On May 27th, 2014, we  met at the lovely urban aerie of the Master Chef Sylvia, where we were pleasantly surprised by a dinner of cous cous and Salmon.  The salmon was light and flaky, thoroughly moist and deliciously flavored with a wine and butter sauce that perfectly complemented the fish.

Discussion of "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" focused on what John R termed "high school prose" and the rest of us agreed that the writing was not particularly good, but it was a good story. Since I was the only person to have watched the movie with Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson, I assured everyone that while the book had Ted Lawson's face disfigured, Van Johnson's portrayal had none of that nonsense to contend with -- while he lost his leg, his face remained perfect throughout.

We learned that the Chinese were  unexpectedly helpful to the American soldiers, even though this aid imperiled them greatly. The Chinese really went above and beyond to help the Americans fight their common enemy, the Japanese Imperialists.

Next up will be "the Invention of Clouds:How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies" by Richard Hamblyn. The discussion of this book will take place at Drew's Heights mansion (grand, elaborate dwelling), now scheduled for Tuesday the fifteenth of July 2014.

January 21 2014 meeting was canceled due to predicted inclement weather  and hazardous driving conditions.

We have rescheduled for February 11, 2014 at the lovely urban home of Jessica D.
We will discuss "Fate is the Hunter" by Ernest Gann.

On Tuesday November 17, 2013, we met at the West U home of John R and feasted on Chicken Cordon Bleu, asparagus, potato, tomato basil soup, and the moistest cake I’ve ever had other than tres leches.

Louis chose the book we discussed, “West with the Night”by Beryl Markham

All of us like the book in general. Linda and a couple of others noticed a difference in the writing style in the first part of the book compared to the second half. They thought that the style was more florid in the first half. Other thought were that the book wasn’t really much of a book about her flying as it was about her passion for Africa and horses. Drew observed that the flying was just her device to write about herself. Louis felt that what she is always going to be remembered for her being a pioneering woman in the world of aviation, because that’s where she earned a place in the history books for being the first woman to fly east to west over the Atlantic.

One thing that bothers me about the book was the inclusion of a picture of her in advanced age. I think that was a foolish thing, as I want to remember her in her prime, during the period covered by the book. The picture is simply so irrelevant and a sorry excuse for a photo!  Googling reveals far better photos than this amateurish snapshot.

Next up in our topic "The Sky"  is “Fate is the Hunter” by Ernest K Gann, whose classic memoir is an up-close and thrilling account of the treacherous early days of commercial aviation. In his inimitable style, Gann brings you right into the cockpit, recounting both the triumphs and terrors of pilots who flew when flying was anything but routine.

 Amazon observes “Ernest K. Gann’s classic memoir is an up-close and thrilling account of the treacherous early days of commercial aviation. In his inimitable style, Gann brings you right into the cockpit, recounting both the triumphs and terrors of pilots who flew when flying was anything but routine.”

Click here for the Amazon link describing "Fate is the Hunter"

Ernest Gann was a prolific writer. Some of his work include “Masada”, The Antagonists”, “Song of the Sirens”, “The High and the Mighty”, Flying Circus”, “Soldier of Fortune”, and too many more to mention in this short space.

Happy Reading, everyone! If you’re not in a reading group form or join one!

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!

www.HoustonBookClub.com

Check us out on Facebook

We met at my (Louis Hemmi’s) Westchase home on the 19^th of November, 2013 to discuss Drew’s selection “Waterloo” by Karen Olsson.  Regrettably, Barbara B was not able to attend due to business obligations.

I finally figured out how to serve hot food without stressing out over the tiny kitchen that I have. For appetizers I had 50 fresh boiled shrimp and sharp cheddar cheese and crackers. I had the dinner catered by Jenny’s Chinese on Walnut Bend (713/783-9440) who delivered the food at 7:30 Pm. Shrimp in lobster sauce and Cashew Chicken, chicken fried rice, boneless and traditional pork ribs, spicy chicken wings,  crab puffs, eggrolls, etc. with wine and Voss Norwegian water, all combined to make sure each member was satisfied.

In our discussion of Waterloo, I think it’s fair to say it was no one’s favorite selection. Drew sagely observed that it was a faithful representation of an Austin that no longer exists, but more as it was in the seventies. Drew said that when you talk about Austin, that people often respond with a longing for how it was in whatever decade that they became familiar with the capital city, whether it was the sixties, seventies, eighties, etc.

I did not get a sense that any of the characters were deserving of remembering or being sympathetic with. I personally thought that the story would have been much better if it had had a clear plot, rather than just a jumble of people and their own small stories, but that’s just me.

