December Christmas Dinner

The Book Snobs met on Monday, December 12, for our annual Christmas dinner at Yoshi Zushi.

From Left to Right - Lisa, Theresa, Marta, Janna, Vicki, Carol, Sandra, Claudia (Not pictured - Charlene, Jennifer, Becky)

We had a great time. Check out our fabulous shoes.

Merry Christmas from The Book Snobs.

January 2012 Selection

This month The Book Snobs begin a year of reading a bestselling book from the year of the hostess's birth. This is a switch from selecting books by genre. Vicki has selected Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer for the Book Snobs' January reading pleasure. Seven Years in Tibet was a bestseller in the year 1954.


From The Open Critic:

Set against the backdrop of the Second World War and Tibet’s impending invasion by China, Harrer pens an evocative account of a country suspended in time. Medieval in many ways, it is a place none-the-less, readers will deeply regret having missed.

Lhasa was not Shangrila. The capital city of Tibet was dirty and lacked sanitation; books and recreation were hard to come by; the diet was limited; medicine was more shamanistic than practical; and technology (even the wheel) was looked upon with suspicion. Even so, it was a city easy for the Western imagination to fall in love with; laughter was a constant; curiosity and pleasure were valued beyond industry; and inspite of a rigorous religiosity, the Tibetans were perhaps the least moralizing people of the modern era.

It’s with a great breath of mountain air that Harrer references the guilelessness of his hosts; how for instance laughter was a constant and jokes, retold century after century, never failed to solicit mirth. Curiousity, religion, and pleasure were all valued beyond industry. An earthworm in a shovel of dirt would stop the construction of a ditch, the departure of a friend would require elaborate farewells, and the changing of a season would require the performance of one ritual or another. Festivals, parties, and social interactions kept Lhasans engaged — modernity’s harried pace most emphatically did not.

I mention this at the outset as a way of explaining why Seven Years in Tibet has endured as an adventurer’s tale. Apart from the power of its narrative and quality of Harrar’s prose, it proves exactly what every wanderer wants to believe; that he or she can stumble away from the complexities of today (a British POW camp) into the simplicity of yesterday (Lhasa circa 1940). It’s escapist literature writ large. And more-over, its literal.

The Book Snobs Gathering

The Snobs met at Vicki's home on Monday, January 30, 2012. The theme of the dinner was 1950's style comfort food. The Snobs enjoyed a dinner of Caesar Salad, Macaroni and Cheese, and Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy.

Seven Years in Tibet was a challenging read. Reviews were mixed. Som of the members liked it and some didn't. We discussed the book in two parts. Some preferred the story of the adventurers traveling through Tibet and some preferred the story of Henrich Harrer living in Tibet. We discussed the Dali Lama and the selection process. Generally, the book was well received and made for good discussion.

Recipes from the Book Snobs

Crockpot Meat Loaf Like The Nuns Made

 

1 package Lipton Onion Soup mix

1 cup of panko

1 cup of water

2 pounds of ground meat (any combination of beef, pork, or turkey)

1 package Pioneer Nonfat Brown Gravy

1 can mushrooms

Red Wine

Mix soup mix, panko, water. and ground meat together and form into a loaf that will fit into your Crockpot. Cut a strip of foil and place it in the bottom of your Crockpot. Cut it long enough to cover the bottom and sides of meatloaf. (You’ll use it to lift the meatloaf out of the Crockpot after cooking.) Place meatloaf on top of foil. Cover and cook on low for approximately 8 hours.

Prepare gravy according the package directions. Add mushrooms and a splash of red wine. Simmer a few minutes and serve over meatloaf.

November 2011 Selection

Sandra has chosen A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick as the November reading selection for The Book Snobs.

From the Workman Publishing web site:

Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt — a passionate man with his own dark secrets —has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways.

With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.

The Book Snobs Gathering:

The Snobs gathered for dinner and discussion on Monday, November 28, 2011. Our hostess served a delicious meal of salad, soup, and a crescent ring.

