Author Archives: Laura Winkleblack

Meeting Recap from Deb: Ever a special evening together, Bookies! —and Jessica, your hosting, deck & home, offered sweetly conclusive summer unanimity. The dinner was scrumptious—and beautiful, consistent with the broader view—and nice the way the pieces always tend to fit to make a tasty meal combo. Unlike some books.  Perfect to pair all the upbeat (seeking balance!) with … Continue reading →

From Margie: As to Absolution, one of the themes I found most powerful involved the precarious and unpredictable results of our individual moral choices. When we try to “do good,” should we be judged by our intentions or by the consequences … Continue reading →

  Meeting wrap up from Deb on Covenant of Water by Verghese: Agreeing with what’s been praised: such hospitality—comfortable setting from the beautifully evolving porch on through & tasty spread: thank you, Kim—& others for additions, everyone for making last night into a … Continue reading →

Meeting followup by Deb: As everyone has noted, a wonderful and well timed, lovely evening together, comfortable & tasty on all levels, Jessica: thank you!   Such a good feeling to have six of us comfortably gathered around a grand new table in such … Continue reading →

Thanks to Deb for an excellent recap: What a special evening: dinner reunion, astounding book, sweet welcome bit of catching up among us + discussionà eager for us ALL to gather, + still delighting in the book & night—& going to indulge in … Continue reading →

We loved this book! Laura, Deb, Catherine and Margie shared additional information. The New Yorker reviewer was not quite as taken as we were. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/04/anthony-doerrs-optimism-engine Literary Mood Board: The delightfully obscure items that inspired Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land https://ew.com/books/cloud-cuckoo-land-anthony-doerr-literary-mood-board/ … Continue reading →

By Radhika Jones Published Feb. 23, 2021Updated March 1, 2021 KLARA AND THE SUNBy Kazuo Ishiguro About halfway through “Klara and the Sun,” a woman meeting Klara for the first time blurts out the kind of quiet-part-out-loud line we rely on to get … Continue reading →

A novelist’s labored speech signaled an unimaginable diagnosis Sandra G. BoodmanJuly 10, 2021 At first, novelist Cai Emmons thought something might be wrong with her bite. In December 2019, while reading from her latest work at a gathering in Sausalito, … Continue reading →

A Beloved Canadian Novelist Reckons with Her Mennonite Past How Miriam Toews left the church and freed her voice. (Entire article here🙂 Before Miriam Toews can sit down to write, she needs to walk. Something about the body in motion … Continue reading →

Barack Obama Jack by Marilynne Robinson Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (nonfiction) The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson Luster by Raven Leilani How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang Long Bright River by Liz Moore … Continue reading →