Hello, reader…
It’s so hard to believe that summer is almost over! But I must admit – I’m looking forward to fall. It will be so lovely to curl up with a good book and a pumpkin flavored treat, won’t it?
Anyhoo, here’s the roundup from our August gathering. There are definitely some gems here!
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
This is the first of the trilogy that FireWoman mentioned during our July gathering. It starts in Chile in the 1830s and ends in California in the 1850s. The story is of the 1849 Gold Rush to California and the influx of people from all over the world to the area. It is the first mention of the families written about in Allende’s The House of the Spirits.
FireWoman very much enjoyed this series…and noticed that her sleeping dreams have been more prominent and more vivid while reading Allende. Isn’t that neat?
Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War by Stephen F. Cohen
Along the same vein of her July reads, Sierra picked up this 2009 book that has her hovering around the question of…why did the Soviet Union collapse?
The Soviet Century: Archaeology of a Lost World by Karl Schlogel
Sierra also found this ENORMOUS TOME of a book (822 pages not counting the index!) that is like an archaeology encyclopedia. It has chapters on how housing was built in the Soviet Union or the mausoleum, etc. She’s been treating it as something to dip into rather than something to read straight through.
The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Rush
Sierra stumbled upon this book that she hasn’t read but looks intriguing. Here are some related articles with information on the book by the author.
We Reached the Glacier Just as it Collapsed: The world’s widest glacier is melting–and changing predictions about our planet’s future. By Elizabeth Rush, in The Atlantic (paywall).
What Antartica’s Melting Glaciers Taught Me About Becoming a Mother by Elizabeth Rush.
Inseperable by Simone de Beauvoir
Zoe picked up this book at an antique store for $3, though it was published in 2021. It’s a novel inspired by the author’s real life friendship with Zaza Lacoin. It follows two young girls as they explore life in post WWI France and how their friendship shapes their philosophies on life. Zoe thought that it was beautifully written and especially enjoyed the real life letters at the end between de Beauvoir and Lacoin.
Our next gathering is September 10th at 1pm. See you then – bring a friend!
The Reading Room 