May Newsletter

Dear Book Clubbers,

Last week’s meeting to discuss The Elegance of the Hedgehog was great.  Jennifer did a super job of ordering a gorgeous night to be out on her deck and of course led an excellent discussion.  Even though a lot of people (me included) didn’t get through the book, those who finished gave it 4.1 stars.  Grace tells me that we have only rated 6 books in the 4 star category since we began to keep track.

Jennifer expressed appreciation that some of the food/beverage volunteers for the meeting called ahead to remind her that they were bringing something.  She thought that would be a good thing for the snack people to do before each meeting to put the hostess at ease that there will actually be some stuff showing up.  Good idea!  Of course that doesn’t apply on nights we are all contributing.  We also discussed providing more info regarding the location of the meetings in the newsletter, but leaving addresses and phone numbers out of the blog version of the newsletter for Internet privacy’s sake.

We made a bunch of plans for the big summer picnic meeting.  We will gather at 6:30 PM (note earlier time) on Wednesday, July 14th at Barb’s.  The book for discussion is The Help by Katherine Stockett.  In keeping with the southern setting of the story, will be having pulled pork sandwiches for our main course.  Barb will be providing the pork, rolls, lemonade, iced tea and paper goods.  We will each pitch in a few dollars toward that.  Those of you who were at the meeting already signed up for something to bring.  So far the sides people have signed up for include green salad, spinach salad, potato salad, bean salad, baked beans, a veggie platter, an appetizer, and several desserts.  At the moment it looks as though we could use more appetizers and desserts.  If you weren’t there, you may call Barb to let her know what you will bring.  In an effort to keep from running low on wine (heaven forbid!), we are asking people to consider bringing a dish and a beverage you would like.  We don’t need a bottle of wine for each person, though.  Perhaps if someone likes Diet Pepsi or something, they could bring that to share.  We will let you know by e-mail if it Barb needs people to bring chairs.

We still plan on having our David Copperfield discussion (men permitted) for those who wish to tackle that in August.  We also are going to try to cram in another regular meeting, probably Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, in August or on September 1st.  We tentatively looked at the dates of 8/18 and 9/1, but I will check with Linda regarding her availability since she volunteered for the Dickens discussion.  We will finalize plans at the summer meeting.

I think that is all for now.  Hope everyone had a great long weekend and that you managed to find time to do some reading and not just yard work!

Jan

April Meeting

Dear Book Clubbers,
This week’s meeting at Elizabeth’s to discuss Olive Kitteridge was really fun.  Our group was a little smaller than usual (the hostess was probably thankful), but we had a great time.  Liz did a terrific job of hosting and Jennifer helped out by facilitating the excellent discussion.  Attendees were somewhat divided in how they felt about the book.  Overall we gave it 3.5 stars, and all agreed that the author was very good at the craft of writing.  We are thrilled to welcome new member, Miriam Lopes to the group.  Miriam and her husband have lived on Crane Road for about 18 months.  Look for her strolling with her son around the neighborhood and park.

In other news, Emily Tunstall-Frack and fellow dancers and musicians at Buffalo State will be performing “Miles and Mythology”, a tribute to the music of Miles Davis from April 28- May 1.  Go to the university’s theater department web site for more details.

We had a brief discussion regarding how the Craneridge Book Club Caring Tree can see more action.  We resolved that those of us who are close to someone in the community (not just book club members) who could benefit from some assistance should alert Jennifer to ways we can best help.  Remember that we can do more than just cook in times of need; we can run errands, babysit, care for pets, provide help with household chores…the list is endless.  Jennifer will remind the board of our existence and our willingness to help in the community.

The next meeting will be at 7:15 PM on Wednesday, May 26th at Jennifer’s house.  If the weather is nice, we may be outside, so dress in layers.  The book for that night is The Elegance of the Hedgehog by M. Barbery.  Food volunteers are Elizabeth and Terry for appetizers, Kathryn and Julie/Emily for desserts and Joan, Natalie and Beth for wine.

The big summer picnic meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 14th.  This will once again be at Barb Reed’s (thank you, Barb!) and we will be having a full meal and earlier start time.  We will be reading The Help by K. Stockett for that meeting.  The paperback release of that book has been pushed back, so it will not be out in paperback before we meet.  This is a pretty popular read right now, so I am hoping that everyone will be able to scam a copy.  The hardcover price is not too bad either on Amazon or if you have a coupon for Borders or Barnes and Noble.  Everyone who has read it has raved about it.  We will be planning the logistics of the food at our next meeting.

