Year Two Retreat: 

Nominations for 2015-2016 season 

August 28-30, 2015 Invermere BC


Canadian Literature Nominations

Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs Nominations

Award Winner Nominations

Year Two Book Nine: 

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's Learned by Lena Dunham

August 29, 2015

Amy: I give it a 3 out of 5. I think I would have liked this book more if Lena was able to take command of her story a bit more concisely. Though I know deep down that if she would have done that, she would have faced additional criticism for being too direct and concise. I did find though, that if you didn't have any context of who Lena Dunham is or what she has been able to accomplish, this book would seem like endless, anxious drivel; I would liken it to "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson. But I do know who Lena Dunham is!! And I think because of that, I was looking for some direct, how-to-be-a-kick-ass-no-bullshit-kind-of-girl advice from her story. Maybe it was intentionally left lukewarm, as a way to say "Look, I am just like you! You can start a wildly provocative HBO drama and befriend Taylor Swift just as easily! Ain't no thang!" I wanted to love this book! Instead, it was okay. :(

Average group rating: 3 out of 5

Year Two Book Eight: 

Catch Me If You Can by Frank W. Abagnale

April 23rd 2015 

Amy: I would give it 3 out 5. I have seen the movie “Catch Me If You Can” probably 6 times (it gets rerun at least every 6^th weekend on Peachtree TV) and have always thought of it as an easy, light watch. The book was much the same, until it dawned on me that actually, this guy could be pretty dangerous! Throughout the whole story, Abagnale focuses on how he pulls off his latest scam with little regard for the people left behind in the aftermath. Abagnale stated that he avoided ripping off individuals (always paying cash for his clothes and meals) and focused on finding loop holes in bureaucratic systems, which seems to be true except in the case where Abagnale changes the numbers on a stack of deposit slips so stranger unwittingly deposited their money into his account. But the story is so one sided and seems to gloss over the damage done, especially to his Father. I can’t believe that Abagnale doesn’t recognize that frauding his Father out of what would be almost $30,000 today is what probably bankrupted him! So I think that the story should be taken with a grain of salt and that there is a possibility that there is much more involved then what is presented. For example, I would have loved for the book to include more of a “cat and mouse” element and followed the investigation side of things too! That was such a fun part of the movie that did not come through in the book!

Year Two Book Seven: 

Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson

June 17th 2015

Amy: 4 out of 5. I struggled with this book a bit because I had a hard time following the timelines! Through discussing the book with the girls, I realize that the story is told in circles that slowly loop together to bring you to the conclusion and that for some of us, a particular time frame stuck out the most. For me, it was the time when Lisa was in junior high and the whole period with Frank, Cheese, Pooch and Tab. For some reason those chapters were really vivid to me and because of that I would consider this to be a 'coming of age' story! Which I am sure is it in part. I need to set a Google reminder to remember this again in a year because I am sure other parts will resonate more or I will see the story in a different light. I think that is the magic of First Nations story telling! It isn't concrete like the stories I am used to.  

Year Two Book Six: 

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

April 23rd 2015 

Robyn: 3.5 stars was my original rating but now I am going with 4. Although I struggled with some of the British slang I found her humor came across well and found some parts quite funny.  I found a lot of familiarity when reading her realizations through puberty, meeting her spouse and giving birth for the first time.  Things I assumed only I thought she apparently thought as well, which brought some connection for me.  I found her views on feminism refreshing in some ways, for example 'are you a feminist? Hahaha. Of course you are'.  However I disagreed with some of her personal views, which I see to be her own and not intended to be pushed on others.  I would recommend this book to others strictly to have the discussion that comes from it as that was my favourite part of the book. 

Laura R: Rating: 4/5. Loved this book. I found myself lol-ing on the bus on more than one occasion. The combination of humor and positive messaging was really good. Best line that sums up the book for me: “what part of ‘liberation for women’ is not for you?” I like the idea of feminism being reconsidered by our generation; to emphasize that equality for women does not need to come at the expense of men. You don’t have to burn your bra and hate men to be a feminist. Men should be able to speak openly about feminism issues too. I was really happy to hear women in the book club speaking about men in their lives being positive feminist role models. There were also some good conversations generated at book club about all kinds of equal rights movements. Why do equal rights movements get criticized for not representing all societal issues in one go? Why do people feel the need to criticize these equal rights movements for excluding the opposite gender/race/identity? 

Amy: 5/5. I really enjoyed the lighthearted approach to the seriousness of the issues presented in the book. The parts that have stuck with me the most were "Is this some Sexism at me?" and "Are the boys doing this". I really identified with moments of sexism or gender based comments, hitting me hours after the fact and not knowing what to do about it now? Though I did struggle with some of the slang, I could tell that the author was educated in gender issues but was able to communicate in an fairly easy to understand manner that all levels could participate in. I loved the lists and the yelling! 

Lauren: I gave the book a 4/5 because I found it entertaining, thought-provoking and mostly because I thought it was a great choice to open up discussions with our book club. I thought Caitlin Moran had a great, witty sense of humor and I felt I could really hear her voice in her writing and understand her character. I enjoyed how she was able to take random, funny stories from her life and spin off of them into a topic about feminism. It gave her memoir a little bit more substance. I did not always agree her views and don’t think the two of us would have a lot in common, but I think the main point she was trying to make though out the book is that you can be whoever you want to be, regardless of your gender. As women, people are always trying to fit us into a certain mold and I liked that Caitlin stood up against that. Certain parts of the book were much more powerful and important to me than others however. I felt the chapters on experiencing sexism in your daily life, abortion and having children were more important than the chapters on naming your vagina, wearing high heels and waxing your body hair. There were also certain topics that she touched on where I felt something was missing – like the chapters about being overweight, stripping and pornography. What do these things mean for feminism, how do men and women experience them differently? But I think we need to keep in mind when reading something like this, that it is supposed to be humor and not necessarily a serious feminist manifesto. Overall, I found it an enjoyable read and I would certainly recommend it to other women’s book clubs, because I think it was one of the most fun discussions we’ve had yet.

Stephanie: I give this book a 4/5 because I found it very funny - but more importantly I did not agree with everything but was challenged by a lot. I really appreciated the last half of the book about children and abortion. I like it when a book makes you think and makes you consider what you believe or would do in that situation. Even though I might not make the same choices as she did, I think she makes some very valid points.

Guest review! (Matt Limacher): I give the book 3.5. I think that it was a good book - very interesting and well written. I didn't get all of the references, but that didn't get in the way too much. My favourite chapters were the last ones on children and abortion. I really commend her for making the decisions she did and she articulated her reasoning very well. I didn't find anything too shocking or surprising (other than the menstrual blood eating thing that Steph warned me about) but would recommend it nonetheless.