The Literary Bookkeepers began as a way to meet new people, and after 10 years, a group of women who used to be mostly strangers are now dearest friends. “Christine Berg, a good friend of mine, was a neighbor, and we thought a book club was a good way to meet with people socially and discuss books,” says Kathy Jay. “Each asked a friend to join, and that friend in turn asked a friend. Remarkably, the original group is mostly still intact.”
The club has two criteria for the books they read: each must be available in paperback to keep costs down, and it has to be a book no one in the group has previously read. The women favor classics and historical fiction, but will read just about anything that is intellectually stimulating. But no matter the genre, discussion always brings the women closer together. “I don’t think there’s anything we don’t know about each other, because you bring your own perspectives and experiences to the discussion,” Jay says.
[about the book]
Linda Lawrence Hunt’s Bold Spirit recounts the story of Helga Estby, a Norwegian immigrant who walked from Spokane, Wash., to New York City with her daughter in 1896. Estby’s story was lost for a century because it not only challenged contemporary rules of feminine decorum, but also enraged her family, who accused her of abandonment.
[opinions]
>> “In the telling of Helga Estby’s walk across America, Linda Lawrence Hunt gives readers a long list of issues to contemplate, from pioneering and the suffrage movement, to the impact of familial silence and feminism in today’s world.” — Elizabeth Miller
>> “I see Helga as a role model, and I admire her gumption and grit. The book raised interesting questions for our group, including whether women are better off today than they were in 1896, what secrets we have kept from our children, and whether we have written down our life story for our children to ponder.” — Christine Berg
Photo by Bill Barrett
Pictured: Front: Cyndi Newsome, Kathy Jay, Christine Berg, Darcy Scharff; Back: Cindy King-Carroll, Elizabeth Miller, Nancee Compton, Liz Haspiel, Jeanne Heil-Chapedelaine, Claire Medol Hyman; Not Pictured: Carye Fagin
