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October recap:

Jan, Debbie, Susan, Jackie, Jeanne, Kathy K and Mary T met at Infinity Beverages on Mall Drive on October 17 to discuss The Secret Wisdom of the Earth. Susan had recommended the book and started the discussion with the observation that this was a first-time author who wrote the book over a 15-year span (while maintaining his full-time career as a venture capitalist) and lived in England for much of that time.We talked about how those factors affected his world view and whether it impacted the continuity of the book. Consensus was that the book held together very well and that it was a well-researched and -written debut novel with colorful characters, some of whom were more relatable than others. We identified with the relationship between Kevin and Pops and the friendship between Kevin and Buzzy. It was harder to identify with the 'hillbilly' characters and discussed whether their depiction, as well as that of Paul, the gay hairdresser, was overly stereotyped. After hearing several group members' experiences with people in that part of the country, we decided that oftentimes stereotypes are well-grounded in reality! We pondered the meaning of the title of the book and the chapter headings, and agreed that the "Tramp" (the mountain trek, ambush and rescue) dragged on too long and was literally quite unbelievable.

Commentary on Infinity Beverages: Probably not the best meeting place for our group - they offer about a half-dozen wines and distilled spirits, but not many non-alcoholic options (3 types of canned soda). Acoustics and tables also weren't terribly conducive to conversation. But their martini menu looked good!

We will meet November 21 at Deb's (formerly Camille's) to discuss Dietland by Sarai Walker.