Book Club
What Are They Reading?
BY ELAINE ROOKER JACK •
PHOTOS BY JOON KIM
Who they are: Gail Bardenwerper, Farryll
Brown, Joann Clemons, Melissa Draut,
Daugherty Murphy, Sue Musson, Debbie
Oser, Marsha Priddy, Sue Smith, Jan
Voigt
First meeting: January 2003
How they got together: Gail, Daugherty,
Sue Musson, and Sue Smith all attended
the same New Year’s Eve Party in 2002
and resolved to start a book group. Each
person invited a friend or two. Members can bring a guest if they want to discuss a
particular book or try out the group. New
members are welcome.Their “rules”: The hostess provides one salty and one sweet snack
as well as wine and beverages. No homemade refreshments allowed! Everyone brings
suggestions for the next month’s book, and the group decides, or “mass chaos ensues.” It’s
a no-guilt group. “You have not sinned if you haven’t read the book,” says Melissa.
Their choices and some of their comments: Sue Musson read Marley and Me: Life and Love
with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan, a book about a Labrador retriever. “This book
was about unconditional love. It was funny; I laughed a lot and cried at the end. It was an
enjoyable read.”
Joann read Spence and Lila by Kentucky author Bobbie Ann Mason. “It’s a love story about
the two or three weeks during which Lila is diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. I
appreciated the simple way these people lived and what’s important to them. I’m a nurse, so
it was interesting to me to see what’s going through their heads. The book has a strong
sense of place, typical of Mason.”
Sue Smith read Manhunt by Janet Evanovich. “I’m the one who doesn’t finish any book, but I
finished this one in two days. It’s about a young woman in her 30s who decides she needs a
man so she trades her condo in New York for a cabin in Alaska where she meets a nice
young blonde guy from the mountain next door. It was pretty shallow, but fun for two days.”
Gail read Signals: An Inspiring Story of Life After Life by Joel Rothschild. Rothschild and
friend Albert promise that whichever one of them dies first will send a signal to the one left.
Very soon after Albert commits suicide, he does contact Rothschild. Gail appreciated the
focus on the “purposefulness of every event in your life” and the “potential of
connectedness with the universe and life beyond.” Rothschild is the longest-living AIDS
survivor in the world, which he attributes to sheer optimism, hope, and faith.
Completely by coincidence, two members read Wendell Berry’s Hannah Coulter. Melissa
reports first, saying, “I want you all to meet this character.” Melissa describes herself as “not
a lingering reader,” but she became attached to the character, marking pages with sticky
notes throughout. “It’s about a woman’s life, about her family, and her husband, but it’s also
a love story with the land.” She reads aloud one of the passages she marked:
“The room of love is another world. You go there wearing no watch, watching no clock. It is
the world without end, so small that two people can hold it in their arms, and yet it is bigger
than worlds on worlds, for it contains the longing of all things to be together, and to be at
rest together. You come together to the day’s end, weary and sore, troubled and afraid.
You take it all into your arms, it goes away, and there you are where giving and taking are
the same, and you live a little while entirely in a gift. The words have all been said, all
permissions given, and you are free in the place that is the two of you together. What could
be more heavenly than to have desire and satisfaction in the same room?”
– From Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
Marsha, the other Hannah Coulter reader, adds that she chose the book because she had
heard so much about the author. She explains that Berry has written over 40 books and is a
strong defender of the family farm. She admits that the parts that appealed most to Melissa
were “at times too wordy for me. But I’m glad I read it.”
Jan’s book, High Heels and Homicide by Kasey Michaels, is about a woman who writes a
novel and then the characters come to life. She didn’t read past the second chapter
because of an eye injury.What they are reading this month: Ordinarily they all read the
same book and discuss it. But once a year they agree on a topic and everyone chooses
and reads a different book. For tonight’s meeting the theme is “love stories.”
They are seated around Marsha Priddy’s huge dining room table, and one by one each
introduces her book, tells why she picked it, what it was about, and what she thought of it.
Their first book club book: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Books they’ve loved: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant; Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini;
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand; Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle
Allende; Clay’s Quilt by Silas House; Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden; The Clearing
by Tim Gautreaux; and, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair
that Changed America by Erik Larson.
Books they’ve hated: Birds Without Wings by Louis Des Bernieres, Time Traveler’s Wife by
Audrey Niffenegger, and Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.
Books that inspired good or heated discussion: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by
Mitch Albom, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, and
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
What they say about their group: Marsha explains that she and others have college-age
children and after years of only reading in the summer, they are now “becoming readers
again.”
Sue Musson says she didn’t appreciate Five People That You Meet in Heaven at all until the
group discussed it.
Melissa says, “I have enjoyed their company and books have brought us together.”Book-
related tradition: In December they all buy and bring a favorite children’s book to donate to
Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project, which records the voices of incarcerated mothers reading
for their children.
Elaine Jack at elainej@iamtodayswoman.com is a regular feature writer for Today’s Woman
magazine.
What Are They Reading?