The discussion of A Reliable Wife was interesting. We talked about about which characters knew what and when they knew it. We also discussed the twisted nature of all the relationships, even including some of the more minor characters like the housekeeper. The role of the long, lonely, cold Wisconsin also figured into the discussion.

October 2011 Selection

Lisa's hostess choice selection is for October 2011 is Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese.

From Abraham Verghese's web site:

The story is a riveting saga of twin brothers, Marion and Shiva Stone, born of a tragic union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother's death in childbirth and their father's disappearance, and bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. But it's love, not politics -- their passion for the same woman -- that will tear them apart and force Marion to flee his homeland and make his way to America, finding refuge in his work at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him, wreaking havoc and destruction, Marion has to entrust his life to the two men he has trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.

The Book Snobs Gathering:

Monday
October 24
6:30 p.m. 
Watch your email for details.

September 2011 Selection

Marta selected Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz as the September selection for the Book Snobs.

From the author's web site:

With his bestselling blend of nail-biting intensity, daring artistry, and storytelling magic, Dean Koontz returns with an emotional roller coaster of a tale filled with enough twists, turns, shocks, and surprises for ten ordinary novels. Here is the story of five days in the life of an ordinary man born to an extraordinary legacy—a story that will challenge the way you look at good and evil, life and death, and everything in between.

Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it. As a violent storm rages outside the hospital, Rudy Tock spends long hours walking the corridors between the expectant fathers’ waiting room and his dying father’s bedside. It’s a strange vigil made all the stranger when, at the very height of the storm’s fury, Josef Tock suddenly sits up in bed and speaks coherently for the first and last time since his stroke.

What he says before he dies is that there will be five dark days in the life of his grandson—five dates whose terrible events Jimmy will have to prepare himself to face. The first is to occur in his twentieth year; the second in his twenty-third year; the third in his twenty-eighth; the fourth in his twenty-ninth; the fifth in his thirtieth.

Rudy is all too ready to discount his father’s last words as a dying man’s delusional rambling. But then he discovers that Josef also predicted the time of his grandson’s birth to the minute, as well as his exact height and weight, and the fact that Jimmy would be born with syndactyly—the unexplained anomaly of fused digits—on his left foot. Suddenly the old man’s predictions take on a chilling significance.

What terrifying events await Jimmy on these five dark days? What nightmares will he face? What challenges must he survive? As the novel unfolds, picking up Jimmy’s story at each of these crisis points, the path he must follow will defy every expectation. And with each crisis he faces, he will move closer to a fate he could never have imagined. For who Jimmy Tock is and what he must accomplish on the five days when his world turns is a mystery as dangerous as it is wondrous—a struggle against an evil so dark and pervasive, only the most extraordinary of human spirits can shine through.

The Book Snobs Gathering:

Marta hosted the Book Snobs Gathering at her home on Monday, September 26. She served delicious stuffed chicken breasts for dinner. The highlight of the meal was definitely the array of desserts. She  served creme puffs, cupcakes, and pan de polvo. All were homemade and delicious in keeping with the book's main character's career as a pastry chef.

We discussed what it would be like to know when something bad was about to happen in your life. We also discussed how at times the premise of this book seemed somewhat contrived and how sometimes it was the days leading up to the "bad days" that seemed worse. Everyone expressed frustration with how things just seemed to go on and on with one bad thing after another.

Everyone agreed that this book was one we would not ordinarily have read, but enjoyed mostly because it was different form our usual choices.

August 2011 Selection

Vicki has selected Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah as the Book Snobs' August read.

From the author's web site:

Sometimes when you open the door to your mother’s past, you find your own future…

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, these two estranged women will find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. On his deathbed, their father extracts one last promise from the women in his life.

It begins with a story that is unlike anything the sisters have heard before—a captivating, mysterious love story that spans sixty-five years and moves from frozen, war torn Leningrad to modern-day Alaska. The vividly imagined tale brings these three women together in a way that none could have expected. Meredith and Nina will finally learn the secret of their mother’s past and uncover a truth so terrible it will shake the foundation of their family and change who they think they are.

