Our club: We are Good Books, Good Friends Book Club from Wheaton. We are in our 13th year of existence and have read more than 138 books. We are deliberate in reading across all genres.
Our meetings: We rotate every month with the hostess choosing the book and serving a menu that complements the book.
We liked: “Playing With the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home” by Gary W. Moore; “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd; “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Daniel James Brown; “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free” by Héctor Tobar; and “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel” by Lisa See.
We didn’t like: “Thirty Girls” by Susan Minot. We felt that the author focused on the journalist’s immaturity, detracting from the seriousness of the situation.
What makes us unique: We have an annual weekend in Galena. We also have field trips relating to the books. We toured the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie; the Jackie Kennedy exhibit at the Field Museum; Frank Lloyd Wright’s estate, Taliesin; and Printers Row.
Author we would like to meet: Sue Monk Kidd to ask her how she was able to depict abolitionist Sarah Grimké and the horrific treatment of slaves in “The Invention of Wings.”
Up next: “Brooklyn” by Colm Toibin.
Responses are edited. Tell us about your reading life at printersrow@tribpub.com.
