Hi Gals,





Iâ??m almost two months behind on book club reports. Hereâ??s what happened at our August and September meetings.





On August we discussed The Emperor of Gladness in my backyard. The book received an unimpressive 3.38, but we then went on to have a great discussion about it. The biggest complaints initially centered on a lack of focus. The author seemed to want to cover a lot of topicsâ??LGBTQ themes, the loneliness of the elderly, the drug use, disabled, homelessnessâ??which left a lack of focus. But, as the discussion went on, I think we came to a better understanding that the disparate topics all connected this band of misfits. They each represented a different status that can leave a person feeling outcast. The story brings together these misfits into a family of their own. Other interesting ideas explored were the question of truth vs. lies, reality vs. fantasy, the search for roots and belonging. Sony was admired for his sweetness. A big question remained: did he commit suicide in the end? Also a good discussion of the bookâ??s title. Lots of emperorâ??The Emperor of Ice Cream (poem cited at the beginning), the emperor of Russia, the emperor pigsâ?¦Was Hai the Emperor of Gladness in how he gives beauty to the town?





On September 4 we discussed The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. A small but mighty seven people attended. The book scored a 3.67, yet we had another really good discussion. While many of us professed a hatred of fantastical elements in books, we had to agree this drew us in. I must have been engrossed by the discussion, because I didnâ??t write a lot of notes, but I know we spent a lot of time on addie's relationship with Luc. Did he genuinely love her? Did she love him? Some felt thereâ??s no way Addie would fall for a loser like Henry, but others defended it as genuine. Someone didnâ??t like the suggestion that every great person sold his soul for fame and success, which led to some talk of the trade-offs we make for fame/success even if itâ??s not an all-out selling of the soul.





We meet this Thursday at 7:00 at Doreenâ??s to discuss The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Donâ??t forget to check your app for book choices etc. (unless Doreen emails them!)





Jackie