On Saturday, fourteen members of my book club got together to discuss The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I'll admit I was skeptical about this one as I don't usually enjoy memoirs of the "horrible childhood" variety. But I was surprised to find that it's an excellent book! And I'm not alone in my opinion; there wasn't a single gal who didn't enjoy reading it.Our discussion touched on homelessness, poverty, mental illness, family love, overcoming your past, and much more. It sounds depressing when you list it all out like that, but it really wasn't! Walls is able to present her childhood in an unflinching yet not depressing way. Despite everything she goes through the book is not sad and neither was our discussion.
In keeping with the holiday season we decided to do a "Thanksgiving Leftovers" themed meal. Rather than cooking a turkey we just used sliced turkey from the deli (sort of like what you'd have left over the day after), and the gals each brought a side dish or dessert that they enjoy at Thanksgiving. It was an easy meal and gave us all lots of ideas for our own holiday dinners!
Our next meeting is our annual Christmas party and includes our ever-popular book exchange. Does your club have any holiday traditions?
---Heather Johnson
