NOTES FROM THE BOOK CLUB
The St. Paul’s Book Club will be meet at 9:30 am on Wednesday, January 26th, 2022 at LuciAnna’s Pastries on Broadway in Alton. We will be reading The Dogs of Bedlam Farm, by Jon Katz. I am asking that each of you bring a question (or two) to generate thought and discussion, marked passages to read, or relevant articles.
Following is short synopsis:
“When Jon Katz adopted a border collie named Orson, his whole world changed. Gone were the two yellow Labs he wrote about in A Dog Year, as was the mountaintop cabin they loved. Katz moved into an old farmhouse on forty-two acres of pasture and woods with a menagerie: a ram named Nesbitt, fifteen ewes, a lonely donkey named Carol, a baby donkey named Fanny, and three border collies. Training Orson was a demanding project. But a perceptive dog trainer and friend told Katz: “If you want to have a better dog, you will just have to be a better goddamned human.” It was a lesson Katz took to heart. He now sees his dogs as a reflection of his willingness to improve, as well as a critical reminder of his shortcomings. Katz shows us that dogs are often what we make them: They may have their own traits and personalities, but in the end, they are mirrors of our own lives–living, breathing testaments to our strengths and frustrations, our families and our pasts. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm recounts a harrowing winter Katz spent on a remote, windswept hillside in upstate New York with a few life-saving friends, ugly ghosts from the past, and more livestock than any novice should attempt to manage. Heartwarming, and full of drama, insight, and hard-won wisdom, it is the story of his several dogs forced Katz to confront his sense of humanity, and how he learned the places a dog could lead him and the ways a dog could change him.”
We read a variety of genres and authors, where each of us takes a turn choosing our next book. Please join us for great fellowship, good food and lively discussions.
Please let Jean Downey know, if you have any questions regarding this group.