Hello All,
We met on the last Thursday of October at Jo Ann Abegglen's home. I had to miss, but I heard how much everyone loved seeing her new kitchen and home remodeling as well as having a chance to get together and discuss some good books. Here is the list that I have been given:
BETH HEDENGREN
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede *****
Delightful true life tale of the goodness of people, in contrast to the tragedy of 9/11. When the US closed their airspace after the attack on the Twin Towers, hundreds of planes landed in Gander, Newfoundland. The good people of the area found places for all the passengers (thousands) to sleep, provided food, let them shower in the personal homes. Wonderful friendships were made. We also watched the musical that was made about the experience—so good!
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr ***** (Really excellent)
Doerr wrote “All the Light We Cannot See”—a great book about WWII. This is his most recent book, in which he weaves together the stories of 5 different protagonists, in time periods ranging from medieval Constantinople to a spaceship fleeing a dying earth in the future. All the stories are united by the characters’ interaction with a (made-up) Greek text, a comedy about a shepherd who yearns to reach “Cloud Cuckoo Land.” A beautiful work on the power of literature to literally save lives—and also demonstrating that though the world is flawed, it is definitely good.
The Magnolia Sword: A Tale of Mulan by Sherry Thomas ***
A fantasy based on the ancient Chinese tale of Mulan, much better than the Disney movie. Mulan is a young woman who would rather be a normal girl, but her father trains her in martial arts so she can compete in an ancestral duel, one that is fought in every generation in their family for possession of the Magnolia Sword. Her father is crippled from the duel he fought. When they emperor requires the army service of one man from each family, Mulan ties up her hair and goes in her father’s place. As she journeys with the army, she learns the secrets of her family’s feud –and finds unexpected love.
The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel, by Richard Osman ****
Delightful murder mystery, in which the sleuths are all residents of a posh old folks’ home. The police are surprised by the skill and intelligence of these seniors, as they cleverly solve the case. Throughout the fun of this cozy mystery, there is an undercurrent of sadness, as the characters face the inevitable decline that accompanies the passing of the years.
Mr. Finchley Discovers England, by Victor Canning ***
Written in the 1920s, this book is a delightful romp through England of that period. Mr Finchley, a very proper London clerk, is forced to take his first vacation. As he sits waiting for his train to a respectable seaside hotel, he is whisked into his first improbable adventure, which leads to another, and another, and another. Very funny!
JO ANN ABEGGLEN
MARYANN STEVENS An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. 4.5 My take-aways: Standard tactics of Manifest Destiny were destruction of homes, crops at harvest time & the slaughter of non-combatants. Parallels: 1-The US government explicit policy of extermination & genocide of American Indians by both directly by US Army & the blind eye that allowed settler ranger vigilantes to ignore treaties created the mindset that allowed professing Christians to issue the Missouri Extermination Order & engage in barbaric treatment. (Indian Removal Act 1830). 2-AndrewJackson enriched himself on the backs of Indians that He & his rangers & Army murdered: men, women & children & pushed off their ancestral land. Like wealthy Trump his base was comprised his dirt poor Scotch-Irish neighbors of Appalachia thinking he would lift them out of poverty as well. The Immortals. By Steven T Collis 4 Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry 4. Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton 3 SEPTEMBER Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende 4.5 The Anthroprocene Reviewed by John Green 4 The Red Lotus by Chris Bojahlian 4
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️ non-fiction by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Jamestown’s Captain Smith threatened the Indians with death if they didn’t provide food for the settler/squatters. Powhatan responded we have & will continue to share with you. why not come to us in love & brotherhood. 
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