Linda Hoffman is still planning on hosting the David Copperfield BIG READ for those of you who are participating in that.  It will likely be sometime in mid to late August.  Remember, this meeting is open to any guys who want to tackle this Dickens’ classic as well.

I think that does it.  GO SABRES!
Jan

March Meeting

Dear Book Clubbers,
Wednesday night’s meeting at Terry’s to discuss The Falls was super!  Terry was a fantastic host; you’d never know that she only moved in months ago.  Jackie did a great job leading the discussion by providing personal insights on author/cousin, Joyce Carol Oates’s family and early life, interesting biographical facts and thought provoking questions.  In general, the book was enjoyed, resulting in a 3.9 star overall rating.  We were pleased to welcome new members Julie (mom) and Emily (daughter) Tunstall to the group.  Incidentally, for those of you who didn’t get to read Oates’s article in the Smithsonian magazine which circulated at the meeting, it was reprinted in today’s Buffalo News.  Go here to read the article.
Announcements included the sad news that long-time resident, Dan Ostrander passed away last week from cancer.  Ina sent flowers to his wife on behalf of the community.
On a happier note, Natalie, Rory and big brother, Zander, welcomed a baby boy, Torin (sp?) on March 8th.  Everyone is reportedly doing fine.  Congratulations to the Rinaldi family!
I made a brief pitch that we should all be cognizant of the fact that there are several members in the group who have medical issues which make them more prone to catching bugs.  The common sense things that we are all familiar with are especially important to those in the group who might have subpar immune systems.
The next meeting is at 7:15 PM on Wednesday, April 14th at Liz’s.  The book for that night is Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  Katie will give an assist with the discussion.  Snack volunteers are Jennifer and Katie for appetizers, Marion and Loraine for desserts and Julie, Jen and Jackie for wine.
Jennifer brought some books to circulate for everyone to enjoy before they land back home on her shelf, and all are welcome to do the same at future meetings.  One was Shanghai Girls which is on our list for the year; Grace won the drawing to be the first to get her hands on that.  Jill scored some books at the Orchard Park library book sale, and Sharon was lucky enough to snag David Copperfield, which those who feel up to it will be meeting to discuss sometime in August.
Lastly, I have been signed on www.shelfari.com for about a month now.  As recommended by Sue K., it really is a nice way to keep track of the books you have read and what you thought about them as well as a great mechanism for reading about what your friends (and the general public) think about books you are interested in.  You can certainly sign up on your own, but also look for an invitation from me in your mailbox when I get a little more caught up.
I think that is all for now.  Spring and our next meeting will be here before you know it.  Get reading!
Jan

Dear Book Clubbers,
Last night’s meeting to discuss Fahrenheit 451 was a great success.  The book received an overall rating of 3.3 with some people loving it, some hating it and a lot in the middle.  As usual, the disparate opinions fueled a super discussion.  We all agreed that the fact that the book was written in 1950 and the author foresaw so many social and techno trends is amazing.  Ina did a great job of hosting and the munchies were delicious as always.

The next meeting will be at 7:15 PM on Wednesday, March 10th at Terry Twitchell’s house at 33 Ridge Trail.  The book will be The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates, and Jackie will lead the discussion.  RSVP to Terry.  Snack volunteers for the night are Katherine and Sue K. for appetizers, Jill and Barb for desserts and Ina, Sharon and Jill for wine.

In other news, we decided that anyone who wanted to share books that they had read and liked could not only mention them on our book club’s online forum, but could also bring them to meetings to pass to others to be returned later…sort of a Craneridge Book Club lending library.  Just be sure to put your name in the books.  That brought up the topic of a reportedly cool website (www.shelfari.com) that allows you to easily track the books you’ve read as well as to share your reading list with friends.  As long as it doesn’t become too time consuming we can also have a brief moment during the business part of the meeting for anyone looking for a specific book to ask around.

Also, stay tuned for more info about author, Margaret Atwood’s upcoming appearance at UB.
We tentatively decided to shoot for late August, just before the September book selection meeting, for those who are tackling David Copperfield to meet to discuss it.  Linda Hoffman will host that gathering.  Some thought was given to breaking the book down into smaller stages, but the upshot was that some people will read it a little at a time, while others will wait until it is closer and really sink their teeth into it as a steady diet.  I’m sure it will help maintain our motivation if we informally discuss it with each other now and then.

