Readers in the Rough Highlights

 Already this year, 2024, our book club has voted for one book that received a vocal unanimous vote. This book is a memorable ride through life in 1952 on the back of a horse. I couldn’t wait until January to give you this title. It is a must read for every woman young or old.

THE RIDE OF HER LIFE: THE TRUE STORY OF A WOMAN, HER HORSE, AND THEIR LAST-CHANCE JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA by Elizabeth Letts.

Can you, in 2024, even imagine getting on a horse and traveling from the East coast to the West coast without a map, without a phone, no GPS, no relatives to contact in case of an emergency, and very little money? Then join Annie, Tarzan her brown gelding and her faithful mutt and begin the journey. I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

One book “The Thursday Murder Club”  by Richard Osman, intrigued the majority of us into reading all four published books in that series. For a light enjoyable series of murder mysteries filled with plot twists, character development, a setting in an “old folks home”  and a woman named Joyce who gives her two cents worth on a regular basis, you may decide to read all four books this fall. 

READERS IN THE ROUGH HIGHLIGHTS

A par rating must meet the following criteria: a solid plot showing person against person, person against self, person against society and/or person against nature. Beyond plot development it must show character changes, a theme or take away that we can discuss and understand, a point-of-view and voice that lends itself to telling the story. One underlining element is that it must be a worthy topic for our group. 

We then give the books a numerical rating:

1 bogey—does not meet the criteria but a few read it

2 par—meets the criteria 

3 birdie—meets the criteria for a par and creates a excellent discussion

4 eagle--meets the criteria for a par/birdie and is long remembered perhaps for different reasons, and highly recommended to others.

5 hole-in-one—meets the criteria above and rises to the top of expectations in plot, character development, theme and voice. This book will continue to be highly recommended to others.

2023 Highly rated books

One book received a “Hole-in-One” or 5 points and nearly a standing ovation—

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus.

https://www.bonniegarmus.com/lessons-in-chemistry

Five books received overwhelming agreement for an “eagle” or 4 points:

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O’Farrell

LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN by Lisa See

TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett

The MAGNIFICIENT LIVES OF MARJORIE MERRIWEATHER POST received the biggest mix of votes : 3 voted for a Par, 3 voted a Birdie, 2 voted an Eagle, and 2 voted it a Hole-in-One. In the end, it received a “birdie” rating.

 

2022 Highly rated books.

No book received the highest rating in 2022. However, we did discuss and try to persuade one and another to vote this book as a hole-in-one. In the end, our votes added up to an “Eagle” rating for--

THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Armor Towles

Curiously enough “9” novels received a BIRDIE rating which is still quite a compliment to the authors.  Our readings took us from Africa to the Pink City of Jaipur India; from Nebraska to NYC; Oxford, England, to Iceland; Paris and to Bombay; the Sunset Strip in LA to J.P. Morgan’s vast library in NYC.

These novels received a “birdie” rating:

THE HENNA ARTIST by Alka Joshi

THE NO.1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY by Alexander McCall Smith

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams

MEET ME IN BOMBAY by Jenny Ashcroft

DAISY JONES AND THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid

THE SECRETS OF THE SPRAKKAR by Eliza Reid

THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray

A MOVEABLE FEAST by Ernest Hemingway

THE PARIS WIFE by Paula McLain

 

2021 Highly rated books.

THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah received a ‘hole-in-one” vote with one person voting it a par because the ending was so very difficult. Sometimes stories of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression strike too close to our hearts.

The “eagle” ratings went to:

THE ROSE CODE by Kate Quinn

 

2020 Highly rated books.

LILAC GIRLS by Martha Hall Kelly received a “hole-in-one” rating.

Two book received an ‘eagle” rating:

THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE BY Lisa See

THE DUTCH HOUSE by Ann Patchett

 

2019 Highly rated books.

No book received a “hole-in-one” rating.

Three books received an “eagle” rating:

BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate

THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM by Marie Benedict

NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA by Chanel Cleeton

 

2018 Highly rated books

BENEATH A SCARLET SKY by Mark Sullivan

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles

Two books received an “eagle” rating:

EDUCATED by Tara Westover

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann

 

Between 2015—2017 I joined two book clubs and devoured some griping novels, some of which come under the new heading of “literary fiction.”

For more information on these books click here: Intriguing Readings  https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7852702753078267542/4116389582679811196

 

Readers in the Rough: A Guide to Great Reading for 2023

 

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. 

The Lincoln Highway

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

The Ladies #1 Detective Agency

 

The Dictionary of Lost Words Birdie

Meet Me in Bombay Birdie

https://taylorjenkinsreid.com/books/daisy-jones-and-the-six/

Birdie

Secrets of the Sprakkar Birdie

The Personal Librarian Birdie

A Movable Feast Birdie

The Paris Wife Birdie

I

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. 

PAR

The Little Prince

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.

The Reading List  Bogey

Readings and Greetings: One Hundred Years of Marriage

NOTE TO THE READER
What was your father thinking the night he proposed to your mother? Why did she say yes? 

By the time we ask, all of the compelling details have cooled into whatever myths they've chosen to tell us.  Our grandparents' stories are even more frozen, and the truths of our great-grandparents' unions have perished in the airless memories of the dead.


After reading this note in One Hundred Years of Marriage, I stopped reading the book that evening and pondered all of these questions about my own family. These are the questions that intrigue genealogy storytellers.  

Louise Farmer Smith, who grew up in Norman, Oklahoma explores these questions through the lives of four generations of 'long suffering women' whose marriages produce children, depression, resilience, secrets, betrayal, and memories.  The story is balanced with insights to each couple. No marriage is one-sided, nor is this story. 

Nineteen year old Patty, becomes the caretaker of her mother, Alice, when her mother descends into the darkness of the 'change.' In order to help her little brother better understand what is happening to his mother she walks him through the wooded area out back, with the intention of explaining why their mother

married their father. The story winds back to the weekend her mother drove with her fiance, Cecil Brady, to meet his family in McAlister. Through this retelling Patty begins to understand her mother's darkness, but it is only a fragment of her parent's marriage. 

Story by story the reader discovers the path that each woman chose and why. How did Patty's great-grandmother, a beautiful young woman, become an orphan and fall into such want and desolation. The men, too, have their stories. Young Danny Hale's heart is broken when his mother, once a strong educated woman falls into depression, leaving his father no choice but to take her to the Lincoln Asylum. The Civil War, a generation of families who moved west from Virginia to Nebraska and Oklahoma Territory, to the return of veterans from World War II, are pieces of history that fill this story with love, heartache, angry men, and children who learn to stand on their own.

These are the generations who kept secrets, who kept skeletons in the closet. Louise Farmer Smith imagines what these secrets might have been, and creates one hundred years of family stories that keep the reader inthralled.