The Book Snobs Gathering

The Book Snobs gathered at Vicki's home on Monday, August 29 to discuss Kirstin Hannah's Winter Garden.

The evening started with White Russians and wine. Dinner was Beef Stroganoff, pierogies, and apple slaw. Dessert was Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake.

The highlight of the discussion was the opportunity to talk with the author, Kristin Hannah. She called and spoke with us on the speaker phone, taking the time to answer every question.

Everyone loved this book. The fairy tale aspect was intriguing. None of us had known about the siege of Leningrad before reading this book. We discussed some of the historical details of the siege. We also talked about the relationship between the two sisters and how their characters were developed by their mother's coldness toward them.

We were particularly interested in why Kristin decided to end the book as she did. She told us that it was not her original intention, but as the story developed, she just couldn't see any other end.

Before dessert was served, we played "three things" as the characters in the book did. 

The Book Snobs would like to sincerely thank Kristin Hannah for her time and graciousness in talking with us. It really made our discussion special.

July 2011 Selection

Janna has selected Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier as the July selection.

From Google Books:

In 1997, Charles Frazier’s debut novel Cold Mountain made publishing history when it sailed to the top of The New York Times best-seller list for sixty-one weeks, won numerous literary awards, including the National Book Award, and went on to sell over three million copies. Sorely wounded and fatally disillusioned in the fighting at Petersburg, a Confederate soldier named Inman decides to walk back to his home in the Blue Ridge mountains to Ada, the woman he loves. His trek across the disintegrating South brings him into intimate and sometimes lethal converse with slaves and marauders, bounty hunters and witches, both helpful and malign. At the same time, the intrepid Ada is trying to revive her father’s derelict farm and learning to survive in a world where the old certainties have been swept away. As it interweaves their stories, Cold Mountain asserts itself as an authentic odyssey, hugely powerful, majestically lovely, and keenly moving.

 The Book Snobs Gathering

The Book Snobs met at Janna's home on Monday, August 1. As always, the Snobs spent the first half hour or so enjoying wine and conversation. The dinner menu included a large salad bar with many, many choices, two soups, and a delicious artichoke dip along with an assortment of crackers and croutons. For dessert we enjoyed a refreshingly light Dreamsicle Cake.

After dinner, we moved to the living room and discussion began. Many (most) of the Snobs did not enjoy Cold Mountain. Some thought the writer was too detailed in his descriptions. Others thought the action was too slow. We talked about the development of each character and how they changed over the course of the novel. We also discussed how both Ada and Ruby were influenced by their fathers and the loss of their mothers in their infancy. It was also fun for each of us to choose two items, one old and one current, that we would want to take with us on a trek like Inman's. We talked about the perceptions of the Civil War and the difference between those perceptions in the North and the South.

June 2011 Selection

Claudia has selected Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier as our June reading selection.

From Strand Magazine:

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." The opening line to Daphne du Maurier’s most famous novel, Rebecca is one of the great opening lines in English fiction. In one stroke, du Maurier establishes the voice, the locale, and the dream-like atmosphere of the story. It’s not surprising that Alfred Hitchcock used the same opening line for his celebrated cinematic adaptation of the novel—one which many critics feel is among his most accomplished. Although Daphne du Maurier was one of the most popular authors of her day and wrote or edited dozens of books—biographies, plays, and collections of letters as well as works of fiction— she is best remembered today for only a handful of novels including, of course, Rebecca.

The novel Rebecca is a curious hybrid—a mixture of romance, murder mystery, and the Gothic. The romance ... is at the core of the novel. A naive young woman—interestingly never named in the novel—is alone in the world (a paid companion to an older, coarser, social-climbing woman) until she meets the handsome, wealthy, and recently widowed Maxim de Winter. He had been married, we are told early on, to the accomplished, beautiful Rebecca who tragically died in a boating accident off the south coast of Cornwall near the de Winter family estate of Manderley. An older, distraught wealthy man meets a younger, callow impoverished woman whom he decides to marry in order to restore his mental health—the plot is common to any number of traditional English romantic novels, most obviously Jane Eyre.