No doubt there is more that I am forgetting, but I’ll just shoot out another e-mail if and when I remember.
Jan

Happy Holidays! Happy Reading!

We've celebrated with the guys at our annual Co-Ed Meeting, the first major snow-fall has past (KB is Open!), and the year is drawing to a close...  OH, and it's HOLIDAY TIME!

Now that winter is upon us, grab yourself a good book and snuggle up next to a cozy fire with a good book!  There are a number on the list of 2010 reads, including Fahrenheit 451, the selection for our first meeting of 2010, January 13th.  The meeting will be at Ina's house.  (Kathryn & Beth have school copies to loan those who need/want them). 

To see more on "the list" - check out the link to the right, or click here for the 2010 CRBC Book Selections.

Maybe you want to start reading the "Big Book" the group selected... David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.  Depending on the edition you choose, this book is upwards near 1000 pages, so be prepared. (A date for this discussion has not yet been determined.)

If you're looking to "do good" this holiday... you have some choices:

• Contact Jennifer Parsons regarding the Caring Tree - some folks are in need of food stuffs.
• Contact Sharon Kuczyk  if you wish to be involved in supporting our troops by corresponding with wounded soldiers in a military hospital in Germany.

That's all for now.  Best wishes for a healthy, safe, and fun-filled holiday season & may that extend into the new year.

Cheers!

October 2009

This month's book...

Next month's book...

The BIG book...

The 2010 Co-Ed selections...
The calendar...

Find all you need to know in the Newsletter - click here to read it

Things I forgot to say!!!

Wednesday is our meeting at Beth’s to discuss The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  I did forget a few things in the last newsletter. 

Most notably, I forgot to mention Jennifer’s marvelous idea that we form a group of volunteers who are willing to help out with meals, transportation, child care, etc. in the event someone is not up to full speed due to a new baby, injury, illness…

Jennifer has done a great job organizing this assistance group.  If anyone can think of a catchy name for this arm of the book club or wants to sign up and wasn’t there last week, please let Jennifer know.

Also, we discussed at our book selection night the possibility of some of us (totally optional) tackling a major heavy long book for discussion a year from now.  We were going to select that choice at the next meeting…which would be Wednesday.  Please bring any ideas you may have for that to the meeting.  Some titles that have been batted around are War and Peace, Gone with the Wind and something by Dickens.  Certainly would welcome additional ideas though.

See you all on Wednesday.  I better go finish the book!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan

Autumn Updates

OH, I'm SO sorry this posting is so late.  It's  been almost a month since the September Meeting.  For the latest-and-greatest from Jan, visit this link to this month's Newsletter.

In other news, we have LOTS to celebrate this month...
* Congratulations to Elisabeth & Chris Strong - Ethan's little sister, Julia arrived in early September.
* Happy Birthday to our September "babies" - Joan Bartholomy & Jan Freeman
* Congratulations to Jan on completing her Triathlon!
Cheers to all!

One reminder, also noted in the Newsletter, is that the 2010 Co-Ed Book-for-Discussion will be chosen at the December 2nd (2009) Co-Ed Meeting.  To see which books were nominated, visit this link.

One final thing... I've almost completed the template for the 2010 Meeting Calendar.  As soon as it's ready, I'll post it to the site for possible-meeting-date reference.

Happy Autumn, all!  Enjoy the chilly weather with some tea and a good book.
- Jill

10:00pm UPDATE:  The calendar is ready!  Visit this link to see the tentative dates for 2010.

What? No book assignment?

No assignments yet!

But, mark your calendars for these upcoming meetings:
September 16: We have our annual selection meeting when we'll decide which book to read for the the rest of 2009 as well as throughout 2010.

October 14: Next "regular" book club meeting. Title TBD on 9/16.

Additional details on last week's meeting and upcoming meetings listed in this month's Newsletter.

Enjoy the dog days of summer with a book of your choice!

Summer 2009

The temperatures may not suggest it, but summer is here in Western New York! The kids are out of school, life slows down during family vacations, and the sights and sounds of nature abound!

The July newsletters contains a TON of information. Be sure to visit this link to read it in its entirety.

