The Berry Pickers

Author: Amanda Peters

Who Picked the Book: Stephanie

One-sentence summary: A 4-year old child is kidnapped from the fields where her family is picking berries and the story of her life and her family of origin's lives is told alternately until she discovers the truth.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: We loved how the story was told from two perspectives.

Our least favorite thing about it: The subject matter was hard.

Main Topics of Discussion: Loss, Trauma, Coping Mechanisms, Secrecy, Fear, Belonging, Redemption

Our favorite quote: “I found it strange that no word exists for a parent who loses a child. If children lose their parents, they are orphans. If a husband loses his wife, he’s a widower. But there’s no word for a parent who loses a child. I’ve come to believe that the event is just too big, too monstrous, too overwhelming for words. No word could ever describe the feeling, so we leave it unsaid.”

Notes: We all really loved this story and how it was told. Alternating between the two perspectives was great - we loved that we got to follow both sides of the story. We also liked how the ramifications for each character was laid out and how they dealt with those ramifications. We thought it was absolutely nuts that the father and aunt/sister just decided to go along with the kidnapping. We also lamented how the indifference of the police made getting away with it possible. We discussed how trauma was inadvertently passed down to subsequent generations because it wasn't dealt with. We loved that the story had some redemption at the end and at least a partial reunion of the family. But what an interesting exploration of a tragic event and it's effects on two families. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was sort of a send-off meeting for Stephanie, although we'll see her some more pretty soon! We went out to eat at Mexican Sugar and then back to Rachel's house for discussion, lake house planning, and swimming (hot tub). 

What We Ate: Chips and Salsa, Queso, Cocktails, Enchiladas, Strip Steak, brownie sundaes. 

The Frozen River

Author: Ariel Lawhon

Who Picked the Book: Amberly

One-sentence summary: A midwife pushes against the injustices of her small town while helping women with her medical skills and friendship.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: The story was captivating and compelling.

Our least favorite thing about it: There was a lot of injustice and misogyny - A LOT - that was cumulatively hard to read. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Pregnancy/Birth, Misogyny, Rape/Murder, Marriage, Early America, Justice

Our favorite quote: “Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality."

Notes: We found this book very easy to read. The story moved fairly quickly and was engaging. Those that listened said the narrator was excellent. And the main character, Martha, was also a good narrator as the events were seen through her eyes. There was a lot of injustice and mistreatment - especially of women - that made the book hard to read at times. There was just so much. If it was hard to read, we imagine it was even harder to live - because all of that injustice and misogyny was very much real at that time. And some of it still is. We loved most of the characters and felt that they were well-rounded. We thought that the cold weather and frozen river served as metaphors for the town itself - being stuck in place for a time while the murder was sorted, and Rebecca's trial was pending, etc. At the end of the book, as some of the events were resolved, the river thawed and spring was close. Overall we liked this book very much and would recommend it. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: Amberly took us to a new Indian restaurant. Our meeting was uncharacteristically on a Tuesday night. And Dara accidentally read the wrong book, but did read a good one - The Women by Kristin Hannah. 

What We Ate: Indian Food! We had vegetable samosas, a mango lassi, Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Chicken Vindaloo, Vegetable Aloo Gobi, and garlic naan. For dessert, Amberly had Watermelon sparkling wine, Butterscotch bars (her grandmother's recipe), and lemon bars (Pioneer Woman's recipe). 

The Covenant of Water

Author: Abraham Verghese

Who Picked the Book: Rachel

One-sentence summary: A rural Indian family has an inexplicable curse that sends ripples throughout generations as tragedy shapes their family and futures. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: It was a good story that held our attention.

Our least favorite thing about it: Possibly a little too long. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Leprosy, Tragedy, Caste, Culture, Death

Our favorite quote: "The water she first stepped into minutes ago is long gone and yet it is here, past and present and future inexorably coupled, like time made incarnate. This is the covenant of water: that they're all linked inescapably by their acts of commission and omission, and no one stands alone."

Notes: We universally liked this book. Our two gripes about it were that it was too long and those listening had a hard time keeping track of the myriad of characters, making things confusing. We did love the writing style - the dry humor and the beautiful, lyrical prose. We thought the fact that the "curse" had a medical explanation was interesting and realistic. We loved the stories and the characters - except for Philipose. None of us liked his character! Some of us felt that all the death and tragedy was a bit much - especially toward the end. Others of us felt that the death of Philipose was one step too far. But we all liked how the story came full circle. We liked Digby and wondered why it took so long to return to his story. Despite massive amounts of time in the book devoted to Digby and his first affair and Elsie and her marriage to Philipose, we did buy into the two of them together in the end. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We watched a short interview that Amberly found of the Author, which was really interesting. 

What We Ate: Jalapeno Pimento dip with pita crackers, Curried Chicken Salad on Croissants, Warm Dijon Potato Salad, Crudite, and Pecan Pie Brownies a la mode. 

The Book of Delights: Essays

Author: Ross Gay

Who Picked the Book: Lindsay

One-sentence summary: A collection of essays written daily with the purpose of finding and elaborating on delights found in everyday life.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: It's fun and interesting to read about where others find daily delight.

Our least favorite thing about it: The writing style could be meandering at times. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Bathroom breaks (!), Daily Practices, Food, Gratitude vs Delight

Our favorite quote: "Our delight grows as we share it."

