We had a fun Zoom discussion of Yesteryear by Claire Caro Burke, our first group read! Thank you to everyone who came. I appreciate you! 🧡 Once it's processed, I'll post the AI summary of the discussion so others can join in the conversation. In the meantime, what are you reading this weekend? I'm still reading The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li.

At some point, we'll have to decide how to choose the book for our group reads, but this time around, we'll just do a poll to choose from three possibilities. I avoided new books to make it easier for people to get their hands on them in time. And I'll allow 6 weeks to get the book and read it. So we'll meet mid-July. The descriptions are from the back of the books and the links are for more info. Innocence by Penelope Fitzgerald Innocence is set in the 1950s, when Italy was picking up the pieces after the war. Chiara Ridolfi is the guileless daughter of a decrepit Italian family. Barney is her practical English girlfriend, who can sum up a man, she says, in one firm hand-grip. Salvatore is a penniless doctor from the south, who thinks he is proof against politics, social conscience and tenderness. Chiara’s cousin, Cesare, says very little, which gives him time to think… https://britishauthors.co.uk/books/innocence-34380/ The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore’s powerful novel, set on a Bengali noble’s estate in 1908, is both a love story and a novel of political awakening. The central character, Bimala, is torn between the duties owned to her husband, Nikhil, and the demands made on her by the radical leader Sandip. Her attempts to resolve the irreconcilable pressures of the home and the world reflect the conflict in India itself, and the tragic outcome foreshadows the unrest that accompanied partition is 1947. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7166 (free download of the book!) On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton At home they are just sisters, but onstage, they are the Salvations. Ruth, Esther, and Chloe have been singing and dancing in harmony since they could speak, and have become a bona fide girl group whose shows are the talk of their San Francisco neighbourhood. Thanks to the rigorous direction of their mother, Vivian, the Salvations find themselves with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could catapult them into the national spotlight. But sometime between the hours of meticulous rehearsal on their rooftop and the weekly gigs at the Champagne Supper Club, the sisters’ lives start to evolve — and soon they must face changes that threaten to splinter the community, the Salvations, and even the family.

SPOILER ALERT!!! Don't read this if you don't want spoilers. Unfortunately, I don't think the AI summary is that great! I haven't used this feature on Zoom before, so will explore alternatives. It didn't even know what book we read! (I haven't edited anything.) Book Club Character Discussion The group met for a book club discussion hosted by Zena, focusing on the character of Natalie from the book they had read. Participants shared their locations and favorite books before discussing how sympathetic they found Natalie to be. Opinions varied, with Kayleigh finding her unlikable throughout, Marilee viewing her as a tragic figure, Felicity starting more sympathetically but losing patience with her poor decisions, and Janie characterizing her as naive with cult-like mentality. The discussion also covered the role of gender roles and Caleb's character development, with most participants finding his transformation and complicity in the situation difficult to believe. Off-Grid Plot Twist Discussion The group discussed a book's plot twist involving a family living off-grid to evade prosecution, with Janie explaining that the father was buying people off to keep them safe. The participants expressed skepticism about certain elements of the story, particularly why the father would commit to the 1855 lifestyle and how going off-grid would effectively protect them from law enforcement when their children were still in the area. Zena noted that while the twist was initially convincing on a first read, upon rereading she found it less plausible, especially regarding the explanation for the doorframe markings and why Clementine didn't intervene sooner. Book Discussion: Character and Plot The group discussed their thoughts on a book, focusing on character development and plot inconsistencies. Adrienne noted Caleb's shifting personalities and his treatment of the children, finding it difficult to believe Clementine didn't know about the abuse. Janie mentioned a key plot point where Stetson called the officers, which explained Clementine's delay in acting. The group expressed some skepticism about certain elements of the story, particularly regarding how the abuse was allowed to continue without intervention.

When you DNF, it is usually because...

The winning date/time was Friday 29th May at 4pm Pacific. Thanks to everyone who voted. I'll post a Zoom link closer to the date. Here's my favourite time zone converter, if you need one: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ I've finished reading the book (Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke) and I'll probably re-read at least some of it before our call. Has anyone else finished reading it?