May Newsletter & More

As Jan says in the May Newsletter (click here) "Put down your garden tools, get out the lounge chair and get reading." We have a dual selection for the July meeting, which should be quite interesting for reading and discussing!

Here's some more information about the possible summer book, Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt.

• Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize--the U.K.'s highest literary award--Possession is a gripping and compulsively readable novel. A.S. Byatt exquisitely renders a setting rich in detail and texture. Her lush imagery weaves together the dual worlds that appear throughout the novel--the worlds of the mind and the senses, of male and female, of darkness and light, of truth and imagination--into an enchanted and unforgettable tale of love and intrigue. --Lisa Whipple
• It's available in paperback at Amazon for $10.85. (click here). It's also available in audio format through Audible (click here).
• It's the October selection for the Just Buffalo Literary Center's '08-'09 Season (click here) as part of it's If All of Buffalo Read the Same Book project.

Reminder: Call Marion if you're interested in joining the group at Graycliff (more info in the newsletter) on Saturday, June 13th at 11am. Space still available for Craneridge residents, friends & guests.

Summer's almost here! Happy Reading!

May...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all our Book Club Moms! Hope your day is wonderful!

Jan sent an e-mail last week with some reminders for the May meeting as well as directions to Sarah's. If you didn't get the e-mail or need help finding your way e-mail Jan or I - we'll resend.

Here's a copy of the reminders:
- Snacks for the evening: Marion, Pam, and Jackie
- Bring your calendars: We're going to decide on the date our day trip to Graycliff!
- Bring book suggestions: We need to pick a summer read, bring your thoughts and suggestions (remember - books need to be in-print and readily available in softcover.)

A sunset is worth a thousand words...

What a splendid sunset of the eve of A Thousand Splendid Suns book discussion. Click HERE to read this month's newsletter and learn of all the new and exciting happenings with the Craneridge Book Club!

News... news... and more news!

We're continuing the trend of having lots of goings-on in 2009. This month's newsletter (click here) is chock full of news and events, so be sure to check it out.

For those wishing to trade books (not necessarily book club books), discuss books beyond the regular meeting, make reading suggestions, or just "chat" I have set up a place to have discussions on0line. The site is part of Google Groups and can be found in the window on the right side of the main blog page or click HERE to go directly to the page. I'll review the how-tos at an upcoming meeting.

A busy start to the new year!

Happy New Year!

We're not wasting any time getting going this year... we've got the first four (almost 5) months planned already! Follow the link to the CRBC Newsletter to see the details.

For those interested in a night out - mark your calendar for February 5th! Geraldine Brooks will be at Buffalo State College for a lecture and book signing. Click here for more details.

Stay warm during these chilly times... curl up with a good book!

Cheers,
Jill

Happy Holidays!

Dear Book Clubbers,

I guess I’ll just send out a quick reminder post co-ed meeting…since it is sort of a hectic time of year. Thanks to everyone for such a cooperative effort in pulling together a nice evening earlier this month. Hope it got everyone’s holiday season off to a good start.

The January meeting is at 7:15 PM on Wednesday, January 14^th at Katie’s house. Please call Katie if you plan on attending. Remember the book now is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

One thing that I meant to mention at the co-ed meeting was that we will once again be hosting our hayride for charity on the day after Christmas. I have attached the text of the invitation to this newsletter. You are all welcome to join in the fun if you have a free evening on December 26^th.

I can’t think of anything else that needs to be mentioned before the next meeting. Enjoy your holidays…and hopefully enjoy the quiet winter January days by the fireside with a good book.

Jan

Co-Ed Meeting Reminders

Hello all!
Thought I'd add a couple of helpful bits of information here, at the top of our Blog to remind everyone about the upcoming Co-Ed meeting.

• Meeting date is Wednesday, December 3rd - our selection is 'Out Stealing Horses' by Per Petterson
  
• It's at Jan & Rob's and starts early... 6:45pm ...so we can partake in yummy appetizers before our discussion (to RSVP or to tell Jan what you're bringing, please call her ASAP).
• The 2009 Co-Ed Book will be chosen this night. Go HERE to see the list of choices with summaries.

See you soon,
Jill

A Meeting at 'The Shack'

I can only imagine the discussion that went on last night.

