Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis (Piccolo)

This is the second book about the financial system we have read by Michael Lewis.  He's a breezy writer who helps make our byzantine financial system understandable, although once understood we feel the need to take a long, hot shower.  Some of us thought the vivid stories about investment bankers acting like arrogant frat boys seemed a bit exaggerated, while others said, hey, that's probably the way it is. The restaurant, Piccolo, struck us as a fine place with good service but offered small portions at a high price.

Our next book is Lynne Olson's Citizens of London.  We also considered her other books: A Question of Honor and Troublesome Young Men.  Her writing focuses on the WWII era.  We also considered Nora Titone, My Thoughts Be Bloody.  The next meeting is scheduled for January 25.  Roger will bring suggestions for the next book.

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis (Cafe Lurcat)

We picked a pretty fancy place for dinner, and the food and service at Cafe Lurcat did not disappoint.  But it came at a high price and that turned a couple of us off.  Nevertheless, if you can ignore the bottom line, this is a great restaurant.  Our discussion roamed around the usual topics, including politics and the state of the world, focusing especially on the prospects and desirability of state support for a Vikings stadium, the desirability of expanding gambling, and the unfolding story of the Legacy Amendment's dedicated sales tax money for the environment, arts, and culture.  We agreed to disagree about everything, but we mostly agreed that Lewis' novel about a populist dictator's take-over of the US was not very realistic and not his best work. But we all said it was a pretty good read and a good reminder of what could happen anywhere without adequate citizen vigilance.

The next book is Michael Lewis, Liar's Poker.  Other titles considered included The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner.  We plan to meet next time on Monday, December 5, and Jim has the honor of suggesting the next book.

Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro (Gandhi Mahal)

We gathered at Gandhi Mahal, an Indian restaurant that got mixed reviews.  But the food was filling and a good value.  Our conversation touched on the local criminal justice scene, travel, and of course politics. The book, a  short story collection by Alice Munro, yielded a pretty good discussion, although like the stories themselves, it jumped around and did not focus on a single theme.  We did talk about what, if anything, tied the stories together and decided that not much did, except that most of the stories were depressing or focused on odd people or events.  At Max's suggestion, we decided to read Sinclair Lewis next time (It Can't Happen Here). Other titles suggested were Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, and James McBride's The Color of Water.  We'll meet on October 26, and Don will bring ideas for the following month.

Ruins by Achy Obejas (Loring Kitchen)

We had an animated conversation about the state government shutdown, national debt stalemate, and general political turmoil that grips our land. Needless to say, we were not in total agreement!  We were at Loring Kitchen and Bar, a place kind of hard to find and navigate to.  The waitress, who overheard much of our discussion, said that in her experience we were only the second group to actually talk about serious things in her six-month tenure at the restaurant.  We took that as a compliment, but again bemoaned the sorry state of our national discussion.

When we got to the book, Ruins, a story of a Cuban supporter of the Castro revolution whose life sours, some of the talk again turned political, especially revolving around the notion that American liberals might kind of like Castro.  Three in our group have been to Cuba, liked many things about the people and the place, but--flash!--disavowed supporting dictatorship.

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 13, and the book will be Alice Munroe's Too Much Happiness.  Other titles considered were Robertson Davies' What's Bred in the Bones, and Harry Bernstein's The Invisible Wall.  Max is up next time.

Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century Philosophers by Carl Becker (Duplex)

We had a lively discussion about state politics and the specific topic of teacher pay before getting to the book, which was generally well received.  Elegantly written, the book is something of a classic in historical analysis that is still a touchstone among scholars, arguing that 18th century thinkers--especially the folks that spawned the American Revolution, like Thomas Jefferson--owe more to their medieval predecessors than they themselves thought.  The restaurant, with a tilt toward Italian cuisine, also got high ratings.  The next book is Ruins, a noir novel of Cuba by Achy Obejas.  Other books considered included two by David Foster Wallace, Break It Down by Lydia Davis, and Summertime by J. M. Coetzee.  Next meeting: July 11.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Cafe Levain)

We met at Cafe Levain and dined on fish and steak frites.  Although we spent much of our time talking about politics and foreign policy, the book (Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken) got its fair share of attention, and it received mostly a positive reaction from everybody.  Some thought it went into too much detail in a few areas and that it tended to exaggerate or sensationalize some parts of the story, but most of us were amazed at the story of raw survival against the odds and enjoyed reading the book.  Next time we'll read Carl Becker's Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century Philosophers.  The meeting is planned for May 31.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne (Salut)

Everybody seemed to learn something new from this month's book, Empire of the Summer Moon, which tells the  tale of the destruction of the Comanche nation by the westward push of white settlers in the mid-to-late 1800s.  Focusing particularly on the experiences of a white captive woman and her "half-breed" son, who became one of the last prominent Comanche chiefs, the story chronicles the prolonged but inevitable replacement of the hunter-gatherer indians by the farmer/rancher whites.  It also details the brutality (on both sides) that accompanied the take over of the southern Great Plains and hints at the future politics and culture of this part of the country.

As usual, other topics arose such as our members travel to places like Paris/London, SE Asia, Ecuador, and, yes, Texas.

Our next book is Laura Hillenbrand's, Unbroken; and the planned meeting is April 27.  Other books suggested were two novels: Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists and Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist.  Paul suggests the next book.

Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck (Blackbird)

The group met at Blackbird restaurant in Minneapolis and discussed John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, which I gathered the group thought had not weathered well.   I wasn't there. The next book will be Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (St. Paul Grill)

The most repeated comment about the book was "I'm glad we read this book."  Even though the style and format of the novel are old fashioned and the presentation is anything but subtle, Uncle Tom's Cabin still carries a punch, and it's easy to see why it had such a big impact on the mid-19th century--even beyond America.  We agreed that Tom himself has gotten somewhat of a bad rap in more recent times.  To be an "Uncle Tom" has come to imply aiding and abetting an evil institution, but Stowe actually depicts him as a simple but saintly man of great loyalty and principle who would not participate in evil doing.  We were also a little surprised at the centrality of Christianity in the novel.  Stowe uses the power of faith and message of Christianity to undermine slavery, and you don't have to be a believer to see how well this works.  All in all, a pretty great book that everybody knows about but relatively few read today.

As usual, the Grill was expensive, but top notch.