The Book Snobs Gathering

Monday, June 27
Claudia's home
Details will be emailed

May 2011 Selection

Jennifer has selected House Rules by Jodi Picoult as our May 2011 book.

From the author's website:

House Rules is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis. 

He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder. House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way – but lousy for those who don’t. 

 The Book Snobs Gathering

The Snobs met at Jennifer's house on Tuesday, May 31. Jennifer served a delicious homemade lasagna accompanied by warm bread and a salad. As usual, a variety of wine was consumed. We finished off the evening with Sock-It-To-Me Cake.

House Rules was an excellent book for discussion. And did we ever discuss. There were several occasions where members had to be reminded to take turns speaking. (I confess, it was me.) We discussed the difficulties that families must deal with when a member has autism. We discussed the crime that was committed and the possible reasons that Jacob did what he did. Since this is a mystery, I'm not going to go into details here, but this novel has a typical Jodi Picoult style ending which leaves you wondering.

In the end, there were still many unanswered questions. Janna, our official secretary, emailed the author the next morning with our questions. We were all extremely impressed to receive a quick response from Jodi Picoult. She took the time to address each of our questions individually. How awesome is that?

April 2011 Selection

Carol has chosen The Help by Kathryn Stockett as the April 2011 selection.

From the author's website:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

The Book Snobs Gathering

The Snobs gathered at Carol's home on Monday, April 25th. We enjoyed appetizers and wine followed by a delicious white asparagus lasagna served with salad and garlic bread. Dessert was a light but very tasty pound cake with strawberries and white chocolate pudding.

Several of our usual attendees were absent, but that didn't slow down our discussion one bit. We talked about life in the South and how it has changed and not changed since the 1960s. We discussed specific characters and the impact that changing roles of women and integration had on their lives. We even discussed the most radical or unusual beauty treatments each of us has undergone in the name of beauty. I was particularly interested in the different perceptions of race among our members and we talked specifically about changes that have taken place in our own lifetimes. There was a significant difference that I perceived to be related to the differences in our ages.

I highly recommend The Help to anyone who is looking for an interesting book that is great for discussion.

March 2011 Selection

Charlene has chosen The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy as the March 2011 selection.

From the author's web site:

Yamacraw Island was haunting, nearly deserted, and beautiful. Separated from the mainland of South Carolina by a wide tidal river, it was accessible only by boat. But for the handful of families that lived on Yamacraw, America was a world away. For years these families lived proudly from the sea until waste from industry destroyed the oyster beds essential to their very existence. Already poor, they knew they would have to face an uncertain future unless, somehow, they learned a new life. But they needed someone to teach them, and their run down schoolhouse had no teacher.

The Water Is Wide is Pat Conroy’s extraordinary memoir based on his experience as the only teacher in a two-room schoolhouse, working with children the world had pretty much forgotten. It was a year that changed his life, and one that introduced a group of poor black children to a world they did not know existed.

The Book Snobs Gathering

The Snobs gathered at Charlene's home on Monday, March 28. The Snobs enjoyed wine and hors oeuvres served on the patio overlooking the canal on Padre Island. Charlene served delicious and authentic Low Country Cuisine consisting of the most delicious grits I've ever tasted served with 82 Queen BBQ Shrimp. The evening was topped off with delicious Apple Dumplings with Mountain Dew Sauce. Be sure you check out the recipes below. You won't be disappointed. I'd like to give a special shout-out and huge thank-you to Charlene's husband who served as chef for the evening.

Discussion of The Water Is Wide focused on education in general. This book spurred a great discussion primarily about education. We discussed integration and the changes in education that have been brought on by the current testing policies. Many members expressed disappointment that the vibrant and interesting characters in this book were not more fully developed. Some of us were frustrated that there was no follow-up about what happened to the children later in life. We talked about Pat Conroy's creativity in bringing the outside world to the children on Yamacraw Island and his determination and frustration in trying to take the children off the island to see the world.

