October Bookshare Meeting

GREETINGS BOOK LOVERS!

We met on Wednesday, October 27th at Ann Wing's home and enjoyed a wonderful evening of discussion about books, politics, life and food. Although there were only five of us there, we all enjoyed being together and felt that it was time well spent. Here are the books that we discussed:

SARA TRIVEDI:

1) "The Journey" by Josephine Cox

This is an English book that was brought to America by Geri's daughter, Anna,'s mother-in-law, Mary Hancock, who came for October Conference. The book was passed on to Sara who read it and liked it very much. There are two books in the series, the second one entitled "Journey's End" which is available on Amazon.Com. A summary of the book is as follows:

"The gravestone's inscription reads, "A man of courage. He made the greatest sacrifice of all." At the final resting place of Barney Davidson, in the hills of Bedfordshire, Ben Morgan first encounters Lucy and her grown daughter, Mary, on a snowswept afternoon in 1952. It is a meeting that will profoundly change all three -- a mother bowed but unbroken by stark tragedy, a young woman strangely untouched by the harshness of the world, and a loner seeking sanctuary in a simpler existence. But it is a shocking mystery from decades earlier that will truly bind them, heart and soul, as a long-hidden truth about the life and death of one extraordinary man slowly comes to light -- revealing the steps of a remarkable journey of strength, commitment . . . and undying love."

"This story is filled with joy and tears, happiness and loss, but the plot is strong and overall, it is definitley a book that will warm your heart and keep you interested from start to finish. There is indeed a sequel, Journey's End, but the author has changed the names of the characters in the sequel, so if one finds this book confusng, the sequel may be completely mind boggling. However both books are good and well worth the read. Two other recommendations by this author are "The Lady Who Left" and what appears to be a sequel, "Jinnie". All the books mentioned are attention grabbers and make for easy reading - enjoy!"

2) "The Silence of God" by Gale Sears

At the turn of the century, St. Petersburg offered the best of Imperial Russia. Few realized that the glitz and glamour of the Silver Age would soon dissolve into mass rebellion and revolution. For the wealthy Lindlof family, the only Latter-day Saints living in St. Petersburg at the time, life would never be the same--changed forever by a godless ideology that would persist for more than a century. The ravages of the Bolshevik Revolution are seen through the eyes of nineteen-year-old Agnes Lindlof and her lifelong friend, Natasha, in a powerful, extraordinary novel of devotion and loyalty. Based on a true story!
- Based on the true story of the only Latter-day Saint family living in St. Petersburg during the Bolshevik Revolution
- Gale Sears is an award-winning author, known for her historical accuracy and intensive research

"I was warned when I purchased this book that it would draw me in from the first page and I would not be able to put it down. Never were truer words spoken! The historical time period is one that has not been overly written about. I enjoyed the characters and their differing points of view that offered an insight into both sides of an issue the Russian people were facing. The story was so well told and I came to love the Lindlof family, a real LDS family living in Russia at the time. The things they faced tugged at my heart and I was left with a feeling of patriotism and gratitude for the freedoms I enjoy here in the United States. This one is a keeper!!"

3) "The Undaunted" by Gerald Lund

The journey was impossible. But they had no other choice. At the call of their prophet, they left well-established farms and businesses to strike out yet again into the untamed wilderness. A small band of men, women, and children formed the 1879 pioneer company. Their mission: stand as a buffer between lawlessness and civilization. Their road: only what they created themselves, blasting out a perilous trail over slick rock and through desolate cliffs. Their hearts: UNDAUNTED When it comes to creating spellbinding historical fiction, nobody does it quite like Gerald N. Lund. In The Undaunted, he transports readers first to the coal mines of Yorkshire, then across the ocean and the plains to the territory of Utah, where, even in 1879, there is pioneering to be done. A little- known and perhaps even less- appreciated chapter in the Church s history comes to life in this gripping story of a stalwart group of Saints called to create a settlement to serve as a buffer between the established communities of Utah and the lawless frontier of the Four Corners area. Their challenge will be enormous but the biggest part of it just may be getting there in the first place. Skillfully interweaving historical figures and events with fictional characters, Gerald Lund takes us through the Hole in the Rock and over miles of uncharted country that even today is impassable without all- terrain vehicles. His account of the adventure, romance, and sacrifices of these undaunted pioneers will resonate with readers who love a good story as well as those who want to better understand the incomparable legacy and unconquerable faith of those valiant Saints.

