July 2024 Book ClubUpdate By Cathie Singer
Good Morning!
We were off to a terrific start this past Tuesday, July 4/24, with a lovely afternoon on the Schoolhouse deck and 25 of us in person and 4 online – from Ohio, from Italy(!) and others on the Bay!! So glad you could all join us! Phyllis gave us a great introduction to “Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons” and to the author, Charlotte Gray – about politics, history, the roles of men and women then and now – which all led to lots of fascinating discussion. Thank you Ainslie for your delicious lemonade and to Phyllis for the goodies!
We watched part of a video(with Steve Paikin) where the author, Charlotte Gray was interviewed regarding her book and we discussed other relevant books and films. I will list them here:
Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell
Dinner with Churchill: Policy Making at the Dinner Table by Cita Seller
Daughters of Yalta: Churchills, Roosevelts & Harrimans Story of Love and War by Catherine Grace Katz
Movie: Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)
On Prime Amazon.
George VI & Queen Elizabeth weekend visit at Hyde Park “Springwood” with President Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt in 1939
Steve Paikin (The Agenda) interview with Charlotte Gray on Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons : > https://youtu.be/bpPzbRT9I7I?si=38VhXWA_72ezF5Wn
The Gilded Age – series
Thank you so much Phyllis!
See you all in 11 days!!
Cathie
On July 16 we will welcome Jacquie Green to present:
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands – A graphic Novel by Kate Beaton
This is a memoir of Kate’s experiences working in the Athabasca Oil sands and has been described as political, personal, monumental, intimate, generous, upsetting, surreal and disarmingly human. A warning that there is a scene of sexual assault which may be difficult for some and they may want to avoid this book. However the new format of a graphic novel and the environmental and economic issues are important.
(I downloaded this book to Kindle and it was very easy to read on my IPAD)
I will send out a ZOOM link the Friday before the meeting.
Upcoming later:
July 30: Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. Presented by the author Waub Rice with Libby Stratton and Sally Braun
We are delighted that Waub has offered to join us again and he is making a special trip out to be with us. You may recall that he joined us a few years ago to present Moon on Crusted Snow.
Moon on Turning Leaves is a sequel to this post-apocalyptic novel as a brave scouting party of hunters and harvesters must venture into unknown and dangerous territory to find a new home for their close-knit but slowly starving Northern Ontario Indigenous community more than a decade after a world-ending blackout.
August 13: The Paris Deception by Bryn Turnbull. Presented by the author Bryn Turnbull and Cathie Singer
Bryn is an internationally bestselling author of historical fiction and has also written The Woman Before Wallis and The Last Grand Duchess.
Bryn focuses on finding stories of women lost within the cracks of the historical record. The Paris Deception is an exciting novel about art theft and forgery in Nazi-occupied Paris and two brave women who risk their lives rescuing looted masterpieces from Nazi destruction. I met Bryn when she presented this book in February – she was compelling and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her share her experiences of her research and writing process. She is a Honey Harbour cottager and has agreed to join us on August 13. We are fortunate as she has a book launch on August 27 and is quite busy!
August 27: The Covenant of Water By Abraham Verghese. Presented by Dawn Drayton and Janet Burt.
Abraham Verghese also wrote Cutting for Stone. This book, The Covenant of Water, is a huge epic of love, faith and medicine set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret. It is a wonderful read. I recently listened to it and the author is the narrator and that recording is very well done.
2024 SSCA BOOK CLUB
Organizer: Cathie SingerAs the Long Weekend approaches, many of us have already been up to check out our cottages. It won’t be long before we are meeting at the Community Centre to discuss some excellent books!
We have now confirmed the dates for our authors coming to join us this year and hope this schedule will remain more or less intact. Of course unexpected events or weather may force some adjustments and I hope to have Zoom up and running again (although it is less than perfect in a group setting out of doors!). I would plan to send out the Zoom invites a week or so before the meeting.
July 2: Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons; The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt by Charlotte Gray and presented by Phyllis Lill.
This is a double biography of two strong-willed women, both born in New York in 1854, whose sons would help shape the world we live in. It was published simultaneously in Canada, U.K. and U.S., in September 2023. We discussed Murdered Midas by the same author last year.
July 16: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands – A graphic Novel by Kate Beatonand presented by Jacquie Green.
This is a memoir of Kate’s experiences working in the Athabasca Oil sands and has been described as political, personal, monumental, intimate, generous, upsetting, surreal and disarmingly human. A warning that there is a scene of sexual assault which may be difficult for some and they may want to avoid this book. However the new format of a graphic novel and the environmental and economic issues are important.
July 30: Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. Presented by the author Waub Rice with Libby Stratton and Sally Braun
We are delighted that Waub has offered to join us again and he is making a special trip out to be with us. You may recall that he joined us a few years ago to present Moon on Crusted Snow.
Moon on Turning Leaves is a sequel to this post-apocalyptic novel as a brave scouting party of hunters and harvesters must venture into unknown and dangerous territory to find a new home for their close-knit but slowly starving Northern Ontario Indigenous community more than a decade after a world-ending blackout.
August 13: The Paris Deception by Bryn Turnbull. Presented by the author Bryn Turnbull and Cathie Singer
Bryn is an internationally bestselling author of historical fiction and has also written The Woman Before Wallis and The Last Grand Duchess.
Bryn focuses on finding stories of women lost within the cracks of the historical record. The Paris Deception is an exciting novel about art theft and forgery in Nazi-occupied Paris and two brave women who risk their lives rescuing looted masterpieces from Nazi destruction. I met Bryn when she presented this book in February – she was compelling and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her share her experiences of her research and writing process. She is a Honey Harbour cottager and has agreed to join us on August 13. We are fortunate as she has a book launch on August 27 and is quite busy!
August 27: The Covenant of Water By Abraham Verghese. Presented by Dawn Drayton and Janet Burt.
Abraham Verghese also wrote Cutting for Stone. This book, The Covenant of Water, is a huge epic of love, faith and medicine set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret. It is a wonderful read. I recently listened to it and the author is the narrator and that recording is very well done.
Thank you so very much, everyone for their interest and to our presenters, Phyllis Lill, Jacquie Green, Libby Stratton, Sally Braun, Dawn Drayton and Janet Burt. We have a very interesting summer ahead of us with some terrific reads!!
Please contact me if you have any questions, or know of someone interested in joining us.
See you on July 2!
Cathie
Organizer: Carolyn Edwards
The SSCA Flashlight Readers kid’s book club invites you to participate in our Summer Reading Challenge! Please see the below chart for the challenge details of your age group and number of books needed to complete each award level. Once you have completed an award level (e.g. Quartz), please send an email to sscaprograms@gmail.com and tell us a little bit about one of the books you read (maybe we can suggest the book to other SSCA readers!).
You will be given a clue to find a hidden treasure box on the SSCA property. The treasure box has lots of fun prizes for the cottage – squid divers, ball returns, high flyers, sparkling hair barrettes, spray chalk paint, etc. Sign up today, and start your summer reading adventures!!!
Sans Souci and Copperhead Association