Feb Book Club: Winterdance

The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod

by Gary Paulsen

Wednesday, February 15, 2023 @ 5:30 PM

Acclaimed children’s book author Paulsen offers a gripping account of his experience running the 1180 mile Iditarod dogsled race.

Fueled by a passion for running dogs, Gary Paulsen entered the Iditarod–the 1150-mile winter sled-dog race between Anchorage and Nome– in dangerous ignorance and with a fierce determination. Winterdance is his account of this seventeen-day battle against Nature’s worst elements and his own frailty.

We had a wonderful time discussing THE FEATHER THIEF and Jane had done some sleuthing of her own re: the characters in the book so that was very fun. Everyone who attended loved the book and there was plenty to discuss and chew on. Thanks to the group that came and thanks too for the delicious goodies and to Ann for letting us stay a little late at the library.

The other book we almost chose was LAB GIRL by Hope Jahren. This memoir of a “tree scientist” trying to find her way in a man’s world is wonderful not only for its amazing description of the hidden life of trees but also its portrayal of both a working friendship and mental illness. Those of us who had read it all loved it.

We also picked our March book! Robin chose three different cooking memoirs – all of which sound fascinating – but in the end we went with:

FI Library Book Group/Club
Date: Wednesday, March 15th
Time: 5:30pm
Book: EAT A PEACH by David Chang
Location: Sarah Mal’s house!!

A book written by the acclaimed chef of NY’s Momofuku restaurant which chronicles his journey to become a cook and his experience in the modern restaurant world. All the books Robin chose sounded wonderful but we picked this one and Sarah has offered to host us that night so that we can cook a meal together! It’s a don’t miss book group if you ask me!

The library will order copies for us and I know some of you will listen to them but a few of us already have copies so ask around if you’re looking for one. As always, I look forward to our next meeting and to reading these next few books. So many books, never enough time…

Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy this overcast weather which is perfect for curling up next to a fire and reading a good book.

Best,
Abby

Please email Abby McCall on abimccall@gmail.com with any questions or to be added to the Book Club email list.

For those of you who prefer e-books please avail yourselves of the Library app.

Please invite friends who might also be interested. The more readers the better and so many people are unable to join on any given night that I don’t think we can have too many people. There are lots of book lovers on the island and it’s really nice to bring the group together. Please feel free to forward this to anyone else you can think of. All are welcome.

We generally select the book for the following month at the preceding meeting. Feel free to BYOBeverage and a snack to share if you like.