We have fast walkers and slow walkers in our Tuesday morning walking group. We have some who arrive late but jog to catch up and some who take their time and take pictures along the way or identify each bird call as it sounds. Some revel in the rain while others bring umbrellas. No matter what your thoughts are on a perfect walk, ours are all about friendship and exercise and great conversation. None of us is perfect, but we are all interesting and interested.
We lost a dear longtime member recently: Mary Laurie-Pile, an amazing woman who left a deep imprint on our community in an amazing number of ways.
Here is her obituary.
She was a long time member of the walking group and as we walked, she would pick up trash along the way, determined to keep our public walkways clean. On our walk today, our thoughts were on Mary as we passed a giant can that someone carelessly tossed in the middle of the walking trail. Here’s Norah, picking up the trash and disposing it, in a tribute to dear Mary.
We met again over lunch to talk about books and as always, we covered a LOT of ground. Always so interesting!
And our notes done the old fashioned way!
After many days of rain and grey, today was a beautiful walking day. These are the 10am group, who were like ships passing in the night with the 9:30s.
Meeting of Monday Reading Group, April 17/23
Marsha S, Norah O, Marion W, Leslie L
Marsha: 1) “The Everlasting Meal Cookbook-Leftovers A-Z” A wonderful new cookbook by Tamar Adler.
Marsha found this was “preaching to the choir” as she already uses many of these strategies in her own kitchen, however she has enjoyed sitting down and reading it as opposed to just using it as a recipe book.
2) “Next -Generation Memory and Ukrainian Canadian Children’s Historical Fiction – The Seeds of Memory” by Mateusz Swietlicki
This is an academic work concerning a particular genre near and dear to Marsha’s heart. She has met the author and he has described her as a ‘kindred spirit’. His bibliography has a lengthy list of Marsha’s published works.
Norah: 1) Norah brings us another aged volume which was given to her brother as a book award at matriculation from high school (see notes from March/23). This one is an English translation of “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo-lovely to see it! (1890)
2) “The Secret Guests” by Benjamin Black. This is a work of historical fiction surrounding the supposed relocation of the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to an estate outside of London during the Blitz for safety. Norah has this from the library and has just started it. She has found it intriguing. M. points out the typical book club cover with the children looking away from the reader towards the distant horizon.
3) “Quick Silver” by Dean Koontz. Science fiction, ‘guilty pleasure’ material.
4) “The Club” by Ellery Lloyd. Murder mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians”
Marion: also mentions a memory of accounts by Elizabeth Cavanaugh concerning her mother, a Grade One teacher in Halifax at the time of the Halifax Explosion(s) (dramatic!)
1) “Shadowlands- A journey through Britain’s Lost Cities and Vanished Villages” by Matthew Green
She received this as an Easter gift and has enjoyed this exploration.
Leslie: 1) “Old Babes in the Wood” by Margaret Atwood. A wonderful new collection of short stories. Three sections-first ‘Tig & Nell’-memories of a marriage, family events, little details evoke the emotional connections within the family. The last section is ‘Nell & Tig’ which returns to the same characters/family but includes parents, in laws, siblings and memories of loss. Processing grief is a prominent theme, perhaps influenced by the author’s own loss of her husband to dementia in 2019.
The middle section ‘My Evil Mother’ is made up of 8 more stories-quite a variety! L. specifically noted one story in which the soul of a snail has arrived in the mind of a woman employed as a customer service representative for a major bank (working remotely from home, post COVID). (“Metempsychosis”). The snail has to learn to adapt to his/her new body and adjust language to suit the new role-very humorous! (What an imagination!) Another worthy of mention concerns a visiting alien passing the time with anxious human captives narrating a fairy tale without the vocabulary or context to understand it. This also generates chilling fear but also humour! (“Impatient Griselda”)
Submitted L. L. April 19/23
Currently, we have just five in our monthly book discussion group, but we talk about a LOT of books, and we do it over a meal that none of us has to cook! Here are some of the books we discussed (ie, those not on devices).
Leslie’s notes from CFUW Reading Group, March 13/23
Four attendees: Marsha, Leslie, Marion and Norah
Books discussed: (‘show and tell’..2nd in person meeting!)
