We Don't Bake Muffins Book Club

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Charles William Eliot

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Found Far and Wide

By Kevin Major
A novel of remarkable historical breadth, Found Far and Wide follows Sam Kennedy through the tragedy of the Great Newfoundland Sealing Disaster of 1914, the horrors of The First World War, and the dangers of rum-running in Prohibition-era New York. And as Sam journeys through the turbulent first half of the twentieth century, carrying the ghosts of those he’s lost, he clings to his love for a woman he’s only ever seen in a photograph. Here, one of Newfoundland’s most celebrated authors offers a story of the irresistible historical forces that define our lives and the compelling private power that beckons us home.    ~ synopsis from Google Books


What Happened at Book Club …

Ya win some, ya lose some… book club wormies that is. Found Far and Wide got mixed reviews tonight.

Ya Lose Some
About half our group felt the story was contrived – perhaps the author started with a list of historic events he wanted to include and then made Sam fit into it: Newfoundland Seal Hunt Disaster, WWI, working high steel in NYC, prohibition, Colonial Building riot. One of our group thought it might be written for teens due to the simplified historical accounts.

Ya Win Some
The other half of our group really enjoyed the book and the narrative that wound its way through these historical events and brought them to life.

There were some strong and varying reactions to the books characters:

  • Sam: Envious or Loyal – did he want to live Johnny’s life?
  • Emma: B#$%h 0r Independent – would her reaction to Sam have been different had he not waited 16 years to get in touch?
  • Sam’s Sister – poor old soul all way around
  • Johnny – ahh, good old Johnny, deserved a better end than ‘look..BOOM!’
  • Edwin Marham – What the..? Why??

Lots of other, kind of, related stuff to talk about too – churches that supply wives to widows (anyone have info on how you get on that?), virtues of The Inn of Olde, massage mood music with murdered birds, cupping – pain or pleasure?, a toothpick is the tool of choice if your ereader is on the blink – unless you can find someone who knows how to take it apart and has their own set of itty bitty screwdrivers and a fat rabbit (fat rabbit not used in the repair). Oh and Maude the movie, go see it!

Thanks to our host for a wonderful night and for the wine and munchies. Egg rolls were mmmmmm… To our missing member feeling under the weather, get better soon. Searching google now ‘treatment for the plague‘

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Living in beautiful St. John's NL, our book club members are as diverse and interesting as our book selections. Read More

Our Book Club Reading List

We’ve read a little bit of everything over the years. Whether you’re a book club looking for some ideas about what to read or just want a good book to curl up in bed with this reading list should help!

  • 110. Women Talking | Miriam Toews | Cathy’s Pick
  • 109. Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens | Alison’s Pick
  • 108. Everything I Never Told You | Celeste NG | Toddy’s Pick
  • 107. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe | Fannie Flagg | Peggy’s Pick
  • 106. The Innocents | Michael Crummey | Kelly’s Picks
  • 105. The Alice Network | Kate Quinn | Kathy’s Pick
  • 104. Green Grass Running Water | Thomas King | Liz’s Pick
  • 103. Girl, Stop Apologizing | Rachel Hollis | Kelly’s Pick
  • 102. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine | Gail Honeyman | Alison’s Pick
  • 101. The Next Thing On My List | Jill Smolinski | Toddy’s Pick
  • 100. River Thieves | Michael Crummey | Peggy’s Pick
  • 99. Before We Were Yours | Lisa Wingate | Kathy’s Pick
  • 98. Most Anything You Please | Trudy Morgan Cole | Cathy’s Pick
  • 97. Into the Water | Paula Hawkins | Toddy’s Pick
  • 96. Difficult Women | Grove Atlantic | Pam’s Pick
  • 95. Neuromancer | William Gibson | Andrea’s Pick
  • 94. Something Is Always On Fire | Measha Brueggergosman | Liz’s Pick
  • 93. Rock Paper Sex | Kerri Cull | Peggy’s Pick
  • 92. We’ll All Be Burnt In Our Beds Some Night | Joel Thomas Hynes | Kathy’s Pick
  • 91. Cutting for Stone | Abraham Verghese | Cathy’s Pick
  • 90. Bear Town | Fredrik Backman | Kelly’s Pick
  • 89. Caught | Lisa Moore | Alison’s Pick
  • 88. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened | Jenny Lawson | Andrea’s Pick
  • 87. Found Far and Wide | Kevin Major | Toddy’s Pick
  • 86. The Sparrow | Author Mary Doria Russell | Pam’s Pick
  • 85. Tomboy Survival Guide | Author Ivan Coyote | Liz’s Pick
  • 84. Rush Oh! | Author Shirley Barrett | Kathy’s Pick
  • 83. The Invention of Wings | Author Sue Monk Kidd | Toddy’s Pick
  • 82. No Longer Human | Author Osamu Dazai | Kelly’s Pick
  • 81. The Nest | Author Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney | Peggy’s Pick
  • 80. I’m Thinking of Ending Things | Author Iain Reid | Alison’s Pick

See Our Complete List

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