Ladies of the Evening

LOTE began 20 years ago as an offshoot of parenting classes held at the elementary school. Now those fourth graders are all 30+ years old, and we still all live within walking distance of one another.

"Ladies of the Evening" was coined when we all had little children and we sneaked away for book club after all the kids were settled in bed.

Each month one lady chooses a book and another hosts. The facilitator directs the book talk for about an hour. Many times the discussion goes in a totally different direction, but the talk is always interesting. We rotate months among the 11 members.

We were fortunate to have a long phone conversation with Nancy E. Turner, who wrote "These Is My Words," a book we all enjoyed.

Recently, after reading "In the Castle of the Flynns," two of us went to the Bartlett Public Library to hear the author, Michael Raleigh, speak.

We also like to team a field trip with a book. After reading "Trudi's Garden," we received a guided tour from Trudi Temple herself at her lovely garden in Hinsdale. "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan was another of our favorites, and we went on the Frank Lloyd Wright Studio tour in Oak Park after reading her story of Frank and his Mamah.

We loved: "This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper for laughter; "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson for the history of the World's Fair; "When Everything Changed" by Gail Collins for the excellent job she did in telling the story of the women's movement.

We did not like: "Le Divorce" by Diane Johnson.

Our favorite book: "When Everything Changed." Because all of us lived through the women's movement, this book resonated with us in that we each had unique experiences that tied into the book and the times. Our discussion lasted well into the evening and continued for months via emails to one another. And we still reference this book often.

Up next: "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout.

Editor's note: Entries are edited for space and content.

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