God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Zoom)

As a mystery story, this book was a change of pace for us.  Two young members of the same family disappear from a summer camp in different years, and the storyline focuses on what happened to them.  We all followed along happily but some of us thought the book dragged a bit and ended unsatisfactorily.  Our next book is Run by Ann Patchett. Other titled considered were Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun and The Remains of the Day, as well as Strout's Tell Me Everything and Bacon's Gales of November. We plan to meet April 14 at Cafe Biaggio, and Dick will pick the next book list.

Persuasion by Jane Austen (Zoom call)

Since this is the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, we decided to read her last major work, Persuasion. It is a domestic tale of a young woman whose family and friends talk her out of marrying an attractive naval captain, only to reunite with him many years later and eventually marry him after all.  Some of us thought the novel focused on trivial issues and was difficult to keep track of all the characters. Our next book is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore and we'll gather online on March 5. Ron will have the job of suggesting the next book.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (Minn. Valley CC)

Our book, Man's Search for Meaning, is a classic from the 50's but it has much relevance for today.  The first half is a Holocaust memoir; the second is an analysis of how people can find meaning in their lives.  As a psycologist, Frankl draws on his near-death experience to enlighten his discussion.  Our second visit to the country club for lunch was perfect. Our next book is Jane Austen's Persuasion.  We also considered Brooks' Horse and Erdrich's The Sentence, both of which most of us have already read.  Our nest meeting will be via Google Meet at 4pm, January 30, and Peter will suggest the next book.