2021.08.23 Meeting Notes

Our second in-person book club went well. Thank you again to Nicole for her awesome job of setting up the Zoom call so our remote members could attend. For remote attendees, the Zoom link never changes, so always use the same one and you’re set.
We welcomed two new members: Hannah and Judy. I have sent a BookMovement invite to Hannah, Judy, and Lisa. All you need to do is create an account on the site. We use BookMovement for reminder emails and suggested books. The site will automatically send out an email the day after a meeting (telling you the next month’s book) and then give you one week and one day before club reminders as well. You do NOT need to RSVP through those emails, I don’t see any of the RSVPs people send in that way. We also use the site to put suggested books on the book choice list. Twice a year we will vote on books to read (we choose 6 months at a time) and I pull the book list from BookMovement.
Speaking of choosing books, in October we will be choosing 6 books, which we will read January-June of 2022. We will vote via email in mid to late October, and I will announce the books at the October meeting.
We will also have our annual costume contest at the October meeting. Start thinking of your costumes now, it will be here before we know it. The costumes don’t have to be book related, but historically the winner has been someone who has come up with a great costume based on one of our book characters (I’m picturing the woman in the window from a few years back – classic). There will be prizes for best costume.
At the Christmas party we will be playing a little game of name that member….from their baby photo. If you plan to be at the party, start digging out those old photo albums and send me one of your baby photos (I’m actually picturing a toddler one, babies all look alike). You can send them any time between now and December 1. I will print them all in black and white so it’s not immediately apparent how old the photos are.
WomenInTheWindow.jpg|Women in the Window
JaffaCakes.jpg|Jaffa Cakes
WalkersShortbread.jpg
IsleriEurocrem.jpg
Now, on to the book. We met last week to discuss The Bone Jar by SW Kane. It was a British police procedural (much to Chris’s dismay). We had a show of hands and it seems that most of us find British police procedurals to be superior to American ones. The British ones are about the characters and the crime. They leave out the car chases, weapons, and most of the procedure. I think we need to put more of these on our list.
All in all the book got some great scores. It received two 9s, six 8s, five 7s, four 6s, and one 4 (did I mention Chris doesn’t like British books?). If I remember correctly, at least one of the 9s would have been a 10, except for the fact that there were no actual bones in the bone jar – just bone dust. Not the same Ms. Kane, not the same. We were reminded of the much discussed 2019 debacle where Karin Slaughter’s Pieces of Her promised dismemberment (but didn’t deliver) causing Jeff to lower the score, rightfully so.
The good comments about the book were that it had good characters, good pacing, and humor. We really liked the humor. For example, Amn liked that the detective left his car unlocked hoping that someone would steal it. We liked the twists, mistaken ID, and how when the book started we were feeling bad for the elderly victim – but by the end we were glad she was dead, as she was a horrible person. It’s interesting how your view of a character can change so much from beginning to end.
If you’re still reading this email, kudos to you for actually getting to the almost end. I will be giving away a prize to those who read my emails. In order to be entered, hit reply to this email (do not reply all) and in the body of the reply email, type “yay me” and I will enter you in a drawing for a prize to be given away at the September meeting.
The criticisms we had for the book were that it had a slow start and way too many characters. Jay would not have kept reading if he wasn’t reading for a book club. Sharon K. was bummed that she couldn’t follow all the characters, given there were so many. Some people wanted more info on the characters, not much was give about their backstories. Our new member, Hannah, wanted more gruesomeness in the book (she’s gonna get along just fine in this group).
Lastly, we went around to hear what everyone is watching and came up with the following: 
* The Undoing (HBO Max)
* Mare of Easttown (HBO Max)
* Bordertown (Netflix)
* Gone for Good (Netflix)
* The Sinner (Netflix)
* Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)
Hopefully I got the channels correct, but if not, it’s just an easy Google.
We will meet on September 27 to discuss Jane Harper’s Survivors. I plan to re-read it to prepare for the meeting, but I remember that when I read it the first time I thought it had a slow start. Just an FYI in case you’re experiencing the same thing.
Until September,
Kerry