Eating in the Light of the Moon

Hostess: Chrissy

Book: Eating in the Light of the Moon

Food: Hummus, cheese and crackers, guacamole and tortilla chips, Pretzel M&Ms, Chocolate-Raspberry trifle

Wine of the Night: Detroit Wine! Montepeluciano, from the California Wine Grape Company in Detroit.

This book was a bold choice; we have never read anything like this book, and I know that Chrissy was a little concerned that people may take her choice as a silent finger pointing at their lives. I know that this is not the case, Chrissy chose this book based on the recommendation of her aunt, who is a counselor for women with eating disorders. While none of us struggle with disordered eating as far as I know, we all still found many passages that spoke to us.

This book is kind of like earth mother meets folk tales meets disordered eating. Dr. Johnston writes about finding balance in our lives, that if we need to have balance between our spirit and our mind, and know the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger. We all agreed that our favorite parts were the myths, legends and folk tales. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading them until I read this book!

I think this was a difficult book for us to discuss- I think what we all took away from the book was personal, maybe too personal to share at book club. For me, one thing that made me think was the need for balance in our lives, and Johnston's comments about women losing touch with their feminine intuition and trying to be wonder woman and doing too many things all the time. This is something I have been working on all year - making more time for my family and friends, enjoying all the moments of my days, and trying not to schedule my entire life away. I don't want to look back and see a lifetime of meetings and work ; I want to see a healthy balance of family, friends, work, and my volunteer work. This book reminded me that what I am doing is good and right and healthy.

Next month's Bottle of Wine Book Club choice is The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hostess: Jill

Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Food: Greek Pasta Salad, Bruschetta, Grilled peaches with Gorgonzola cheese, pita and dip, guacamole and chips.

Best Wine of the Night: The Sangria!

It was a gorgeous night for book club to meet, one of the first nights we have had this summer without oppressing, swamp-like humidity or a tornado caliber storm. Jill set up outside, which was fabulous. I think most of us were taken in by the sweetness of the night and wine - we sure didn't get in much talking about the book. We were just too relaxed it seemed.

But we did talk about the book a little, mainly on the biggest question surrounding the novel- the misogynistic themes that stream through out, raising their ugly heads. All that violence towards women- virtually every woman in the novel was assaulted by a man in some way, shape or form. Even Lisbeth seemed to dislike herself, and for all her sharp edges and bravado, was still body conscious, not liking her own shape. Was this to make her more relate-able to women readers, who may have body image issues of their own? Maybe it is just my American perspective, our hard core heroines do not have insecurities, at least none that they talk about. I thought it was interesting that Larsson chose to show her vulnerabilities.

We also talked about Blomkvist's relationship with his partner, Erica. We were more confused about Erica's relationship with her husband actually. Did he just love her that much that he allowed her her freedoms? Did he not love her enough? Was their marriage open for both of them? This was perplexing to us.

We all agreed that this was a fantastic book, and we all want to read the rest of the series. I am looking forward to next month's selection, Eating in the Light of the Moon, as well.