MARJEAN GIRAUD

1) "Home To Holly Springs" by Jan Karon

When he receives a letter postmarked Holly Springs, Miss., that contains a cryptic two-word message written in a precise, old-fashioned hand, Father Tim decides to answer its call and return to his birthplace for the first time in 38 years. On the long drive, he faces unanswered questions and half-forgotten memories: What happened to his boyhood chum and blood brother, Tommy? What caused his father's melancholy that bordered on cruelty? What happened to Peggy, the adored black caregiver who disappeared when he was 11? Who is trying to contact him, and why? As Father Tim awaits the letter writer, he is showered by blessings: He finds that his hometown has been beautifully restored, and he makes peace with an old flame. When the summons comes, it brings both joy and betrayal. He is reunited with his beloved Peggy, only to learn a terrible secret: She was carrying his father's child when she disappeared. When Peggy reveals that Henry, her son and Tim's half-brother, has leukemia and can only survive with a transfusion from a compatible sibling, Tim has to struggle to reach the decision he knows is right. In this setting away from home, we see Father Tim in a new light as he wrestles with his past and explores the origins of his religious convictions. The saga veers into magical theater as Karon (Cynthia Coppersmith's Violet Comes to Stay, 2006, etc.) ties up every loose end in Tim's past. But readers who miss Mitford's colorful eccentrics will be satisfied by Holly Springs's ample supply of quirky characters.

2) "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the

book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors (Shaffer died earlier this year) for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers.

“Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naïve” (San Francisco Chronicle), this epistolary novel, based on Mary Ann Shaffer’s painstaking, lifelong research, is a homage to booklovers and a nostalgic portrayal of an era. As her quirky, loveable characters cite the works of Shakespeare, Austen, and the Brontës, Shaffer subtly weaves those writers’ themes into her own narrative. However, it is the tragic stories of life under Nazi occupation that animate the novel and give it its urgency; furthermore, the novel explores the darker side of human nature without becoming maudlin. The Rocky Mountain News criticized the novel’s lighthearted tone and characterizations, but most critics agreed that, with its humor and optimism, Guernsey “affirms the power of books to no

Like Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea, Lift is a meditation on the complexities of a woman's life, and like Corrigan's memoir, The Middle Place, Lift is boisterous and generous, a book readers can't wait to share.urish people during hard times”

ANN WING

1) "To The Rescue", A Biography of Thomas S. Monson by Heidi Swinton

To the Rescue is the much-anticipated official biography of President Thomas S. Monson. Beginning with President Monson's family heritage and his early years in Salt Lake City, it included his vocational preparation and his career in the world of journalism. More important, this inspiring book recounts his lifetime of Church service. Called as a bishop at the age of 22, as a mission president at 31, and as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve at age thirty-six, he has traveled the globe to minister to the Saints for more than fifty years. This book shares many of his personal experience, from his visits behind the Iron Curtain to his contributions on the Scriptures Publication Committee and in the missionary and welfare areas; it also provides up-to-the-minute information about his work as Church President. Filled with wonderful photographs and little-known accounts, this biography is a portrait of a leader who ministers both to the one and to the many, and who is completely dedicated to doing whatever the Lord prompts him to do. Table of Contents Preface Introduction: To the Rescue 1. A Heritage of Faithful Souls 2. Between the Railroad Tracks 3. "I Want To Be a Cowboy!" 4. Like Huck Finn on the River 5. Becoming a Gentleman 6. School Days 7. The Greatest Lessons 8. Starting a Family 9. "Decisions Determine Destiny" 10. Always a Bishop 11. "He Went About Doing Good 12. "Have Courage, My Boy" 13. "O Canada" 14. Called to General Church Committees 15. A Special Witness 16. Serving in the Twelve 17. "He Was Everywhere 18. Near and Far 19. "Weary Not" 20. Faith of the People 21. The Wall Comes Down 22. The Work Goes Forward 23. Poised for Growth 24. Opening Doors 25. Neighbor Helping Neighbor 26. There Are No Coincidences 27. Ordained in Heaven 28. "Loyal, Helpful, Friendly ..." 29. An Indomitable Spirit 30. The Consummate Counselor 31. Reaching Out to the One 32. Joy in the Journey

BETH HEDENGREN

1) "Lift" by Kelly Corrigan

Written as a letter to her children, Kelly Corrigan's Lift is a tender, intimate, and robust portrait of risk and love; a touchstone for anyone who wants to live more fully. In Lift, Corrigan weaves together three true and unforgettable stories of adults willing to experience emotional hazards in exchange for the gratifications of raising children.

