Book Club Gathering #3

Everyone has different interests and preferences when it comes to books, and so with a book club, it's important to be open-minded to books that we usually might not choose to read on our own. Our club met this past Saturday to discuss our latest read, Agatha Christie's, And Then There Were None (also known as Ten Little Niggers, Ten Little Indians, Ten Little Soldiers). Some of us don't typically read books in this genre, but part of the reason why our club selected this book is that it is one of the best-selling books of all-time. Since the book is a mystery, we decided to do a "mystery dinner" (thanks to Lotti for the great suggestion). The book is based on the poem, Ten Little Indians, and so people were given a line from the book and had to bring a dish based on that particular line. We really had no idea what people were going to bring! Fifteen of us met at Karen R.'s house for dinner and discussion. She came up with wonderful centerpieces for the tables involving different items from the book. She also created a "mystery punch" and several wines' labels were hidden for people to try. It was so fun to see what people came up with- the dinner was wonderful! Here are the lines of the poem:

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys travelling in Devon; One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six.
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indian boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indian boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two Little Indian boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Indian boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.

Here are the dishes that people brought. See if you can figure out which dishes and lines match!There are 11 dishes and 10 lines- there is one extra dish and it might throw you off!

White Capped Mushrooms

Hang Woman Bread

Baked Vegetable Omelet

Bear Claws

Honey-Glazed Salmon

4 kinds of veggies with 4 kinds of hummus

Honey Sesame Wings

Chow Mein w/ Chopsticks

Fruit Salad w/ Devonshire Cream
Coffee Cake
Red Pepper & Artichoke Dip

Of our group, only one person correctly matched all of the lines with the corresponding dish- Shawna!After dinner and the chance to chat with friends, we headed inside to discuss the book. Some people really enjoyed the book, and others didn't care for it. Some loved the "gotcha" and some were disappointed by the lack of character development, and lack of clues for the reader to uncover the mystery. We even delved into topics of guilt, manipulation, justice, and societal influences. For more information about And Then There Were None, click HERE or HERE.

Aside from our book discussion, we also discussed possible choices for upcoming book club reads and have decided on the next few titles for those who will have a little extra time to read this summer. Up next is The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. After that will be The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, followed by The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.