At the end of the evening, we each drew a name of a member for whom to buy a gift for our next meeting, to be held at John R's house on December 17^th. I passed out the new book, “Gone with the Night” by Beryl Markham. I’m pretty excited about this first selection on the topic of “The Sky.” 

Beryl Markham was born to a British family that emigrated  to British East Africa (Kenya). Her family owned and operated a large farm and bred race horses. Fame came to her for being not only a pioneer aviator - but especially  first woman to cross the Atlantic, from East to West. Her love of horses and of Africa are two  defining characteristics of Beryl Markham.

I hope everyone enjoys it!

=-Louis-=

                               Click here for: Amazon's information about "West with the Night"

When we met at Drew's to discuss Gail Collins' book As Goes Texas we were pleasantly surprised that the evening's fare included grilled rib eye steaks! Drew adds such a rich culinary dimension to our meetings.

We did feel that As Goes Texas was a bit condescending, and the comments about how ugly Houston is were not really warranted. Very little of the book related anything positive about Texas, and our abysmal educational system, poverty rate, and the fact that we are dead last in the nation in providing medical care don't really give us any bragging rights.

We do however have good highways in general, which is about the best thing we can be proud of. Texas is a great place to live as long as you aren't poor, undereducated, or sick. Saudi princes fly here for treatment at the medical center, but a few blocks away, rheumy old black men sleep on sidewalks.

Drew selected the new book, Waterloo by Karen Olsson. Part of the Amazon.com blurb about it - "Bittersweet and biting, elegiac and sharply observed, Waterloo is a portrait of a generation in search of itself--and a love letter to the slackers, rockers, hustlers, hacks, and hangers-on who populate Austin, Texas--from a formidable new intelligence in American fiction."

We will meet at the home of the webmaster on 19 November, 2013, though I don't think I'll be having rib eyes - probably go for Chinese since Sally Jo's Barbecue is now a T-Mobile store. Since I have to work that day, we'll not be cooking my world-famous Arroz Con Pollo.

Our NEW TOPIC is "the Sky." I will select and distribute the traditional book to John R and Sylvia S, while the rest of the crew will download their digital editions.

Thanks for looking
Louis Hemmi
www.HoustonBookClub.com
www.Hemmi.us
www.SacredCodes.com

When we met at Linda's to discuss Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson (1900 Hurricane in Galveston), we were sad that John R who is from Galveston and expert on events historical was unable to provide his incite and phenomenal breadth of knowledge.

However, we enjoyed discussing many of the details of the book, and of course with food from "India's" how could one go wrong.

We all agreed that the writer was successful in keeping us engaged, and that is was an outrage that the weather service prohibited any warnings to Galveston, for purely political reasons.

Linda selected the new book, "The Last Picture Show" as our current selection a coming of age story in a small town called Thalia by Larry McMurtry. This book is the first of a trilogy about life in Thalia.

In Greek mythology, Thalia (Θαλία / Thalía, "Abundance") was one of the three Graces or Charites with her sisters Aglaea and Euphrosyne. They were the daughters of Zeus and either the Oceanid Eurynome or Eunomia, goddess of good order and lawful conduct. Thalia was the goddess of festivity and rich banquets. The Greek word thalia is an adjective applied to banquets, meaning rich, plentiful, luxuriant and abundant.^[1]

Amazon's "The Last Picture Show" listing

My apologies for not being good about maintaining this blog, but I get so much more input from the Facebook page that I've neglected it. However, I do realize that a lot of folks don't like to use Facebook, so this one's for you!

-=Louis Hemmi=-

January / February meetings

What can I say? The meeting at 'Down House"  Down House - in the Houston Heights on Yale St was just super! Our host for this month's meeting sprang for sever hungry readers in our very own party room.

In addition to the great variety of food, the wine, ambiance, and camaraderie were  definitely at all-time highs. We discussed "Every Patient Tells a Story" by Lisa Sanders, MD Learn More on Amazon  and the consensus was that it was a competent and enjoyable selection.

I loved the author's many anecdotes, and enjoyed her writing, though I think she got a little carried away by the topic of Lyme Disease.

This is the first meeting at which I've enjoyed shrimp and grits, tomato bisque, and bread pudding with a caramel topping.

I know we all had a great time, and will long remember it. I had intended to bring my camera, but forgot it and did not get away from work in time to go home and retrieve it. Great is the pity!


