The Red Book Club

Upcoming Events

This month we'll be reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and discussing it at Debbie's on Sunday, April 27th, at 7pm.

About the book...
Once again, the Earth is under attack. Alien "buggers" are poised for a final assault. The survival of the human species depends on a military genius who can defeat the buggers. But who? Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child. Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender's childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battleschool. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. In simulated war games he excels. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battleschool is just a game. Right

Last Month...

The chilled white wine was already flowing when Debbie, Chris and Katrina walked in the door at Mary's on Sunday night, the 30th of March. Debbie was defying our unexpected day of March snow and sleet by wearing a little Cousteau dress, little denim jacket, bare legs and open toed shoes. Katrina wore a long wool coat...it was a bit nippy out. Kelly was sitting like a queen on Mary's little sofa wearing a crown of black fur (actually her winter hat). Next to her lounged voluptuous looking Kim, tall and slender as usual, don't get me wrong, but curvy in her maternity top with impending motherhood. Mmmm...And f.y.i., the first sonogram showed a little white line.....Next to Kim on this bitty little sofa was Margaret, elegant in tan and wild with her new fab do. Thank you Paul! Speaking of Paul, Melissa had been to visit him too and looked stunning in blond. Foxy, yes. But not hairy or anything, no. Chris was our guest this month, a v. good friend of Katrina's visiting from Michigan. Her hair is long, long, wild and natural like the shores of Lake Michigan....okay, enough already. She'd even gotten The Book out of the library and gotten part way through it. So that's where we were and what we wore, on head, body or foot, on that blustery Sunday night, missing MaryRose (we toasted Father Mike whose funeral she was at), Jackie and Kim E., eating wonderful cheeses and crackers and sipping that cool white wine.

But first, before the book discussion, was the Big News. Sara, Mary's daughter-in-law is pregnant. We're about to have a grandmother in our midst. Congrats, Leo and Sara!

The book for March, A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot had mixed reactions among us. For Mary it was the tenderest of love stories. For others it was too confusing a narrative to keep track of. We all found Mathilde to be a brave and tenacious heroine with all the privileges of a wealthy family, yes, but with few options in potential husbands, being confined to a wheelchair from a young age. Was that a reason she never gave up on her supposedly killed fiancee or was it her pure and true love that kept her going? Would we have done the same? We asked ourselves the question, would we still love and want to be with a man who had lost his memory, including all memory of you? Mary told us the moving story of when Abbot was in an accident and for quite a few hours she didn't know if he'd ever know who she was and how very frightening an experience that was. Thank you Kelly for your empathetic and copious tears. We were all heart warmed by the sunflower farm at the end of the road and intrigued by the "petite affaire" between what was his name's ? wife and his best friend. With your husband's permission, Margaret said, yes, go for it! Mary correctly said that what happened then between the two was none of the consenting husband's business! But he had to know all the details. Kim got a dreamy look on her face envisioning the young fiancee in his ooh so French bathing suit...And for all of us, the horrifyingly description of war in the trenches in WWII was sobering in light of the current war.

Dinner was a delight. Mexican chicken by Mary with guacamole (yes, you can make it, Kelly) and sour cream, curried vegetable stew (Sambaar) by Katrina, Orzo salad by Debbie and a rich chocolate tart by Margaret which was served with coffee, handmade from scratch by Mary. Conversation ran rampant and wild. To hot wax or cold wax, laser hair removal or shaving....Margaret, have you ever considered getting your eyebrows waxed? Salon hair dyes vs. dye-in-a-box...Martini or Manhattan? Oh and yes, there were the inevitable Tales from Childbirth...Very deep and philosophical. Chris just sat back and enjoyed it all. She has recently started her own book club inspired by ours in her little village of Sutton's Bay. And didn't it just kill you, the name of Michael's relay team...The Fourskins? You know, they said to Kelly...like the Redskins...and we're four guys! Makes sense?!

On that note, thank you Mary, for having us in your home. A good time was had by all.

Also, there a whole page of new pictures taken at Mary's house up on the Members page, take a look.