BY ELAINE ROOKER JACK •
PHOTOS BY JOON KIM
Who they are: Gail Bardenwerper, Farryll
Brown, Joann Clemons, Melissa Draut,
Daugherty Murphy, Sue Musson, Debbie
Oser, Marsha Priddy, Sue Smith, Jan
Voigt
First meeting: January 2003
How they got together: Gail, Daugherty,
Sue Musson, and Sue Smith all attended
the same New Year’s Eve Party in 2002
and resolved to start a book group. Each
person invited a friend or two. Members can bring a guest if they want to discuss a
particular book or try out the group. New
members are welcome.Their “rules”: The hostess provides one salty and one sweet snack
as well as wine and beverages. No homemade refreshments allowed! Everyone brings
suggestions for the next month’s book, and the group decides, or “mass chaos ensues.” It’s
a no-guilt group. “You have not sinned if you haven’t read the book,” says Melissa.
Their choices and some of their comments: Sue Musson read Marley and Me: Life and Love
with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan, a book about a Labrador retriever. “This book
was about unconditional love. It was funny; I laughed a lot and cried at the end. It was an
enjoyable read.”
Joann read Spence and Lila by Kentucky author Bobbie Ann Mason. “It’s a love story about
the two or three weeks during which Lila is diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. I
appreciated the simple way these people lived and what’s important to them. I’m a nurse, so
it was interesting to me to see what’s going through their heads. The book has a strong
sense of place, typical of Mason.”
Sue Smith read Manhunt by Janet Evanovich. “I’m the one who doesn’t finish any book, but I
finished this one in two days. It’s about a young woman in her 30s who decides she needs a
man so she trades her condo in New York for a cabin in Alaska where she meets a nice
young blonde guy from the mountain next door. It was pretty shallow, but fun for two days.”
Gail read Signals: An Inspiring Story of Life After Life by Joel Rothschild. Rothschild and
friend Albert promise that whichever one of them dies first will send a signal to the one left.
Very soon after Albert commits suicide, he does contact Rothschild. Gail appreciated the
focus on the “purposefulness of every event in your life” and the “potential of
connectedness with the universe and life beyond.” Rothschild is the longest-living AIDS
survivor in the world, which he attributes to sheer optimism, hope, and faith.
Completely by coincidence, two members read Wendell Berry’s Hannah Coulter. Melissa
reports first, saying, “I want you all to meet this character.” Melissa describes herself as “not
a lingering reader,” but she became attached to the character, marking pages with sticky
notes throughout. “It’s about a woman’s life, about her family, and her husband, but it’s also
a love story with the land.” She reads aloud one of the passages she marked:
“The room of love is another world. You go there wearing no watch, watching no clock. It is
the world without end, so small that two people can hold it in their arms, and yet it is bigger
than worlds on worlds, for it contains the longing of all things to be together, and to be at
rest together. You come together to the day’s end, weary and sore, troubled and afraid.
You take it all into your arms, it goes away, and there you are where giving and taking are
the same, and you live a little while entirely in a gift. The words have all been said, all
permissions given, and you are free in the place that is the two of you together. What could
be more heavenly than to have desire and satisfaction in the same room?”
– From Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
Marsha, the other Hannah Coulter reader, adds that she chose the book because she had
heard so much about the author. She explains that Berry has written over 40 books and is a
strong defender of the family farm. She admits that the parts that appealed most to Melissa
were “at times too wordy for me. But I’m glad I read it.”
Jan’s book, High Heels and Homicide by Kasey Michaels, is about a woman who writes a
novel and then the characters come to life. She didn’t read past the second chapter
because of an eye injury.What they are reading this month: Ordinarily they all read the
same book and discuss it. But once a year they agree on a topic and everyone chooses
and reads a different book. For tonight’s meeting the theme is “love stories.”
They are seated around Marsha Priddy’s huge dining room table, and one by one each
introduces her book, tells why she picked it, what it was about, and what she thought of it.
Their first book club book: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Books they’ve loved: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant; Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini;
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand; Daughter of Fortune by Isabelle
Allende; Clay’s Quilt by Silas House; Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden; The Clearing
by Tim Gautreaux; and, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair
that Changed America by Erik Larson.
Books they’ve hated: Birds Without Wings by Louis Des Bernieres, Time Traveler’s Wife by
Audrey Niffenegger, and Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.
Books that inspired good or heated discussion: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by
Mitch Albom, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, and
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
What they say about their group: Marsha explains that she and others have college-age
children and after years of only reading in the summer, they are now “becoming readers
again.”
Sue Musson says she didn’t appreciate Five People That You Meet in Heaven at all until the
group discussed it.
Melissa says, “I have enjoyed their company and books have brought us together.”Book-
related tradition: In December they all buy and bring a favorite children’s book to donate to
Aunt Mary’s Storybook Project, which records the voices of incarcerated mothers reading
for their children.
Elaine Jack at elainej@iamtodayswoman.com is a regular feature writer for Today’s Woman
magazine.