Next up on the 28th of February at Maison Louis, will be The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat . It deals with people with what may be termed "bizarre" behaviors that arise from neurological and other disorders. He deals with these fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations in this book, and I for one look forward to reading it.

Thanks, Drew for a wonderful January meeting, and for the January / February selection!

December/January Meetings

On January 24, we'll meet to discuss a selection on our active topic of "Medicine." "Every Patient Tells a Story:Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis" by Lisa Sanders was selected by Sylvia and we'll meet at Drew's.

A riveting exploration of the most difficult and important part of what doctors do, by Yale School of Medicine physician Dr. Lisa Sanders, author of the monthly New York Times Magazine column "Diagnosis," the inspiration for the hit Fox TV series House, M.D.


Every Patient Tells a Story on Amazon.com



At our December meeting we discussed "Complications:A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science" by Atul Gawande, published in 2003. Linda selected this book, and we met at Sylvia's.

Atul writes as a surgical resident, and shares his experiences including some of his more interesting cases.

In gripping accounts of true cases, surgeon Atul Gawande explores the power and the limits of medicine, offering an unflinching view from the scalpel’s edge. Complications lays bare a science not in its idealized form but as it actually is—uncertain, perplexing, and profoundly human.

Complications is a 2002 National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction.

October discussion/November's Upcoming Meeting

We met at Barbara's tastefully-renovated home to discuss the previous selection on the topic of medicine, "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach. MARY ROACH is the author of "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers," "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife," "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex," and "Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void." She lives in Oakland, California.

The discussion was lively, and the Mexican food fresh and flavorful (from that authentic eatery "El Tiempo")! The consensus was that the book was a good selection, and an enjoyable read overall. One criticism was that sometimes the author's humor was a little flat. However, her writing brought the subject of dead bodies to life.

Next month, we'll discuss Barbara's selection "Mash: A Novel of Three Army Doctors" written by Richard Hooker. This will be Monday, November 5, 2012. We've never met on a Monday, but Tuesday is the election, and different members couldn't make it on Wednesday or Thursday.

Before the movie, this is the novel that gave life to Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John, Hot Lips Houlihan, Frank Burns, Radar O'Reilly, and the rest of the gang that made the 4077th MASH like no other place in Korea or on earth.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I've never seen an episode of MASH, but I did see the movie. I might get hooked on it after reading this on my new Kindle Paperwhite.

Click here for Amazon's MASH listing

Until next month, Louis Hemmi www.Hemmi.US  www.HoustonBookClub.com


Louis at HoustonBookClub.com    (written this way to lessen visibility to Spammers!)

9/6/2012 we discuss "The Dress Lodger" by Sheri Holman

Thursday, September 6, 2012, we'll meet at Jessica's to discuss the "The Dress Lodger" by Sheri Holman. This is the second choice on the topic of "medicine."

On Wednesday, 8/1/12 we'll meet to discuss this first selection in the topic "Medicine." The book is "Breakthrough!: How the 10 Greatest Discoveries in Medicine Saved Millions and Changed Our View of the World" by Jon Queijo (pronounced "kee-zho") selected by Louis Latimer Hemmi meet where: John's

Bilinguals see the world in a different way, study suggests

Bilinguals see the world in a different way, study suggests

The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy

We will meet on June 21 at Louis's house in Westchase to discuss David E Hoffman's book "The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy "

We held May's meeting in the new house in the Heights that Drew just bought. It's a very old neighborhood that has undergone gentrification. The house deserves a post all its own :) 

 

Dinner was a good offering of standard Texas barbecue.

 

Our discussion of "The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them" was not particularly spirited because the book is not controversial, and we generally enjoyed the writing. The book is more a travel log than anything else, and it did give us some minimal exposure to Russian authors and a little about their literature.

This was most definitely a good selection, Sylvia.

The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them

We will meet on May 10, 2012 at Drew's bungalow in the Heights to discuss The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, and is another selection in our series of books  on the topic of "Russia."

We held April's meeting at Sylvia's home in the clouds, in the fashionable Kirby district. The Norwegian beauty demonstrated the superlative graciousness that comes so naturally to her. Dinner was resplendent with a salmon that could easily feed about ten people or so. I found the creamy salmon sauce with its subtle hint of citrus flavoring especially inspired.

We all liked Lawrence Scott Sheets book "8 Pieces of Empire" which chronicles the twenty years following the breakup of the Soviet Union. I think most of us found his writing to be very good, and his courage in the conduct of his job was praiseworthy. This was most definitely a great selection. John R. opined that it was one of the best selections that we've ever had. 

