July 17. 2017

It has been a busy month with several of us either just back from vacation and others still gadding about so we didn't have our full compliment but as close to it as we could expect midsummer.

We gathered at Carolyn's home each bringing something lucious to eat and stories happy and sad to share. Again we talked for hours, landing lightly on last month's book, Rules of Civility. We toasted our two new septuagenarians, as is our summer tradition and found comfort and support in each other's company.

Our next meeting will be at Trey's home, August 2nd at 3:00. Brings suits as you desire!

May 17, 2017

It's always fun to get together and especially so when all of us are able to be there. That was the case this month as we gathered at Carolyn's home on a lovely afternoon in May. We started our meeting outside, enjoying the blue skies and many flowers in her garden, moving indoors as the evening progressed.

Since it had been a while since we'd all been together, it was quite a lengthy meeting - almost 6 hours! - before shared news and our book discussion had been completed. Our book this month, The Shanghai Diary, told us of an unknown facet of history that left us all surprised and a bit uncomfortable. We were, to a one, all pleased to have read it.

Our book for our next meeting will be Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. See you at the beach!

April 19, 2017

Darn! Unfortunately missing this gathering, I'm unable to share. I can say that next month's book will be Shanghai Diary by Ursula Bacon.
Until then...

March 15, 2017

As we gathered in Cathy's kitchen, excitement spilled over when Chris shared the good news that she is going to become a grandmother this Fall!

 

We had all enjoyed our month's book, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, the history and scarcely contained joy we found in reading it. Our next month's book is The Shack by William Paul Young.

February 15, 2017

This year's historically significant wet and windy winter did its job and kept our out-of-town members safely at home this month as we Petalumans gathered to talk about this month's unusual book and feast together.

Our missing members were dearly missed, but there always seems to be more than enough to share. Our book My Grandmother Said To Tell You She's Sorry was indeed discussion worthy.

Laughing as she mentioned it, Cathy, next month's hostess, suggested next month's book, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, saying it had an even longer title than this month's selection. I think it might be the contest winner!
 

January 18, 2017

We started the new year off in rare form - braving floods to find our way to Donna's house. Barbara mentioned she might be canoeing over to join us! Happily that wasn't necessary, but there certainly was impressive storming.
Conversation was buzzing all night, sometimes even about our book, How To Be A Woman.
Join us next month at Bev's home. Our book will be My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman.

The YaYa's Ever More Impressive Reading List as of 12/16

Our Extensive Book List

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons
Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.
Patty Jean's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul by Jack Canfield, et al
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
All True Travels and Adventures of Liddia Newton by Jane Smiley
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Women of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
Traveling Mercies by Annie Lamontt
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K Rowlings
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul by Jack Canfield, et al
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher, Ph.D.
Redemption Song by Bertice Berry
The Wedding by Dorothy West
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
Drowning Rita by Christina Schwarz
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
The Devil's Dream by Lee Smith
Earth Abides by George Stewart
The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories by Sarah Orne Jewett
Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Liar's Club by Mary Karr
Daughter of Fortune by Isabella Allende
Christmas on Jane Street by Billy Romp, Wanda Urbanska
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan
The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Picher
The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Case Histories: A Novel by Kate Atkinson
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
High Tide in Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring
My Life in France by Julia Child
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
The Wild Trees by Richard Preston
A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Plain Truth by Jodi Piccault
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
The Book Borrower by Alice Mattison
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama
It Ain't All About the Cookin' by Paula Deen
What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Julie And Julia by Julie Powell
Olive Kitterridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
Jarrettsville by Cornelia Nixon
Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
The Vision of Emma Blau by Ursula Hegi
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
See You Everywhere by Julia Glass
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Raising Jake by Charlie Carillo
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Prayers For Sale by Sandra Dallas
20 Years Younger by Bob Greene
Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Holes by Louis Sachar
La Cucina by Lily Prior
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Straight White Male by Gerald W. Haslam
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing up Small in Moorland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Time Traveler's Wife by Aubrey Niffenegger
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Giovanni's Light by Phyllis Theroux
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Sleep Toward Heaven by Amanda Eyre Ward
Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert
California Uncovered: Stories For The 21st Century by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Editor), et al
How To Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight : An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller  
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Faithful Place by Tana French
Major Pedigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
Sarah's Key by Titiana de Rosnay
Unbroken by Laura Hillenband
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
How High the Moon by Sandra Kring
The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Caribou Island by David Vann
In An Instant by Lee and Bob Woodward
Straight Man by Richard Russo
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Bossypants by Tina Fey
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
The Light Between Oceans by M.L.Steadman
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Persia Cafe by Melany Neilson
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Redfield Farm by Judith Coopey
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
Night Gardening by E.L. Swann
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato
Go With The Flo by Judith Dechesere-Boyle
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown 
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout 
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
Life after life by Kate Atkinson
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George 
Lottery by Patricia Wood
Radical Remission by Kelly Turner
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman 
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson 
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Shanghai Diary by Ursula Bacon 
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles 
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
The Secret Wife by Gill Paul
Our current book is The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood

December 14, 2016

What a glorious evening! We met first at Carolyn's home to enjoy drinks and light hors d'oeuvres and, after catching up on a busy month, we then did our annual ornament exchange as Barbara read "T'was the Night Before Christmas."

We then moved on to Volpi's restaurant and after finishing our dinner, retired to their little bar to sing Christmas carols accompanied by John Volpi and his accordian. What a great evening!

Our next month's book is How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran.

November 16, 2016

Another month and another supportive gathering, this month in Carol's home. This month's book, Lottery, was discussed repeatedly throughout the evening.

Since next month is our holiday dinner we chose not to assign a book to read, though a book was chosen for January, Radical Remission by Kelly Turner.

October 19, 2016

Sharing the excitement and pictures from her son's wedding, Chris welcomed us into her home for our October gathering.

 

We talked about our thoroughly enjoyable book, The Little Paris Bookstore. It had brought back memories of Lucienne's fabulous trip following the same canal as in the book some years ago. She brought her photo album and shared fond memories with us.

Our book for next month is Lottery by Patricia Wood.

Sept 21, 2016

Outlander was the theme of our meeting this month, with music, food and talk all around this book and the world it creates. At least in the mind of this month's host, Bev...

Okay, it wasn't the only topic of conversation as we had a recent daughter's wedding photos to enjoy, the upcoming wedding of another member's son to discuss and several upcoming trips out of state to consider, but we did service to our hours of reading as well. We laughed in glee at the plans to carry dinnerware AND a frozen turkey to a beloved daughter in carry-on luggage, showing the unlimited love and joy of this extraordinary group of ladies.

 Table talk

Next month's book is The Little Paris Bookstore by Nina George.

August 8, 2016

The luxury of a warm summer afternoon, plentiful food and drink and cherished friends made our hours (and hours) of conversation on Trey's deck a special treat we all enjoyed. Add to that the discussion of an unusual book, Life after Life, and it was simple perfection.

To fashion a radical change, our next book is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Lots of time to read before we meet at Bev's house.