Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Book Club - "The Goldfinch"

What do you call a handful of ladies who get together once a month to eat tasty treats, drink a little wine, chat about their lives (and sometimes about a book that they may...or may not...have read?) Why, Book Club, of course!!

Last night, my book club met at my house, where the monthly book selection was "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt (more about that in a bit.) Since I was the host, I felt the urge to tie the theme into my food and decor. I thought and thought, and I asked myself, "WWMD?" ("What Would Martha Do?") She would probably have had cloth napkins (I had paper), delectable treats (I had finger-nibbles) and a hand-crafted centerpiece. OK, try as I might, I am no Martha, especially in the kitchen! But what I came up with was cute, easy and fun.



I started with a theme...yellow!  As you can see, I served pineapple chunks, cheese and crackers, pretzel bites and lemon bars.  The pretzel bites are always a crowd favorite, and this time I topped them with yellow candy melts and pecans.  So easy, and just the right mix of sweet and salty.  The lemon bars were a Pinterest discovery (here). I have to report that these were fail-proof (if I can make them successfully, ANYONE can) and delicious!

And what would Book Club be without wine? (Not nearly as much fun!) So I offered four varieties of wine to appease all tastes. For my buddies from Bloggy Bootcamp St. Louis, you will notice the Mirassou. I thought fondly of our time together as I served this Chardonnay.



It was easy to find yellow flowers in the garden to plop into a vase. Daylilies are in full bloom now. For my piece de resistance, I took an iron birdcage cloche, small flower pot, nest, and ceramic bird, all of which I had on hand, and created a centerpiece. However the bird, when purchased, resembled a robin so I did a little transformation with my craft paints and brushes. Within about 10 minutes, that robin had morphed into a goldfinch!



One last yellow detail. It's possible that this lady may have even dressed in yellow for the event (too much??) In my defense, though, I already had these mustard-colored pants and I wear them regularly! And here is a very bad attempt at my first-ever (shameless) selfie.


Would someone please educate me on how to do this?

Ok, Ok, about the book..............

The concensus of the group was that it was an excellent read. It was a hair long, at over 700 pages, but one of our members strongly felt that the length was necessary to fully develop the characters and themes of loss, grief, restoration, beauty, art, etc. We were personally drawn to certain characters despite their flaws (i.e. Boris) and were able to relate to the many levels of family, relational, and personal struggles within the difficult storyline. We tried to get into the minds of Hobie and Mrs. Barbour; and we were saddened and perplexed by the actions of Theo's father and Kitsey.

But the tragic story was really about Theo, a lost and hurting soul who battled grief and guilt, loss and confusion. The author gave us so much to ponder about life and death in this book. It was well worth persisting through all 700+ pages.

Have you read "The Goldfinch"? What did you think?



Sharing with: The Style Sisters, DIY by Design, Elizabeth and Co, Life in Velvet, Share Your Cup, Between Naps on the Porch, Nancherrow, Shabby Art Boutique, Simple Details, Pieced Pastimes, Dwellings, Rustic and Refined, Domestically Speaking

24 comments:

  1. Julie, you did a great job creating a themed party! I love how you brought together everything with yellow. Everything looked beautiful...great pictures, too, including the selfie with the flowers, etc., in the background. Only one thing was missing...I couldn't be there with you to enjoy the actual fun! Great post...thanks for sharing!

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    1. You are always one of my #1 fans, Jodee ;) Thank you for all of the support! I sure do wish you could have been here with us as well. You would be a fantastic addition to our group.

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  2. I love your yellow-themed snacks! Very clever idea for this particular book! The centerpiece is creative, too. I must confess that I am one (of apparently the few) who did not like The Goldfinch, I thought it was at least 300 pages too long, as I was desperate for some closure way before the end of the book! Some judicious editing would have improved it, in my opinion.

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    1. Thank you, Tricia, and thanks for stopping by!! I do agree that by the time I finished this book I was ready to move on ;)

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  3. Too cute buffet! and I wish I could to tell you how to do a great selfie! Even tho I think for a first time you did great...much better then mine would have come out thats for sure!

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    1. Christine, I have decided that the good thing about selfies is that they make our tops look bigger than our bottoms, and in my case that is helpful, haha! Thanks for the comment!

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  4. First of all, this completely resonated with me as I'm about halfway into The Goldfinch (and so far very much enjoying it despite mixed reviews). Love love love your centerpiece and very fun that you focused on the yellow. And the lemon bars... yum!! Nice post!

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Lory. I hope you make it through the rest of the book and enjoy it. It definitely gave me a lot to think about!

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  5. Great yellow theme! Our club considered Goldfinch but went with The Dinner instead. Nice selfie too!

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    1. I haven't heard anything about "The Dinner". I'll have to check that one out.

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  6. Very clever to use yellow themed food! That appeals to my sense of organization! Sounds like a fun group, I love that you "might or might not have read the book"~ perfect!
    Jenna

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    1. We are a social group, Jenna. It is more important to show up and have fun than to do the homework ;)

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  7. What a fun book club! I haven't heard of this one before but sounds like a winner - I'll have to add it to my summer reading list. Love how you decorated around the theme of the book - especially the darling centerpiece. And I have zero advice to offer on the selfie - it's an art that I haven't come close to mastering :) Thanks for linking up to Best of the Nest!

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  8. I'm terrible at creating themed parties, but you did a fabulous job Julie!

    I heard of this book, but haven't read it. It's funny, reading is one of my favorite things to do, but it's been a while since I read a book from cover to cover. I need a book club to get my butt in gear :).

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    1. Thank you Doreen. I definitely read more than I used to because of Book Club. I also read books that I otherwise wouldn't pick up.

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  9. Just found your blog and love it. I was a member of a book club for years and then we moved to the East Coast and I have yet to find one I am interested in. The Goldfinch is an interesting book because it seems that people either love it or hate it. No grey area. I will definitely be back to read your posts.

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    1. I'm so glad you stopped by, Katie! Book Club is absolutely one of the highlights of my months :)

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  10. Nice. You all look like you had a nice little party going on.

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  11. Haven't read the book, but I sure love your yellow theme! Fun idea and the transformation of the bird is wonderful. Not too bad for your first selfie. lol! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  12. Hi, Julie! This is my first visit to your site via Christine's "Table It!" blog party. You did an absolutely incredible job on your beautiful buffet presentation! You thought of everything right down to the Mirassou wine bottle!!! (Love that Mirassou!)

    Big applause for you for figuring out a way to morph that robin into a goldfinch!!! That's pretty cool, and I don't think too many people would have thought to do that! You saved the day!

    I'm not so good at taking selfies, so no help from this camp on that one! My arms are just too short to get all of my big head in there! I think you did a good job for your first attempt, though!

    Your book club sounds like a lot of fun, and I'm sure everyone enjoyed your meeting with all this terrific food and the fun setting! Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

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    1. Alycia,
      I am so glad that you took the time to stop by and say "hi". By the looks of things, you're a pretty accomplished tablescaper and entertainer yourself ;)

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  14. I love the yellow theme of your book club gathering - a perfect compliment to the book! Goldfinch is my book club's reading list too!

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    1. Thanks, Sharon. I hope you enjoy The Goldfinch. A word of advice...start early unless you are a speed-reader ;)

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