An East Bay Book Club Production: The extraordinary tale of good reads and great food!

Our small band of avid readers settled in Saturday night for lively conversation and delectable food. A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power captivated most of us with its tale of kidnapping and intrigue. We agreed that the history surrounding the story was enlightening, as was Kathy’s perspective of having lived in South Korea. Was the book based on a true story? The consensus was that there was evidence to support the book’s claims. One of our higher rated reads, A Kim Jong-Il garnered four stars and a couple of us have recommended it to others.

The second book was more controversial amongst the group. Descent tells the tale of a young girl who is kidnapped while vacationing with her family in the Rockies and the havoc that results. Despite some issues with the “hero’s” chance meeting with the kidnapper and the victim cutting off her own foot, Lonnie was captivated by the book and couldn’t wait to get back to it. Nancy had concerns that it lacked any perspective from the female victim or her mother, while others felt that story was probably a different book than the author intended. All in all, we felt it was still an entertaining read and gave it three stars.

As for the food…yum! Kathy started off the night deliciously with cheeses, crackers, fig jam and smoked salmon. Our main course included Nancy’s tender pot roast, noodles and green salad with purple carrots; Helene’s tasty spinach and feta quiche; Lonnie’s Asian-style veggies; and a surprise from Hilarie – some wonderful cheese bread. We completed the night with Carol’s Boston cream pie cheesecake, which folks seemed to enjoy enough to take some leftovers!

Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 4 and will be hosted by Helene. Our books are: The Door by Magda Szabo and Two Steps Forward: A Novel by Graeme Simsion.