she goes in to consult her mom about it.  Her mom doesn't skip a beat.  She has a detailed story about her real parents being gypsies, and how she was born with a tail, which they had removed so that she wouldn't be made fun of at school.  The story makes sense to Zippy; it explains a lot of things in her mind, and she likes having gypsy blood.  It's probably a year later before she discovers that something about the story doesn't add up.

This book is full of philosophy, religion, animal stories, friendships, and growing up in small-town America.  It's really a very crazy book, and the craziest thing is that you share in some of the memories, and you know people like that - they might even be related to you.

Coming Soon

We're meeting at Kay's house to discuss The Journey Takers on Tuesday, the 15th, at 7:00.  Melissa will be the discussion leader and Tara will be giving us a preview of the April selection, Three Cups of Tea.  Come and join us, whether you've read the book or not.

February's Book

I've only read the first 2 chapters, but I really like The Journey Takers.  I learned of the Thirty Years' War and Napoleon's march through this area in Germany.  Who knew that part of his legacy to the area was more lenient divorce laws?  And what was divorce like back then?  I like that with the few church records that can be found, and knowing the history of a specific location, you can put together what life was probably like for your ancestors.

I've always liked history and this book makes me want to study the history of the places where my people are from.  By knowing that history, you know your ancestors better.  It makes me want to do family history, record my parent's history, travel, and keep a journal.  Of course I'd have to learn another language or two, and the travel isn't really working with my bank account just now, but this book is motivating me, and some of this stuff I can do now.