| Greetings All!! MAY NOTES Another wonderful evening! We welcomed our newest member to the group, Holly Hogue of Mill Valley. We also made some decisions about membership which I'll tell you about in a bit. First, the book discussion!! We had plenty to say about Madame Bovary and more themes from the book were discussed than can be mentioned here. It was clearly a very rich story as readers were bringing up new topics of interest until the last minute. I look forward to reading it. Yep, you read correctly...I didn't finish in time, no where near in time! But, after the interesting conversation last night, I can't wait to wrap it up, even if I do know the ending. The long, tortured, drawn out ending, according to Linda. How long does it take to die from a handful of arsenic, anyway? Well, at least a chapter according to Flaubert. So, MB gave us plenty to discuss and we rarely strayed from the topic of the book. Now, on to the really important stuff!! Wow! Bernadette outdid herself and provided us with a magnificent feast in her lovely home. In keeping with the country French theme we had Beef Bourguignonne and it was delicious! She admitted to her husband being a trained chef, so she had a little help the rest of us won't, unless she loans him out :) We also had cheese, strawberries & cream, French pastries for dessert. Also, Bess brought some great crackers and toppings and Julia sent us off with yummy chocolate chip cookies. I shudder to think how much wine we polished off, I know I enjoyed a glass or two (and-a-half or so) myself. After I got home and was watching the tied Giants and Braves game, I felt the room move a bit and wondered if the wine had more of an effect on me than I thought, then the room really had a little shake and I knew it was one of our home grown earthquakes!! On to the business of the evening, if you can call it that: 1) New Members: As mentioned earlier we decided to allow new people to join us if they so desire. We talked about how nice it would be if we could get a few more guys in the group. Women can join too, but I'm going to post to Craigslist to see if I can get any more men to join. Bess had a great idea to solve one of our potential problems. It hasn't happened so far, but if a majority of the group showed to a meeting, the host might be hard pressed for space (we're 23 at the moment). So, when we do RSVP's if we ever go over a manageable number, we'll have to cut it off. It is still VERY important to me that you RSVP to EVERY meeting. I know how busy we all are, but it makes it A LOT easier for me and the host/ess if you can just drop me a quick yes or no. We reserved the right to stop letting in new members. I just have a hard time saying "no" to someone who really wants to join. 2) Our June selection is...The Time Machine, HG Wells: First novel by H.G. Wells, published in book form in 1895. The novel is considered one of the earliest works of science fiction and the progenitor of the "time travel" subgenre. Wells advanced his social and political ideas in this narrative of a nameless Time Traveler who is hurtled into the year 802,701 by his elaborate ivory, crystal, and brass contraption. The world he finds is peopled by two races: the decadent Eloi, fluttery and useless, are dependent for food, clothing, and shelter on the simian subterranean Morlocks, who prey on them. The two races--whose names are borrowed from the Biblical Eli and Moloch--symbolize Wells' vision of the eventual result of unchecked capitalism: a neurasthenic upper class that would eventually be devoured by a proletariat driven to the depths. 3) Our August selection is Valley of the Moon, Jack London (we're taking a summer break in July and picked a longer book to linger the days away with): A road novel fifty years before Kerouac, The Valley of the Moon traces the odyssey of Billy and Saxon Roberts from the labor strife of Oakland at the turn of the century through Central and Northern California in search of land they can farm independently-a journey that echoes Jack London's own escape from urban poverty. As London lost hope in the prospects of the socialist party and organized labor, he began researching a scientific and environmentally sound approach to farming. In his novel, It is Saxon, London's most fully realized heroine, who embodies these concerns. The Valley of the Moon is London's paean to his second wife Charmian and to the pastoral life and his ranch in Glen Ellen, the Valley of the Moon. 4) Hosting: We ran through our first list of hosts and gathered volunteers to host us in the future. Of course, directions and parking info will come later, but here's a preview of the homes we'll be touring in the coming months. June, Julia. August, Holly. September, Katherine. October, Michelle. November, Jill (re-model job permitting). Please think about hosting the group next year if you haven't (or aren't) this year. 5) Follow-up Movie: Several of us were interested in getting together to watch what is apparently a great French film version of Madame Bovary. How does everyone feel about Thursday, May 23rd at 7pm? Any volunteers to have a few folks over (i got the impression it'd be around 5-7 total)? And who can rent the movie? I volunteer to bring (super easy) Spaghetti dinner for us all. 6) Next Meeting/ Website: Our next meeting is Monday, June 10th, 7pm. Please check out the updated website. I put in some time updating it every month, so give it a gander. You can find a picture of our Author, a link to a biography (click on his name under the title), a link to the amazon.com page (click on the title), and of course, a copy of this note!! 7) Miscellaneous things of a most important nature: a. Welcome Michael to Marin County!! He's just accepted a place in Mill Valley and will be moving in June. b. And another welcome (sometime in December) is Bernadette's baby!! Congratulations Bernadette!! c. In personal news, I'm graduating in 11 days and cannot wait! d. gee? did i forget anything. how many of you are still reading this e-mail? HOME JUNE . |