These are all words which describe Big Sandy Book Club’s May third meeting.

Two of our members , Megan Gannon and Barb Slonaker, live in Havre and travel to Big Sandy for our monthly meetings. Megan and Barb chose to be hostesses for our May meeting, with Megan our discussion leader.

Intriguing is just one descriptive word for the tours Megan gave us on the 3rd. Megan’s family has purchased Havre’s old post office building and also the Masonic Temple building. Our meeting was held in the Masonic building. We were greeted by Megan’s grandson, Marc. Marc was adorable in a suit and bow tie and took his duty as our elevator attendant very seriously,(“Watch for the big step”)---.We stepped into one of those amazing grate doored elevators and traveled up and out into a huge room on the fifth floor. French doors line one wall and were open for the evening. Spring breezes came through with, later, the sparkle of Havre lights giving a European ambiance to the evening. We were so fortunate to tour both the Masonic building and post office. Absolutely fascinating and awe inspiring when you see what Megan’s daughter and son-in-law were facing at purchase and what they have already revived to perfection. Renovations are on-going! I am hoping to write a more in depth story of this transformation at a later date.

Our discussion table had a bouquet of lilacs on it and the “snack” table was laden with a selection of delectable savories and sweets. My favorites had to be the crackers topped with thin sliced parmesan tomatoes and bite sized brownies with cream cheese frosting. The European ambience was further enhanced with choices of four wines. Other beverages were available also, as well as bottles of water for our trip home!

The word insightful, describes our discussion about our May book .It is always fascinating to read the same book as several others and then hear their insights and interpretations. May’s selection was ”Lost in Transition-- Ethnographies of Everyday Life After Communism” by Kristen Ghodsee. A weighty title, but it’s a book sprinkled with fictional and nonfictional stories that bring the facts together. In discussing a book, sometimes opinions you have formed are confirmed and sometimes you hear of angles and aspects of the book which did not occur to you. Our May discussion was certainly an example of both confirmations and insights.

The Book Club of Big Sandy would like to extend a warm invitation to anyone wishing to join us. We meet the first Tuesday of each month. We are now breaking for the summer and will next meet October 4th at 7 p.m. Books have already been chosen for the next few months. Our October book is, “ Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes.

Looking for other book lovers in a casual social situation? Please come and join us! For more information contact Ann Quinn at 378-3106 or any club member you might know.