Marion: 1) “Prisoners of the Castle” by Ben MacIntyre- Colditz, famous Nazi Prisoner of war prison in former castle, several escape attempts and successes
2) “A Guest of the Reich” by Peter Finn -concerning British spy and socialite Gertrude Legendre, dramatic account of captivity and escape from Nazi Germany
Marion requested these books from her daughter who works for Book City, Toronto (lucky her!)
She has not finished these, but reports they are quite interesting.
Thanks, Marion!
Norah: Norah brought an old volume of “ Rob Roy” by Walter Scott, part of a gift on matriculation from secondary school in 1923 (age 17) Norah’s father, George O’Leary(top in class!) She has not yet read this, but plans to do so. She also reports that she plans to bring us an old copy of “Les Miserables” (translated into English)
2) “The Book of Awesome” by Neil Pasricha-she found this book at a little library at Fairview Church. The author had been feeling a bit low contemplating the state of the world about ten years ago. He started a website to compile 1000 awesome things, and has now published 4 volumes related to this theme. This was the first. An example: removing one’s bra after many hours, another-removing one’s shoes in the car. Many everyday “awesome things”! She noted that this was very easy to read in short bites in between other books.
Thanks, Norah!
Leslie: 1) “The Wonder” by Emma Donahue ->wonderful gradual revelation of pieces of the story by protagonist, an English nurse, trained by Florence Nightingale, on a 2 week assignment to observe an 11 year old Irish girl who apparently had no solid food for several months. Interesting depiction of rural Irish life under the overpowering influence of the Catholic church (and account of family drama..)
Several members of the group also enjoy Emma Donahue. Marsha recommended the more recent “Haven” and an older “The Pull of the Stars”.
2) “Butter Honey Pig Bread” by Francesca Ekwuyasi This was a very sensuous portrayal of family history and relationships between a mother and her adult twin daughters, originally from Lagos, Nigeria but following them to London, England, Montreal, Halifax and finally back to Lagos. Wonderfully rich descriptions of plants, bees, food and love! Folklore, coming of age, mental illness, trauma all play important roles. The title is based on the divisions of the book represented by the preparation of food.
(Marsha mentions another book published by same press, Arsenal pulp Press, “Dandylion” by Jamie Chai Yun Liew-also sounds interesting)
3) “Let Your Mind Run” by Deena Kastor (and Michelle Hamilton, a sports writer). This is a memoir of Deena’s life and career as an American Olympic marathoner-“a memoir of thinking my way to victory”. At one time I gave up on this book because the subject seemed to be having too easy a life, however I am glad that I finished it. There were more stories to tell!
4) “The Light We Carry” by Michelle Obama. “Overcoming in Uncertain Times” This is a great account of her approach to her life. She is a strong role model to many young black women. She lets us into her family circle and gives us glimpses of the sources of her strength. I was particularly impressed with her descriptions of her mother.
Thank you, Leslie
Marsha: 1) “Everyone Here is Lying” by Shari Lapena. This is a new thriller which will be released in August/23. Marsha has reviewed this book and has given it 5 stars! (and she says that she is very picky!) It starts as a man has left his mistress, returned home and has an argument with his 9 yr old daughter. He hits his daughter and later she disappears. The novel follows the investigation from inside the heads of the individuals who might be suspects and all have something to hide. Marsha says this is very tightly written and compelling.
She also recommends other books written by the same author, including “The Couple next Door”.
2) “The Drift” by C.J.Tudor. Marsha is reading this now and has difficulty putting it down! (always a good sign!) It is set in the future, but it resembles the current state of the world. There are three groups of people, all becoming snowed in. There is a deadly pandemic and things turn creepy! Marsha also recommends “The Chalkman” by the same author.
3) “Eight Days” by Teresa Toten. This is a children’s book, Canadian and the story is set in a low income, multicultural neighbourhood in Scarborough. There is a child working through a family tragedy involving her mother, drugs, alcohol and a journey to NYC. Marsha found this very well-written and recommends it.
Many thanks, Marsha!
Great day!
Submitted by Leslie Leach