I expect there were many perspectives, thoughts, feelings, and ideas exchanged about our most recent read. AND, we have such a great group - I hate missing you all, even if it's only for one meeting!

Click here for Jan's November CRBC Newsletter, which includes information on an important book change decision.

Enjoy,
Jill

October Meeting

What a great night for Book Club! The cool nights of autumn are upon us and the conversation of the evening warmed us! For a full account of the nights discussion and to see what's up-coming, see Jan's October Newsletter HERE.

For a quick link to the Co-Ed Book options for 2009, click here. We'll be making our selection December 3rd.

Selection Meeting 2008

September 11, 2008
Dear Book Clubbers,
Last night’s meeting may not have been the most fun we ever had, but we sure did a great job in getting our year’s worth of reading lined up. I am really optimistic that the process we went through last night will allow us to spend more time discussing the books (and socializing) than in previous years. I think everyone walked away from the evening not only with a few “previously loved” books in hand, but also with some ideas of things they might like to read even if the club didn’t choose them. Thank you ALL for your efforts to come up with great suggestions to share. A special thanks to Shirley for so graciously stepping in to provide a warm, cozy place to meet. We certainly were more comfortable in her lovely home than we would have been at the pool shelter. A special welcome goes out to new member Kathryn Orrange!

So…let me try to summarize the results of all our decision making as best I can. If I get something wrong, please someone correct me.

The next meeting will still be to discuss The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. We will be meeting at 7:15 PM on Wednesday, October 15th at Nancy’s house. Please let Nancy know at 885-5857 if you plan to attend. Snack volunteers for that night are Pam, Carol and Marilyn.

After that we agreed that at least some of us would meet on Wednesday, November 12th. For this we chose a short book since we are sort of squeezing this in before the co-ed meeting in December. We will be discussing The Shack by William P. Young, et al. which is reputedly one of the season’s hot reads. We will meet at Donna Deyermond’s.

From there we move on to the co-ed meeting which is planned for Wednesday, December 3rd at my house. The book we chose (with the guys input) last year was Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. Details of this holiday-ish gathering will be finalized this fall, but please remember that it includes a light meal and socializing.

Very significantly, from a planning standpoint, we set 4 books aside for the guys to pick the 2009 choice from. They are The People of the Book (paperback release date 12/30/08) by Geraldine Brooks, Big Russ & Me by Tim Russert, The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Tolle. Since we seemed to have several excellent choices lined up for the guys, we agreed to use one of the ones they don’t pick as one of our selections in the upcoming year. To the pile of co-ed “rejects” we will also add The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, which narrowly missed making the main selection list in a close tie breaker vote.

Now, the moment you have all patiently been waiting for. The five books we did choose for the ’08-’09 book club season are (in order of votes received):

The Double Bind by Chris Bojalian
The Great Gatsby by F. S. Fitzgerald
Read together in one meeting

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Northern Borders by Howard Frank Mosher

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

This should take us up through early next fall. We left a blank slot for the summer book meeting in July, since we usually come up with an author night or something a little different for that meeting.

Several of you asked for a complete list of all the books that were presented last night. Here it is as best as Linda and I could recreate. I didn’t know there was going to be a test!

The Whistling Season – Ivan Doig
Big Russ & Me – Tim Russert
1000 Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseine
Northern Borders – Howard Frank Mosher
The House the Rockefellers Built – Robert Danzell, et al
Bridge of Sighs – Richard Russo
The Scandal of the Season – Sophie Gee
Loving Frank – Nancy Horan
Marjorie Morningstar – Herman Wouk
Goodbye, Mr. Chips – James Hilton
The Shack – James Hilton
Plain & Simple – Sue & Richard Bender
The Luncheon of the Boating Party – Susan Vreeland
Life of Pi – Yann Martel
Chasing the Bard –Philippa Ballantine
The 13th Tale – Diane Setterfield
Harvest Home – Thomas Tryon
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle – David Wroblewski
The People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks
A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Tolle
The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls
Dreams of My Father – Barack Obama
Three Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson
Peace Like a River – Leif Enger
A Good House – Bonnie Burnard
Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
Oranges – John McPhee
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Double Bind – Chris Bojalian
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Eight – Katherine Neville (Wasn’t formally discussed, summary was on table, I remember as great read)

That should keep you all busy for a while. Thanks again for coming up with such awesome ideas. There, I’m finished.

Jan