What Else but French Brunch

Our appetites were sated with a delicious French brunch. A toast with mimosas set the mood, followed by a decadent croque monsieur accompanied by a lovely quiche Lorraine taking center stage. These were rounded out with a fruit salad and tasty string beans. Carol, as always, wrapped up the meal with a delicious chocolate angelfood cake. We never suffer!

Our books were Haunting Paris, a first novel by Mamta Chaudry. This book took on the challenge of intertwining WWII history with the present by introducing Julien as a ghost, perhaps gently guiding Sylvie, his young lover, to uncover secrets from the occupation. Descriptions of Paris were enchanting. Two readers were a bit on the fence while the others all really enjoyed the book. With votes ranging from 2-4, we settled on a 3.

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Having gotten her a PhD at Berkeley brought a bit of local interest to the story. Hope was raised by Norwegian parents in Minnesota and by the sounds of it had some challenges in these relationships. But, then, it seems Hope had many challenges over her lifetime. Stemming from her bi-polar disorder or the carefree intellect of a scientist, it is hard to know what set this woman in motion. One thing that was clear was her care and devotion to her adopted lab partner, Bill, who is still running her lab today, decades later. Her life story was interwoven with descriptive chapters about plants or soil, clearly showing her scientific chops. Much to the chagrin of Carol, this book rated a 4.

The next meeting is slated for Saturday, April 25th at Hilarie’s. Books are:

Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell.

The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes