11 minute read
The Best Book Club Ever
HER CLUBS
+ books
THE BEST Book Club BY CAROLYN CORBETT EVER
BY CAROLYN CORBETT
The Best Book Club Ever? Really? Yup! In 2017, when two women from the Nisswa area wanted to start a book club, they decided each would invite a friend to Stonehouse for coffee and see what happened. What happened was the Best Book Club Ever, a group of pickleball-playing, community-volunteering, retired women who love to read. The cast of characters include: Ann Beaver, Arla Johnson, Betsy Egan, Catherine McGoldrick, Claire Faust, Donn Beaubien, Joey Halvorson, Maureen Farnsworth and Susan Mezzenga. The Best Book Club Ever (BBCE) is a diverse group of individuals. Book selections feature a rich mix of authors, subject matter and genres. Everyone is dedicated to reading the books. Members can express conflicting opinions and allow that disagreement to be there. “This book club,” said Betsy, “consists of very intelligent ladies who are extremely well read. We are from all kinds of backgrounds. No one is afraid to give their honest opinion about a book or author and we don’t feel intimidated.”
Susan agreed. “We are a full-disclosure group. The women contribute. They’re thoughtful. They come prepared for the discussion.” “I like the people,” Donn said. “I like their personalities, the diversity and the harmony. No one is judged.”
Ilike their personalities, the diversity and the harmony. No one is judged. - Donn Beaubien
Arla has enjoyed developing fresh connections with these interesting women. Claire found that reading, especially these past two COVID years, has become very important to her. Having this personal contact with this club and these women now helps a lot. Donn brought a system to BBCE whereby books are rated 1 to 5. Five is awesome; one is not. At the beginning of the meeting, each member tells briefly how they rate the book and why. After the group discussion, each rates the book again. People may not change their rating, but they all have new insights and a different perspective after the discussion. Members are introduced to books they likely wouldn’t otherwise read. Arla finds everyone is willing to try whatever, even if they’ve heard questionable reviews. Their February selection, “The Book of Longings” by Sue Monk Kidd, sparked an unusually wide range of discussion. Joey couldn’t swallow the idea Jesus married a woman and rated the book a two. Ann often ranks books she reads outside the book club as three and a half. Since pluses and minuses aren’t used in BBCE, she often ranks books a three. She tells the group, “I’m open to moving up. Convince me.” Her husband notices the difference between BBCE and Ann’s Minneapolis book club. The Minneapolis group is composed of former foreign language teaching colleagues — people with fairly similar life experiences. He is impressed with the diversity of characters, life experiences and opinions of the BBCE members. Members make every effort to attend. When off camping, Catherine tries to link up online. Some campgrounds have internet connections, but she has also gone to local libraries. “I love visiting small town libraries and big ones too,” she said. “As a result, we have visited many Carnegie libraries.” Maureen, who moved to Hawaii several years ago, loves when the group meets via Zoom. However, when COVID recedes and in-person gatherings resume, she obviously can’t participate. She’s tried talking to people in Hawaii about starting a book club. The women ask, “You actually talk about books?” That’s not the case with this book group. “These women are avid readers and active book club members,” said Joey. “Counting the Best Book Club Ever, the women participate in 21 book clubs.” There are “millions” of traditional turn-thepages books in Joey’s book room at home, but she especially loves audiobooks. She listens while painting her house, shoveling snow, raking the yard and in the car. Susan also listens to lots of audiobooks. Audible is sometimes the tipping point for her in rating the books, since readers now are very talented. Their performance can create an even greater sense of intimacy with the story. Catherine got an early start on book clubs. During the 50s and 60s, her mother was in Great Books. When the kids were in 4th-6th grades, their mom subscribed to a club that mailed each of them a book every other month. Catherine remembers how cool it was to get a book in the mail just for her. As a child, Ann would ride her bike a mile through South Minneapolis to the bookmobile. Later, between getting her
Locally Owned - Quality Service
218 829-5430
Commercial • Residential
“Serving the lakes area for over 60 years”
• Custom
Shower Doors • Thermopane-
Insulated Units • Patio-Door Replacements • Window And
Screen Repair • Aluminum
Storefronts &
Doors • Custom Table-
Desk Top Glass
Mon-Thur: 7:30am -5:00pm Fri: 7:30am-4:00pm • Sat-Sun: Closed 302 5TH AVE NE STE 4 BRAINERD, MN 56401 218-829-5430
218-829-0383 (FAX) www.brainerdglass.net
218.568.5095 www.pequotvet.com Specializing in Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Holistic Medicine including Acupuncture
bachelor’s, her master’s and teaching French, there was little time for personal reading. Then, during a yearly teacher evaluation, Ann was asked to set a personal goal as well as professional goals. She chose reading for pleasure. In Louisiana, where Donn grew up, the library was only open to Black people for certain hours — typically Saturday mornings. Therefore, the books that were truly available for her to read came from the library at the Catholic school she attended. In high school, Claire read “Karen”, a nonfiction book about a child with Cerebral Palsy. A physical therapist in the book developed a treatment which at that time was very innovative. Claire went on to become a physical therapist herself. Though Betsy was labeled in school with reading comprehension difficulties, it didn’t stop her from getting a master’s degree in nursing or coming to love books. Her interest in reading picked up about 15 years ago. “Since I retired six years ago, I can’t get enough to read,” she said. As a beginning reader, Maureen’s earliest books were the Beatrix Potter books about Frog & Toad and Peter Rabbit. Later, Maureen enjoyed reading books in English class and writing papers on them. She liked delving into their deeper meaning and symbolism. And that is what she and the others continue to do through the Best Book Club Ever.
