Book Club

Sun., May 2, 1999

Name: The Get a Life Book Club

City: Spokane Valley

Group history: Group of about 20 has been together for nearly two years. Made up of teachers, educators at East Valley Middle School. Is open to anyone, but no men - so far - have participated. Meets monthly on either second or third Wednesdays. Meeting places are chosen with a distinct sense of humor: For Ernest J. Gaines’ Louisiana novel “A Lesson Before Dying” the group met at Bayou Brewery. For Billie Letts’ “Where the Heart Is,” in which the 17-year-old protagonist’s boyfriend breaks up with her in a Wal-Mart parking lot, the group met in a motor home parked in where else? a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Book reviewed: “What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day” (Avon Books, 244 pages, $12 paper) by Pearl Cleage.

Group representatives: Jan Jenkins, Susan Jackowich.

The review: “What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day” deals with serious issues: HIV, suicide, SIDS, alcoholism, etc. But, says Susan Jackowich, the novel “wasn’t one of those whining, tomb books. You were rooting for all of the positive characters all along. The author was really able to bring you into their lives. And you enjoyed them as people. You felt that this is someone I would like to know.” The result: “We liked the story… and we liked that it had a happy ending.”

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