Spasibo, y'all!

April 3 meeting to be at Sylvia's - Discuss 8 Pieces of Empire by Sheets

February's meeting at Linda's swankyienda was especially good with premium victuals of the Indian variety. Shelby the Fierce was subdued, since she was recovering from a surgical procedure.

We discussed Ivan Turgenev's "Spring Torrents" and Jessica and I found that we both had downloaded our copies from Project Gutenberg. The book was well liked by most, so once again, there wasn't a lot of controversy. We discussed possible future topics including "psychology, medicine, self help (motivational, the Middle East, Islam), but we did not take a vote on any topic, so we'll probably spend some time at the next meeting discussing this. 

Drew is still in Colorado, but says he'll be here for the next meeting which will be at Sylvia's new highrise digs in a fashionable district.

This month's book is by Lawrence Scott Sheets, and is called "8 Pieces of Empire." We're still on the topic of "Russia" and this book deals with the 20 years that have elapsed since the collapse of the USSR, presided over by Mikhail Gorbachev.

I'm atingle with anticipation!

Click the link below
We now have a Facebook Group - Join Now!

Lots more of our history, pictures and books on

Our WEB Page - all books we've read since 1991

Feb 23,2012 - Discuss "Spring Torrents" by Ivan Turgenev

January's meeting at the lovely home of Barbara B featured catering by El Tiempo, and was enjoyed by all (especially Louis). She's getting ready to remodel, so we had to meet a bit early.

We discussed "Tent Life in Siberia" by George Kennan. We all liked the book, so the discussion was fairly brief. It's when there is controversy and disagreement that we  have longer spirited discussions.

We briefly discussed the Facebook page, and I recommended we open it up to whoever wants to join. Right now, it's a closed group. I think the Facebook page might let people find reading groups, or get people connected with others who like the same kinds of reading they do.

The new book is pretty short, and looks like an easy read. The story is about a young Russian man of 22 who falls in love with a girl who lives in Frankfurt. He falls for her in an extreme way, and even moves to be near her.

The author, Ivan Turgenev, was born in Russia in 1818. Barbara chose this book.

January 2012 Meeting - at Barbara's (remodeling permitting)

Tent Life in Siberia - Amazon.com's description. The selection for December/January is 'Tent Life in Siberia" by George Kennan with Larry McMurtry.

Our discussion of December 20, 2011 at the lady Jessica's house was a fun Christmas-season meeting, with all in attendance. We ate a superb Chicken Breast Parmesan, accompanied by steamed Asparagus, squash, and a divine bread fit for Brennan's.We discussed the book we'd just read -- "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The consensus was that this is a great book, and a good selection for the book club.

The gift exchange was great too, with a genuine  Orrefors crystal gift (Orrefors crystal is sold in Tiffany and Co. stores). I receive a free admission to see the King Tut exhibit. I've seen the Egyptian treasures in the British Museum, but  there are many pieces on tour that haven't been in the British museum.

Only 700 pages left in "Jonathan and Mr Norrell" by Susanna Clarke, then to start the book club selection which is only about 400 pages.
Cheers until next Month!  Louis ( -=Louis Hemmi=- )

Next December 21, 2011 we discuss One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Our second selection on the topic of Russia is Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

Our meeting on November 30 at John's was congenial, and the book Snowdrops met generally with favor, but it's not any blockbuster, either.

We look forward to Drew coming back in the very near future, and have welcomed the Norwegian digeratus Sylvia back into our midst.

As an aside, I just finished Tom Rob Smith's book "Agent 6" and give it five out of five stars. At 600 pages, it actually was about right. I've come to appreciate longer books. I've found that my unwillingness to read books greater than 300 pages has not served me well. The longer books are often worth the trouble! SO, I'm removing book length as a criterion for my selections.

11/30/2011 is next meeting to discuss AD Miller's "Snowdrops"

I selected this month's book on the new topic of "Russia."  This was written by author AD Miller, and is about modern-day Russia. It was short listed (along with five other books) for the Man-Booker prize, and is about 300 pages.

The discussion of "Pillars of the Earth" with Sylvia Sundqvist back with us, went quite well. Though we all liked the book, we still had a lot to say about it, with a few disagreements, but that's what makes the conversation interesting :)

I look forward to next month, and hope I like this book.

10/27/2011 - Next Meeting is at Louis's house to discuss:

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is the official selection of the bookclub. Linda chose this weighty tome, so we are assured of quality (she doesn't pick them by whether they are on sale). This is also a miniseries on the Starz cable company.