Favorite Books
It was challenging for the BBCE women to choose a favorite from among the 59 books read since the club’s first selection, “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande,” Susan said. “Picking a favorite book seems almost sacrilegious. So many rate high on my list.” Ann agreed. “We have read so many great books that choosing just one was next to impossible for me.” Here are the choices they made. ANN BEAVER
“This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger
“I learned much about life in the Upper Midwest during the Great Depression and the many positive ways people found to adapt, survive and help each other. Krueger’s research shows!”
ARLA JOHNSON
“West With Giraffes” by Lynda Rutledge
A young boy who lost all his family to the dust bowl conditions jumps a train to New York where two giraffes transported from Africa are being readied to head to the San Diego zoo. “Heartwarming and educational. Rutledge’s characters are so well developed and believable that I actually became young Odie O’Bannion, the main character and narrator of the story.” BETSY EGAN
“Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah
Because of the dust bowl during the Depression in the Midwest, families had to decide between giving up their land to move west or staying put. “I like books that get into my soul and “Four Winds” haunts me.” CATHERINE MCGOLDRICK
“Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann
This narrative nonfiction book addresses a 1920s chapter in American history when powerful and bigoted whites murdered dozens of Osage Indians for access to their valuable shares of oil money. CLAIRE FAUST
“The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World” by Douglas Abrams
Interviews with the Dali Lama and Desmond Tutu. “I read this book before the beginning of the pandemic and return to the question it tried to answer many times during this dark time: ‘How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering?’” DONN BEAUBIEN
“The Nightingale” by Kristen Hannah
Isabelle finds a clever way to outsmart the Germans in wartorn France during WWII. “The power and commitment of a young girl or mature young woman to make a difference resonates with me. I enjoy books that manifest the strength and resilience of the female character.” JOEY HALVORSON
“The Great Alone” by Kristin Hannah
A former POW comes home from Vietnam a different man who decides to move his family to Alaska to live off the grid. “Kristen Hannah’s books grab me. She makes me feel that I am her characters.” MAUREEN FARNSWORTH
“Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
Kya is left to raise herself in the marshes of North Carolina when her family abandons her at a young age. “The words and characters came alive and seeped into my heart and soul. When the book ended, I remember closing the cover and thinking it was a really good book, as if I had just finished a wonderful meal.” SUSAN MEZZENGA
“Becoming” by Michelle Obama
“I always love a story of a resilient woman. I am unabashedly in love with Michelle, her class, her leadership, her beauty – well, just everything about her. Listening to her tell her own story in this memoir was beyond satisfying.”
CLAIRE FAUST
ANN BEAVER
CATHERINE MCGOLDRICK
JOEY HALVORSON
BETSY EGAN
ARLA JOHNSON
Carolyn Corbett, wrote her first magazine stories during the five years she spent sailing the Bahamas. Back ashore, she continued freelancing and has over 250 articles published in various regional and national magazines. Carolyn was the professional English and writing tutor at CLC for 3 1/2 years. She loves cats, laughter, lattes and playing with words.
MAUREEN FARNSWORTH
DONN BEAUBIEN
SUSAN MEZZENGA
Assisted Living with Memory Care
locally owned & operated in downtown Pequot Lakes 4451 East Woodman St, Pequot Lakes 218-568-5605, www.SeniorClassCommunity.com
