“Harmony, balance, rhythm. There you have it. That’s what life is all about.” – George Pocock, legendary builder of racing shells.
Spotting a crew team out on the river, rowing in synchrony, is one of those sights that always stops me in my tracks. It is peacefulness in motion, if you will, a beautiful sport that belies the skill and work it takes to move a long, slender craft through the water. It epitomizes team effort. In The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown brings to life, not only the sport of rowing, but also a vivid picture of hard-fought lives during the depression as well as the importance of the 1936 Olympic win by a crew team of nine Americans, whose early lives foretell a future far removed from the elite sport of rowing and Olympic gold. Brown, in his artful descriptions, draws you into the lives of these boys, their coaches, and the racing shell (boat) builder, as they brutally prepare and win competitions against more likely crew teams from California and the Ivy Leagues, ultimately upstaging Hitler, whose grandiose Olympic arena was meant to convince the world of Germany’s superiority.
Our own group of nine who made it to the meeting (nine – isn’t that ironic) met at the lovely home of Claire. Thanks for hosting, Claire. Some had read the book, some partially read, and others joined the discussion as it unfolded. All, who had started or read the book, enjoyed it. We talked about what we had learned about life during the depression; the Dust Bowl; the important role that the Olympics played in 1936; and of course, the sport of rowing. To us, the book was much more than a book about a sport – we found inspiration and were awe-struck at the tenacity, will, and work ethic of the young men, mostly illustrated through the story of Joe Rantz, who was abandoned to find his own way in life from about the age of ten. This book is well-worth the read. For a better description than I could ever write, read Timothy Egan’s opinion article, http://tinyurl.com/na63y9q.
As usual, there was time for catch-up, a peek at Claire’s pool (if it hadn’t been a bit chilly, we would have wiggled our toes in the water), and some loving licks from Rusty, one of the four legged members of the family (the cat was not interested). In the absence of our fearless leader, Kimy, the group rebelled and declared a “no-picture meeting”, you know, when the “cat’s away” and all that stuff. Seeing friends (at this meeting – Julie S., Lisa, Judy B., Patricia, Jennifer, Claire, Linda, and Eileen) was and always is the best at our HCPBC meetings! We miss our friend, Julie A., and look forward to the day she will be ready to return to her social life. Sending healing hugs from the book club, Julie!
We gathered on the back deck of Julie’s home for our April book. I’m a bit late posting this my apologies (it’s now mid-May – ahem). Great deck Julie! We had a good group with texts coming in from our Sherry about this very interesting Russian fairytale!
Our March book was The Race for Paris by 
I missed a great book club meeting and I’m completely piffed about it (I’m whining I know – LOL). W was sick thus I couldn’t scoot up to Atlanta to meet all my book club gals. I needed my girl fix too. However after reading Ginger B’s account of the evening — I feel a wee bit better. I got my fix through the written word. Go figure. Love you girls! See below for Ginger B.’s wonderful blow by blow of the evening. It was a riveting book — right gals?!
FINALLY it has STOPPED raining in Atlanta — at least for a few days so far. Crisp Fall air greeted me as I walked down to book club (thanks for hosting Linda! Love your home!). For November we read The Other Typist by Suzanne Lindell. Most of us completed our reading assignment – and everyone had opinions which is always the fun part of book club!
Historic College Park Book Club 