Book Club

- Meeting Details -

Date: Feb 2nd | Weather: Cloudy | Place: Cafe

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

After drinking a can coffee maybe only an hour before, I order a pour over at the cafe. I suffer from a caffeine-induced headache for the rest of the day. I also order a chocolate muffin to share.

We share our earliest memories. A birthday party at grandma's, an old friend, a moonlit room. Are our earliest memories really ours or were they recounted to us later in life?

What power would each of us have? The power of influence? Teleportation? Zoning out?

What is a "girl"? Is it something to strive to maintain or shed quickly? How is it different from a "boy"? In what ways is the definition similar or different across cultures?

What reasons make the magical girl genre a popular and useful storytelling medium? Did this book do something interesting with it?

Different aspects of the book were compared to The Last Airbender, Greek deities related to time (Chronos, Aion, Kairos, Prometheus), Sailor Moon, etc.

The book was enjoyable for all, but it was so short that it left us wanting more. It's easy to imagine adaptations or expansions of this world. Seeing more action, hearing the stories of other magical girls, or continuing on with the story of the main character.

It was difficult to engage in discussion and record club minutes at the same time. Next month I may try to record from memory after the meeting is over.

- My Thoughts on the Book -

It was easy to relate to the main character and her issues at the beginning of the book. I think the fact that, unfortunately, too many people can relate is part of the reason for this book's popularity. Struggling to keep one's head above water in a pool of personal issues, but at the same time overly conscious of the troubles of the world at large that it breeds an oppressive sense of helplessness. Forget the magical girls, having someone come to you in the nick of time and declare that you are meant for something greater is reason enough for this to be classified as fantasy.

I couldn't help but compare characters to the deities of time in Greek mythology. Chronos, god of linear time — Aion, god of cyclical time — Kairos, god of opportunistic time — Prometheus, titan god of forethought. Before learning about them I never thought about how time could be thought of from so many angles. Also, the way the antagonist was dealt with reminded me of themes from The Last Airbender.

The various themes and messages in the book are presented in a straightforward manner. Living in a capitalist hell. The looming and ever accelerating force that is climate change. A call to find that hidden power inside oneself. Justice. A message the author may have been trying to get across is that solving the big and small problems of the world starts with oneself. It's only after making the effort to live within "normal" society that one can be more at peace. After finding some sense of peace or security one can begin to really search for their true strength and how they can use it to make a positive change towards something bigger than themselves.

- Commemorative Doodle -

- Meeting Details -

Date: Mar 9th | Weather: Sunny | Place: Public Garden

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

The garden was full of trees, sunlight, and families. We sat by the pond, home to koi and at least one turtle. There were no tables or seats facing each other so some sat on a bench while others had to stand.

There was mid-read wariness of the author's tendency to almost worship David Starr Jordan. Concern that despite everything the author would aim to shine a positive light on him by the end of the book.

The way some people used the ladder metaphor for placing lifeforms in an order was interesting. Strict categories over fluid spectrums. They used it as a way to rationalize how they treated animals, plants, and even other humans.

Fish don't exist. Chairs don't exist. This is not a pipe. Quantum mechanics. Human intuition is useful, but not infallible.

How and when information is presented is an important part of a storyteller's arsenal. Whether it be for a book like this, a documentary, an article, or a work of fiction. Staying mindful of this is helpful when consuming media of all kinds.

- My Thoughts on the Book -

A mix of mystery, science, depression, history, twists and turns. A journey across countries and through time. I really enjoyed this book for its message and its storytelling. I struggle to take its message and apply it to my own life, but it's something I hope to one day achieve. However impossible it may seem now, I hope to not only be part of a web, but to create some of my own to support others.

- Commemorative Doodle -

- Meeting Details -

Date: Apr 6th | Weather: Clear | Place: Lakeside

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

Orwell had a lot of references to work with when writing this book. He had experience working in an actual propoganda department, he lived in England during WWII, Stalin was in power. A cautionary tale of what he imagined could be the final destination of the struggle for control.

Winston and Julia, one born before and one born after the revolution, had very different mindsets and goals in life. Winston could remember, with strained effort, life before the party and felt that something should be done. His sense of helplessness and isolation kept him from creating concrete plans to resist the system, instead hoping that someone else would rise up to the cause. On the other hand, Julia had a nihilistic, hedonistic view on life. All concerns were with self pleasure. Black market goods and having sex were her methods of rebelling. She did not believe in the party, but did bother herself with imagining a different reality. Growing up in the system, it would be nearly impossible to do so.

A comparison of Goldstein to George Santos was made, in the way that a large group of people use him as a scapegoat for everything they believe is wrong.

Newspeak, a frightening attempt to control the mind, the final frontier the party had yet to completely conquer.

War changes? A scary combination of logic, selflessness, and focus all in the name of absolute and pure power above all else.

- My Thoughts on the Book -

The beginning was hard to get through as I learned of the world as it was and filtered through Winston's distraught mind. The sense of hopelessness and stifling oppression could be felt through the paper. Reading felt like balancing on a tightrope almost the entire time.

It may be a common sentiment, but despite the age of the book it feels just as relevant today as it must have back in the day. The telescreens listening and watching your every move are basically our phones and webcams. Certain language is being erased from government sources at rapid speed in 2025. AI has accelerated the pushing of a warped, limited, and often times false view of the world. GPS, which was originally made for military purposes anyway, tracks our location and the oversharing people sometimes do online.

