The meeting will be at the Clay Pit, 145 S. Barrington Avenue, just south of Sunset (freeway close) on Tuesday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP by return email. Thanks! Hope to see you all there.
For our next meeting let's read something light. Sari earlier recommended The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot.
---Olivia

February 2003 Meeting - V.I.P. Harbor Seafood, located at 11701 Wilshire (and Barrington),

January 2003 Meeting - Sisley's at the corner of Ventura and Sepulveda Boulevards on Tuesday January 14 at 7:00 p.m.:
While the short stories of The Interpreter of Maladies were beautifully
written, I kept hoping that at least one of the stories would have a happy ending. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book, and was interested in learning more about the Indian culture.
---Olivia
Interpreter of Maladies: Stories
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Navigating between the Indian traditions they've inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri's elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In "A Temporary Matter," published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession. Lahiri writes with deft cultural insight reminiscent of Anita Desai and a nuanced depth that recalls Mavis Gallant. She is an important and powerful new voice.

December 2002 Meeting
Ladies,
Hi book club members. We had great attendance at our meeting on Tuesday-- and a spirited discussion. It seemed everyone enjoyed reading The Lovely Bones. I found the book to be very realistic about the reactions of friends, family and the community to the murder of the protagonist. While it may be hard to believe that a mother, for instance, would walk out on her family, it certainly happens, and it was consistent with the person described in the book.
---Olivia

November 2002 Meeting
We had an interesting discussion about White Oleander over our crab, crispy chicken and green beans. The opinion was split on whether the book was depressing, or whether the story was uplifting, in that Astrid was a true survivor. What remains sad in any event is that there truly are many children who are unwanted, neglected or abused.
---Olivia
White Oleander by Janet Fitch - Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes--ach its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned--becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.
---Olivia
I am sorry that last month's meeting was derailed. Let's get back on track! I need the names of good books to read!
The next meeting is on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. at V.I.P. Harbor Seafood, located at 11701 Wilshire (and Barrington), phone number (310) 979-3377. We will be discussing White Oleander. Please bring ideas for thenext book.
---Olivia

August 2002 Meeting
Hi everyone. Thank you to Susan for choosing Chan Dara for our book club meeting last night. The food and setting were wonderful.
It seems that everyone liked Empire Settings. There were a lot of issues: Why didn't Danny look for Santi for 20 years? Why did Tesseba put up with being less than a full-fledged partner for that long? Why did the mother tolerate her abusive second husband? We talked about how material things mattered to some of the characters, but not to others. We enjoyed learning about South Africa's heated political climate as well.

July 2002 Meeting
Thank you for all who attended our meeting on July 9. Those of us who read Plainsong agreed that it was a sweet book, with some interesting twists on the concept of family.

The next book we will be reading is Empire Settings by David Schmahmann. It is a novel about a South African family. The meeting will be on Tuesday, August 13. Any volunteers to host?

June 2002 Meeting
Although our meeting on June 11 was not well attended, we had a lively discussion about The Wind Done Gone; slavery; reparations; race relations; etc. The discussion was interesting, even if we did not wholeheartedly buy the various plot turns of the book.

February 2002 Meeting
We had a very nice meeting at Bloomie's on Tuesday. Although the table was full with seven women, I know that Tuesdays and/or the beginning of the month is not good for some of you who were unable to come. As far as the women at the meeting, it seems that Wednesday nights are good. Would that work for the rest of you? What about which week of the month? Does that
matter to anyone?
As soon as I hear from the women who were not at the meeting, I will set a date for the next meeting.
As far as the book, those of us that read Corelli's Mandolin enjoyed it. It is certainly a rich book, and we learned a little history.
The next book is Shopgirl by the actor Steve Martin. This is a slim paperback and is easily "readable" by the next meeting.
So, for those of you I didn't see Tuesday night, let me know about your schedules as soon as possible and I'll try to accommodate as many people as I can in scheduling the next meeting. --Olivia

And Cindy, thank you very much for continuing to host
and update the web site.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, March 5, at 7:00 p.m., at Sabor, 3221 Pico Blvd. It's on the north side of the street, a block or two west of Centinela, near the freeway. It is a wonderful small restaurant (with one round table). The food is kind of Caribbean, Latin American, American. --Olivia

