We had nearly our full complement of regulars on the Zoom version of Book Lovers SIG for August, plus one talented new participant.
Barbara and Peggy joined us again from last month. Coleen and David have figured out the Zoom link, but Cynthia had some technical difficulties, so could only view us from a distance.
Thanks to the wonders of Zoom, Nathan Wilhoit was able to participate in his first Book Lovers SIG, appearing all the way from Blue Springs (Blue Hill? Blue Ridge? Blue Moon? Blue Suede Shoes? Anyway, one of those.).
Nathan is a high school band director of some renown, plays the piano and trombone (I think he said trombone), and plays in several bands. He’s that good. He is also the father of six children, which keeps him and his wife busy with homeschooling.
On to books…
Hmm. It seems as if I didn’t keep very good notes.
Peggy got quite a bit more reading done this time around. She is ever so close to absolutely, positively 100% retiring, and was REALLY looking forward to some extensive travel. The pandemic has kind of thrown a wrench into all of that, so she is going to start focusing on books that relate to travel. Splendid idea!
It was great seeing Coleen and David again. They looked in good health and were in good spirits. David has been reading some classic science fiction, but I’ll be darned if I can remember what Coleen’s been reading.
Barbara is still in Virginia and managed to get a few books read. (I really need to take notes next time.)
Nathan reads about 70 books a year; he had a pretty lengthy list of books he has read and is reading to talk about. He keeps 5–6 books going at any one time; tries to keep one in each room in the house so he always has something to reach for. Lately he has been focusing on creativity. Twyla Tharp has written a book on the subject, which he found inspirational. He also recommends The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt, and The First Four Notes: Beethoven’s Fifth and the Human Imagination by Matthew Guerrieri. I’m adding both to my to-read list.
I read Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, the third and final book in his Mars trilogy. Red Mars and Green Mars were pretty good reads. Blue Mars, on the other hand, was a 786-page slog. Avoid this title. It made me not want to read for over a week. A title I can recommend is The Silent Patient, the debut novel by British author Alex Michaelides. Suspense, mystery, a bit of Alfred Hitchcock. A “wow” ending.
That’s it for this month. If you would like to join us in our literary chat fest, please email me so I can add you to the invite list for the September (Zoom) Book Lovers SIG. ~Brad Lucht