While this may not have been one of our favorite books, it was an excellent book club selection and gave us plenty of fodder for interesting discussion.

Recipes from the Book Snobs

82 Queen BBQ Shrimp and Grits

Makes 6 dinner portions

LOW COUNTRY GRITS
2 cups of heavy cream
2 cups of water
¼ lb. of butter
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 cup of quick grits

Bring cream and water to a boil. Add butter, salt and pepper. Slowly add grits and reduce heat. Cook 20 minutes, being careful not to scorch mixture.

SOUTHERN COMFORT BBQ SAUCE
¼ lb. bacon, diced
½ cup red onion, finely diced
½ cup red bell pepper
½ cup green bell pepper
2 14-oz. bottles of Heinz ketchup
½ cup of brown sugar
3-4 Tablespoons Southern Comfort
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook Bacon until ¾ done. Add onions and peppers. Saute until done. Flame with Southern Comfort. Add remaining ingredients and season. Simmer for 10 minutes and then cool. (Can last under refrigeration several weeks.

SHRIMP
Place in Southern Comfort BBQ Sauce and simmer for one minute.

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

APPLE DUMPLINGS

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and quartered
1 can (8 ct) crescent rolls
½ cup of sugar
1 stick of butter
¾ tsp vanilla
1 can of Mountain Dew
Cinnamon to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cake pan.

Wrap apple quarters in crescent rolls. Put in pan. Melt butter and sugar over medium heat stirring constantly and bring to a boil. When sugar is all dissolved, remove from heat, add vanilla and pour over apples. Sprinkle top of dumplings with cinnamon. Pour Mountain Dew around dumplings and bake 25 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream.

February 2011 Selection

Theresa has chosen The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein as the February selection in the animal fiction genre.

GarthStein.com says:

Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoë, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

The Book Snobs Gathering

The Snobs met at Theresa's home on Monday, February 28. She served a choice of French Onion Soup and Seafood Chowder. Both were delicious.

The Snobs spent a good deal of time talking about some rules and protocals for the club. Since we've grown from a froup of seven to a group of eleven, it seems that some rules and "crowd-control" may be in order.

The Art of Racing in the Rain was universally thought to be a great read. This book was uniquely written from the perspective of Enzo, a dog with the soul of a philosopher and an obsession with opposable thumbs. We were all amused at Enzo educating himself by watching television and listening. And we were amazed by his insights into human nature and impressions of human personalities.

Recipes from The Book Snobs

Seafood Chowder

1 bunch of green onions
1 lb. of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 stick of butter
2 cans of cream of potato soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of whole kernel corn (drain one can)
2 pints of half & half
1-8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese
1-2 lbs. of crawfish tail meat (1-2 frozen packages-do not rinse) or shrimp or combination of shrimp and crawfish
1 Tablespoon of Tony Chchere's Creole seasoning (I would suggest starting with one teaspoon and then adding more depending on how spicy you want it to be)

Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter and then add the remaining ingredients. Heat about 1 hour.

Quick Onion Soup

2 large onions
3 packets of onion soup mix (I buy the boxes that have 2 packets of onion soup mix in each box and for this recipe I use 1.5 boxes or 3 packets)
8 cups water
French bread
Grated white cheese (e.g.,, swiss, mozzarella, Italian blend)

Slice onions into thin rounds and then cut in half again.

Saute onions in vegetable oil or olive oil until soft and slightly browned.

Add water and onion soup mix.

Bring to boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 20-60 minutes.

Serve with crumbled bread and sprinkle cheese on top. (You can use any kind of bread but I prefer a white French loaf style. It is fine to use bread that is a little stale and hard because the broth will soften it up. If you just have wheat bread, pop it in the toaster and then tear it up and put it in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup on top).

*The longer you cook it, the more the broth reduces and darkens and thickens up and makes for a really rich onion soup.

*If you are in a hurry, you can omit sautéing the onions and just throw all the ingredients together (water, onion soup mix, raw onions) and bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 min until onions are soft. It still tastes good with this quickie version.