(pictures are missing Karen U. and Tracy) 
Over dinner, we shared about our holiday memories and traditions. Later in the evening, we chatted about the book- we all agree that it was definitely unconventional- full of short stories, somewhat sarcastic/cynical, and definitely not cheesy! In the end, it was just nice to gather with a wonderful group of women during this festive season.
Before this next book, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel was selected by our book club, I was very vocal about not enjoying it and shared about how much I disliked it. However, many people in our book club wanted to try it. I want to be a reader who is open to all kinds of books, and especially since there would be discussions to follow, I was really looking forward to this gathering. I was truly hoping that some insight would be shared that would cause me to think differently of the book.
We met to discuss, The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. This book gives insight into the food industry, raising questions about where our food comes from. For many of us, it was quite a challenge to read this non-fiction piece. So, to go with this book, many of us watched the documentary, Food Inc. Emily hosted our evening, and each of us were charged with the challenge of bringing a dish with knowledge of where all the ingredients came from. This activity in itself was eye-opening for me! I spent a considerable amount of time learning about Fresno State's Farm Store, Whole Foods, and the Vineyard Farmer's Market. Interestingly enough, with the exception of a fish dish, the rest of our dishes were vegetarian! The book and film certainly heightened our awareness- for some of us, it has caused us to completely reevaluate our eating and the way we prepare our meals. For others, we'll be taking things one step at a time- for example, my family is committing to making one vegetarian meal every week, a move that is significant to us since we (I) are self-proclaimed carnivores!
Last Saturday, our book club met at Jennifer's home to enjoy a meal together, and to discuss, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. This book has been on bestsellers' lists this past year, and many of us were eager to read it. Since it is set in the South and there were many references to food in the book, we decided that our meal should reflect a Southern meal. 
We enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, collard greens, salad, potato salad, coleslaw, watermelon, homemade corn salsa, chocolate pie, peach pie, and black bottom cupcakes. After some time to catch up on events of the summer, we sat down to a wonderful discussion. Some of our discussion revolved around our favorite parts, how relevant the story is to "today," oppression, relationships between different groups of women, how we treat others, the impact of how things are perceived, and even whether or not men would enjoy the book (since it is about women and their relationships), etc... Everyone in our group agreed that this was a fantastic read- we all highly recommend it! The next book we will be reading is The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. For many of us, reading non-fiction will be a challenge, but it will be good to go outside our comfort zone. I am sure that this book will bring up many points of discussion when we gather together next month!
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: 
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.
I know many people who have read The Road, by Cormac McCarthy and it's also been on the bestseller list in the past, so I thought it'd be worth reading. I got a copy from a friend and started in January... I just finished the book this past weekend! I can't recall a book taking me that long to get through (okay, I take that back- I started The Remains of the Day some time ago and still haven't gotten through half of it).