Notes: We all enjoyed this book. We identified with finding delight in every day. Especially as a purposeful practice. It was interesting to see delight from another person's perspective. The essays were mostly short, but the sentences sometimes wandered around before getting to the point. This book of essays was probably best enjoyed as an audiobook. We also appreciated how this habit could change your outlook on life in a positive way. Most of the delights were not huge, deep insights. Most were light hearted, ordinary delights, which we loved. There were some insights, but not too deep. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was Lindsay's meeting and she took us to Houlihan's for a St. Patrick's themed dinner. We had dinner and dessert there and then spent the rest of our meeting time at CARE church in the atrium. 

What We Ate: Scallops, Salmon, Chicken, Pot Roast, creme brûlée, flourless chocolate cake, and salted caramel gooey butter cake

The Thursday Murder Club

Author: Richard Osman

Who Picked the Book: Dara

One-sentence summary: A group of eager friends in a retirement home come together weekly to solve murders, not expecting both the murder and the murderer to be so close to home. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: The characters and the story were delightful.

Our least favorite thing about it: Some parts were unrealistic and stretched belief. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Friendship, loyalty, love, humor, death and old age

Our favorite quote: "After a certain age, you can pretty much do whatever takes your fancy. No one tells you off, except for your doctors and your children."

Notes: We all really liked this book. The characters were so well-written and we liked getting to slowly understand their backgrounds and motivations. The group as a whole was a good collection of different personalities and was fun to read about. The humor and wit injected into the dialogue made for a great reading experience. We also loved that we didn't figure out the main mystery until it was revealed - that's always a plus when reading a mystery novel. It was interesting how the author used his own voice through Joyce's journal to fill us in on things. Most of us said we'd like to finish the series. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: We celebrated Amberly's birthday.

What We Ate: Josh made Pasta Bolognese for us along with Caprese with prosciutto and caesar salad. Dara made a chocolate bread pudding with salted caramel sauce for dessert along with raspberry sorbet sparkling cocktails! All of it was such a treat! 

The Wishing Game

Author: Meg Shaffer

Who Picked the Book: Christina

One-sentence summary: A young teacher's aide joins a reclusive author's game of riddles to win enough money to adopt a young boy. 

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: The story was unique and we liked the riddles.

Our least favorite thing about it: To those that listened to the audiobook - the main character came across very dramatic (annoyingly so). Those that read the book didn't feel that way. 

Main Topics of Discussion: Anxiety, Adoption, Childhood Trauma, Competition, Riddles

Our favorite quote: "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Notes: We liked this unique story, the imagery and the setting. This almost felt like a children's book, but in a good way. It was whimsical and imaginative and unrealistic at times. Some of us said it had a bit of a Wonka vibe - quirky and the competition aspect. Finding out the missing pieces to the characters' backstories was interesting, if a little too drawn out at times. This was a fun, interesting read with a nice, happy ending that we all enjoyed. 

Memorable Meeting Moments: It started snowing during our meeting and with the temps well below freezing already, we were concerned we'd have to cut our meeting short. But the majority of the precipitation happened overnight and we all woke up the next day to a dusting of snow. Stephanie also came straight from out of town to the meeting!

What We Ate: Christina hosted us and made a delicious tortelloni soup along with a salad, charcuterie board, garlic bread, and brownies for dessert. 

*Stephanie was there too, but is not pictured. Sorry, Stephanie!

Bright Lights, Big Christmas

Author: Mary Kay Andrews

Who Picked the Book: Stephanie

One-sentence summary: A brother and sister take up residence in their dilapidated camper on a street corner in New York City to sell their family farm's Christmas trees, relying on the kindness of the nearby residents to get them through the month.  

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: A very fun, quick and charming read.

Our least favorite thing about it: Some of it was very unrealistic.

Main Topics of Discussion: Romance, villains, cleanliness, characters, family dynamics

Our favorite quote: "Now get out of your own way. If you have a dream to make art for a living, do that. With all the passion and energy you possess. Everything else will follow."

Notes: We all really enjoyed reading this cute and fun story set during Christmas time. We discovered that we like reading "Christmas" novels during Christmas time. It's fun! And overall, this story was great. If we want to get picky, we could say that the romance was very rushed (like, more than normal - they never even had a real date, yet were professing love at the end), the "bad" guys were kind of underdeveloped, the makeout sessions took place when Kerry hadn't showered in days (ewww), and there was a shocking lack of bathroom facilities for the middle of the night (and all other times). However, the characters that were developed were interesting. And the story that unfolded about Heinz was interesting and sweet. In fact, the romance storyline may not have been needed at all - it really didn't even take center stage, which is why it seemed rushed and lacking. Is this the greatest book ever written? No. Did we enjoy it and would we recommend it? Yes and yes.  

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was our Christmas meeting so we did ALL the things. Stephanie took us to Wildwood at Firewheel for dinner. Then we went back to her house for gifts, the Jeopardy game, book discussion, dessert charcuterie/fondue, and painting Santa and Rudolph masks. 

What We Ate: Stephanie took us to Wildwood at Firewheel for dinner  - most of us had the Pecan Crusted Chicken and we all shared an order of the mac and cheese. We had some amazing appetizers that we shared as well: meatballs, smoked cauliflower florets, and Dragon Dip (cheese dip). We had an amazing dessert charcuterie/fondue board for dessert at Stephanie's house with festive cocktails.