- Commemorative Doodle -

- Meeting Details -

Date: May 5th | Weather: Fair | Place: Sushi restaurant

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

The book was so dense and academic that we agreed to split the reading over two months to better absorb its contents.

I may have not recorded any meeting notes this time. I also forgot to bring the book to the meeting place.

I ordered the chirashi bowl. I enjoyed it.

- My Thoughts on the Book -

Learning about the diversity of people in the matsutake trade, in their origins and reasons for doing what they do, was fascinating.

When the Japanese Americans were talked about, the author gave words to what was an abstract idea floating around in my head. The further back in time a community has immigrated to the US, the more their cultural activities become a performance that signals (more than anything else) their distance from the culture of their ancestors. Relative to today, the pressures to integrate into the "melting pot" were suffocating and often the only way to survive was to concede. I also feel like there is a tendency for the culture of an immigrant community to become encased in amber. The immigrant community's idea of what it means to be of that specific ethnicity get stuck in time, removed from the everchanging circumstances of the land of their ancestors.

- Commemorative Doodle -

- Meeting Details -

Date: June 8th | Weather: Warm | Place: The same sushi restaurant

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

It was interesting to learn that pines benefit from fire, which can aid or sometimes be the only way pine cones spread seeds.

It was a challenging book to complete, but there was appreciation for learning about things that would otherwise never come to one's attention.

Opinion was expressed wishing for more clarity in end of the book. Something that concisely states the author's worldview and which direction she believes we as a society should be heading towards. By setting a more concrete ending in her story it could possibly focus readers onto a managable goal to aspire towards.

There was also acknowledgement that zooming out to get a holistic view of a concept can still be helpful. Looking at any specific part too closely might invite tunnel vision and biased efforts towards treating symptoms rather than their cause.

- My Thoughts on the Book -

The breadth and scale of subject matter in this book was dizzying, but fascinating all the way through. Community, forest management, culture, supply chains, contamination. So many concepts are explained, words redefined, and connections made between subjects one might not immediately see as related. This book requires your full focus and rewards you by inspiring curiosity and promoting the act of noticing.

It was surprising to learn about how so many types of people are affected by the matsutake industry. Communities in the US that make a living and find freedom in the mushroom trade. The middlemen converting this product of nature into a capitalistic commodity. The Japanese people that treasure the mushroom so much that the demand sustains the trade. The other countries trying to create their own mushroom havens in order to create wealth.

The more we learned about mushrooms, the more it reminded me of one of our previous reads, Why Fish Don't Exist. The underground network mushrooms create to interact with others and with themselves blurs the line of where one organism starts and another begins. The desire to classify into neat categories cuts us off from understanding how connected the world is.

While the large issues brought up by this book are one matter, I feel as though I was able to look past the words and absorb to some extent the ideas the author conveyed. Being aware of vulnerability. Noticing the interactions between living and non-living things. Accepting that lines are always blurred and ever-changing. I personally did not mind the open-ended conclusion of the book. She did offer many pathways for further understanding. Do textbooks have explicit endings? It's what we do with the knowledge that shapes our own personal conclusions.

- Commemorative Doodle -

- Meeting Details -

Date: July 6th | Weather: Summery | Place: Fish and Chips Shop

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

Reflection on the political nature of language. "Northern Ireland" vs "the North of Ireland", British goverment renaming Irish towns and cities, speaking up at all.

It was interesting to see the ideology split of the IRA. The Stickies were more Marxist. The Provos were more Maoist. Even Frank Kitson's idealogy was absorbed by the British military and, in a sort of arms race fashion, the Provos.

The Provo hunger strikes and especially the force-feeding of the Price sisters were horrific. Whether with armaments or their own bodies, they believed that change could not be inspired with words alone. The complete commitment to their cause and their demands was superhuman.

Their insistance on being held not as criminals, but as prisoners of war was looked upon in respect.

There was a wish to meet the young Provo man who was sentenced to death, but was so charming that he befriended the first group in charge of shooting him.

After getting out of prison, Brendan Hughes taking on a new identity as a traveling toy salesman was a funny choice.

"Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always."

- My Thoughts on the Book -

After reading this, I can definitely see how it would adapt well to a TV series. The many players, missions, confusion, betrayal, conflict, and mystery over several decades. The messiness of war shown from different points of view. Before reading I only thing I knew about the IRA is that it existed and just from hearing her name I originally guessed that Margaret Thatcher was an book author. Surprise.

For me, this book is different from all the previous books in the way that it hasn't inspired much reflective thought or made me think of large ideas. It has kept me wondering what happens next, though. I don't mean to say that this book is lacking in substance. It's just that I've been more focused on self-development this year, so when I read this book it's more of a break from that journey. That being said, it's an important story to be remembered by history and another example of the effects British colonialism.

- Commemorative Doodle -

To be drawn after finishing the rest of the book next month.

- Meeting Details -

Date: July 27th | Weather: TBD | Place: TBD

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

I'm looking forward to having it.

- My Thoughts on the Book -

I'm looking forward to reading it.

- Commemorative Doodle -

I'm looking forward to drawing it.

- Meeting Details -

Date: September 7th | Weather: TBD | Place: TBD

- Meeting Highlights and Discussion Points -

I'm looking forward to having it.

- My Thoughts on the Book -

I'm looking forward to reading it.

- Commemorative Doodle -

I'm looking forward to drawing it.