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| Birthe, Catie, Kim, Kathy, Heather, Tammy, Pam Rowena, Susan, Letty Christmas Party We toasted to our December book THE LITTLE PRINCE |
Our book club, Readers in the Rough, began meeting in the summer of 2017. We normally meet to discuss the books at The Trails Golf Course in Norman, Oklahoma, consequently, the beautiful view of the golf course prompted our book club title, "Readers in the Rough." We rate our books based on the language of golf and quality of literature. This rating system has been revised and discussed from time to time, as nothing is quite perfect. We absolutely enjoy our lively book discussions and ramblings about life, and like the game of golf we read and discuss for fun and friendship.
Hole-in-One = 5 points; Eagle= 4 points; Birdie= 3 points; Par= 2 points; Bogey= 1 point; and double bogey receives no points, no applause, no recommendations.
A Par rating meets the expectation of the elements of fiction: a solid plot, strong and dynamic characters, setting that is defined, a theme we can discuss along with a point of view that lends itself to telling the story, and strength of genre. A Par rating for memoir asks for a compelling story using truth, theme, voice, point of view being I, and an ongoing attempt to arrive at answers. A birdie, eagle, hole-in-one all meet this standard and go above.
At the end of each monthly discussion we talk through the rating briefly giving books thumbs up or down, or sometimes we gently struggle and argue between ratings, based on our perceptions. In the end, the majority wins with the votes. Ironically, our Hole-in-One and Eagle rated books are usually unanimous.
In 2022 our reading travels took us from Africa; to the Pink City of Jaipur India; Nebraska to NYC; Oxford, England; Bombay (Mumbai, India); the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles; New York City to J.P. Morgan's vast wealth of books and art. A pleasant and eye opening trip to Iceland intrigued us deeply, where we learned how women had gained in the political narrative. We then traveled to Paris back to back with Hemingway. (I spent an extra week in Paris between books reading The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher.) We ended our year on the deserted desert landscape with The Little Prince.
The Hole-in-One rating (5 points) is reserved for only the best of the best, in our opinion, and one that we would reread, rave about and encourage others to read. It must meet all of the criteria of an eagle, birdie, and par.
**People I consider Hole-in-One Golfers are Annika Sorenstam, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Patty Berg, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus.
There were no books on our selected list that received this rating in 2022.
An Eagle rating (4 points) says it is superb, exciting, and well worth reading. It meets all of the requirements for par and birdie, plus it is a book we will long remember for perhaps different reasons. We would highly recommend it to others.
**People I consider Eagle Golfers are Mickey Wright, Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and Gary Player.
A Birdie rating (3 points) meets all of the criteria of a Par plus it creates excellent discussion based on a powerful theme, or other elements of fiction.
**People I consider Birdie Golfers are Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez, In Bee Park, Bobby Jones, Roy Mc Illroy, and Seve Ballesteros .
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi Birdie
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| The Ladies #1 Detective Agency |
The Dictionary of Lost Words Birdie
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| https://taylorjenkinsreid.com/books/daisy-jones-and-the-six/ |
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| The Personal Librarian Birdie |
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| A Movable Feast Birdie |
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A Par rating (2 points) meets the expectation of the elements of fiction: a solid plot, strong and dynamic characters, setting that is defined, a theme we can discuss along with a point of view that lends itself to telling the story, and strength of genre. A Par rating for memoir asks for a compelling story using truth, theme, voice, point of view being I, and an ongoing attempt to arrive at answers.
**All members of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and Professional Golf Association regularly shoot par and below rounds.
A Bogey rating (1 point) means a book may meet some of the elements of fiction, but overall the book is not strong enough to gather our full attention. We would not recommend it for discussion.
Happy new year, Letty. I enjoyed your golfers list of good reads. Am eager to see which I can find in audible books. (Macular degeneration makes it easier to read with my ears than my eyes.)
ReplyDeleteStay well.
Can you believe this golfing weather in January! NDS