The Lifeboat - September 30th

Charlotte Rogan's novel, The LIfeboat gave our small but mighty group much to discuss. As I was preparing, I found loads of options for discussion questions but my favorite find was from ReadingGroupGuides.com.  Naturally there was discussion centered around each key character and the role they played in the demise of Mr. Hardy, but eventually, we landed in an area that seemed to be a passionate topic for many of us - the role of women; the perceptions and misperceptions of men and women, and how things have changed (and not changed) over time.  What an amazing group! 

There were not many pictures taken during this session - which tells you how engaged we all were during the evening.  OK, add a very playful golden-doodle in the mix and you'll know the other reason I wasn't able to grab many pictures.  Our Henry wanted all of the attention and he is pretty hard to ignore!  I would like to share a little about the other food we had on hand in keeping with the idea of paring food with books.  Listen, sometimes, it is a stretch so just hear me out. Rogan's book is set mainly in the ocean, on a single lifeboat. So, of course I had to whip up some snacks that feature some seafood. I found a recipe from Martha Stewart called chickpea and tuna dip and I have to say, this was a favorite of mine. We also had some great bagels from NYC (thanks, QVC!) so I whipped up a smoked salmon/cream cheese concoction loaded with red onion and capers. Can't go wrong there!