Book Club Monday

Our church has a book club for which I "inherited" leadership after Pastor Jamalyn left. Today we met for the first time since last May. We take the summer off, and it was nice to be back together to catch up and enjoy lunch and discussion. We are fortunate to be able to meet at Somethin's Perkin', and are warmly welcomed each time by Bill and Tammy Leak. They serve delicious soups, sandwiches, and coffee in their Christian coffeehouse, which also houses their church, Living Waters Ministry.

We had a group of five ladies today, and it was nice to have Judy join us for the first time. I enjoy this group so much, not just for the books we read and discuss, but also for the stories, the wisdom, and the friendship we share.

The book we read over the summer was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It is quite a large book, and I wanted to give everyone (mostly me) enough time to read it. I don't go through books quite as quickly as the ladies in the group!

We found the book to be very interesting, but all agreed that we did not care for the ending. It is the story of a boy who is born mute, and learns to communicate through sign language. His family raises dogs, which are quite intelligent and seem to possess extraordinary qualities. Edgar is able to communicate with the dogs on an almost supernatural level. After the death of his father, Edgar is led to run away into the wilderness with three of the family dogs. His journey is a coming of age experience for him, and he returns home to confront the evil that has come to his home, but meets instead with chaos and tragedy which marks the ending of the story.

Our group enjoys reading a variety of books, and most often gives the books a positive review. I did not ask them to rate this book, but may start asking them to do so in the future. I would say this book might receive 4 out of 5 stars. I think we all found it to be a fascinating story, but were hoping for a happier ending.