January 2002 Meeting
Sorry for the delay in getting out this email about what happened at our January meeting.
It seems that no one has yet finished Correlli's Mandolin, so we decided to discuss it at the February meeting. From now on, if we have a longer book, we will allow ourselves two months to read it, but the consensus was that we would still meet once a month for food, camaraderie and preliminary discussions about the book. The next meeting is on Tuesday, February 5. I will let you know the location. (Any ideas?)
We will next meet on Tuesday, January 8, 2002. I will be hosting and will let you know closer to the date as to where we will meet.
We were undecided on a new book. The choice was between Katherine Graham's book, A Personal Story, and Corelli's Mandolin. It turns out that Graham's book is nearly 700 pages, so I think we should go with Corelli's Mandolin, by Louis De Bernieres. --Olivia

December, 2001 Meeting
Last night we had a delicious Indian dinner at the Clay Pit. Thanks Patty, for arranging dinner.
As far as The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, there were only two persons, new member Joan (Patty's sister), and Sharon, who read the whole thing! Well, Patty did come close to finishing the book. Anyway, the book did not generate a lot of discussion.
If anybody who did not attend last night actually finished the book, I would love to hear what you have to say. --Olivia

November, 2001 Meeting
We had a lively discussion about For Kings and Planets. Most everyone enjoyed the writing style of the author, and the imagery used by him throughout the book. Some of use felt like we were always waiting for something really disastrous to happen, which didn't. Someone pointed out that no one in the book broached the fact that Marshall (and his dad) were mentally ill. We talked about whether people change, or whether they just ultimately reveal themselves. Orno appeared to change, or maybe he simply and finally accessed his true self.
I hope you can all make it to the next meeting. --Olivia

October, 2001 Meeting
It was interesting hearing the different points of view concerning House of Sand and Fog. Sandy brought along a list of questions from ReadingGroupGuides.com and that was very helpful. The book certainly aroused strong opinions and feelings. Thanks for hosting, Sandy!
Also, please feel free to send your reviews of the book through the web site.

The book we selected for the next meeting is For Kings and Planets, by Ethan Canin. You can link to Amazon
and order the book from there.
The next meeting is on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at a Westside location, to be determined by Karen and me. We will let you know. --Olivia

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August, 2001 Meeting
Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. 
It was great discussing Girl with a Pearl Earring.. We tried to resolve the issue of whether Vermeer loved Griet as perhaps demonstrated by his gift of the pearl earrings to her, or if he just liked controlling her (making her pierce the second ear for no good reason), or whether he just respected her artistic eye. We wondered whether Griet loved the man she married. And what was up with Maria Thins? Anyway, all in all, most of the group enjoyed the book. Everyone should check out the web site www.pearlearring.com.  You can view all of the paintings described in the book. Of more interest is the link to "camera obscura" located on the page about the artist himself and the controversy surrounding his method of painting!

We selected House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III for our next book.
If you buy the book through this book club we site, the book club will get 5% of the price. We can use the money for a treat down the road (wine or dessert would be good).
One of our new members, Sandy, has graciously agreed to find a restaurant for our next meeting. The majority voted to have the meeting on the second Tuesday of September, which is the 11th, because the 4th is the first day of school for many of our kids. --Olivia

* * * Due to the tragedy of September 11th, our new meeting date: Tuesday, October 2nd at Sisley Restaurant at 7 PM (corner of Sepulveda and Ventura, Sherman Oaks) to discuss House of Sand and Fog.
American Red Cross
International Association of Fire Fighters
Send checks payable to
"The New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund" to:
New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund
PO Box 65858
Washington D.C. 20035-5858
OR CHOOSE YOUR OWN CHARITY - www.helping.org

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July, 2001 Meeting
Thank you to Trudi for opening her beautiful home to us last night and serving us a delicious dinner.  The consensus on Back When We Were Grownups was that it was not as good as other Anne Tyler books; maybe her message is getting repetitive; and it was hard for some of us to get into the book.  
--Olivia

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June, 2001 Meeting
We had very different opinions about Bridget Jones's Diary. Some of us could not tolerate Bridget's incompetence.  Some of us thought that the portrayal of her life was funny and/or painfully accurate.  --Olivia

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May, 2001 Meeting
Our first book, The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant, provoked a lot of discussion at our book club meeting. Our meeting was held at the Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills. Some of us loved the book, some of us felt blasé about it, and some were offended by parts of it. It was very interesting to hear everyone's views. Please feel free to read our review of this book. --Olivia