Lift takes its name from hang gliding, a pursuit that requires flying directly into rough air, because turbulence saves a glider from "sinking out." For Corrigan, this wisdom--that to fly requires chaotic, sometimes even violent passages--becomes a metaphor for all of life's most meaningful endeavors, particularly the great flight that is parenting.

Corrigan serves it up straight--how mundanely and fiercely her children have been loved, how close most lives occasionally come to disaster, and how often we fall short as mothers and fathers. Lift is for everyone who has been caught off guard by the pace and vulnerability of raising children, to remind us that our work is important and our time limited.

GERI CHRISTENSEN

1) "The House on the Strand" by Daphne du Maurier

In this haunting tale, Daphne du Maurier takes a fresh approach to time travel. A secret experimental concoction, once imbibed, allows you to return to the fourteenth century. There is only one catch: if you happen to touch anyone while traveling in the past you will be thrust instantaneously to the present. Magnus Lane, a University of London chemical researcher, asks his friend Richard Young and Young's family to stay at Kilmarth, an ancient house set in the wilds near the Cornish coast. Here, Richard drinks a potion created by Magnus and finds himself at the same spot where he was moments earlier--though it is now the fourteenth century. The effects of the drink wear off after several hours, but it is wildly addictive, and Richard cannot resist traveling back and forth in time. Gradually growing more involved in the lives of the early Cornish manor lords and their ladies, he finds the presence of his wife and stepsons a hindrance to his new-found experience. Richard eventually finds emotional refuge with a beautiful woman of the past trapped in a loveless marriage, but when he attempts to intervene on her behalf the results are brutally terrifying for the present. Echoing the great fantastic stories of H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, The House on the Strand is a masterful yarn of history, romance, horror, and suspense that will grip the reader until the last surprising twist. Geri LOVED this book, especially listening to it as a recorded book. She highly recommends it to anyone who enjoys this author and a gripping, highly intense and deeply satisfying story.

2) "The Pelican Brief" by John Grisham

John Grisham's head was full of movies when he wrote The Pelican Brief, which is such a brisk page-turner you could use it to dry your hair. He had Julia Roberts in mind for the heroine, Darby Shaw, a brilliant Tulane law student who comes up with an ingenious theory to explain the baffling assassinations of two Supreme Court justices in one day. They were shot and strangled by ace international terrorist Khamel, who loves the film Three Days of the Condor, but government gumshoes don't get what connects the deaths. Silly government guys! They died so the conservative president, who just wants to be left alone to play golf, will appoint new, conservative justices who will help out a case involving an industrialist who is the enemy of pelicans and other living things. It's all spelled out for them in Darby's brief. She likes to do legal feats to impress her boyfriend, her boyish law prof Thomas (who, like Grisham, prefers to shave at most once a week, and is cool, smart, and antiauthoritarian). The prof likes to paint her toes red, in homage to Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. (Sarandon also starred in the film version of Grisham's The Client.)

But when Thomas gets splattered by a car bomb meant for Darby, she escapes the hospital and hooks up with a Washington Post reporter, Gray Grantham, who sleuths with her to find those responsible for the killings and escape being killed themselves. The book was great, but the movie was even better due to the outstanding performances of Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.

Following the book reviews, we were served a delicious dessert by Beth Hedengren. Here is the recipe:

APPLE CRANBERRY CRISP

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced (or any other tart cooking apples)
• 3/4 cup cranberries (Beth used frozen)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F Butter an 8 inch square baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix together apples, cranberries, white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place evenly into baking dish.
3. In the same bowl, combine oats, flour and brown sugar. With a fork, mix in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over apples.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until topping is golden brown, and apples are tender. Serve & Enjoy!

Our next Bookshare meeting will be held on Wednesday,

November 24th (the day before Thanksgiving)

Mark your calendars and plan to be there.

Meanwhile, keep reading!!!