A gal from my Book Club hosted a lovely fall lunch for our discussion this week.  Here’s a look at her autumn-flavored tablescape and lunch.

THE TABLESCAPE

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Even with first glance, my eyes immediately glommed onto her gorgeous fall plates.  Sure enough, they were the same ones I have been crushing over at Williams-Sonoma  the past couple years.

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Her table had the look and feel of autumn…Kudos to her teen granddaughter who played a major role in styling the table.

The piece of driftwood was found on a trip to Door County (Wisconsin).

The orange-colored pumpkin-shaped beads on top of the driftwood are actually vase filler beads just sitting on the wood (clever!).  Her pretty napkins are from a past trip to France.

 Note the backs of her charming antique dining room chairs in the top photo.

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THE LUNCH

How beautiful does this salad look against the wooden grain of the bowl!

Mixed greens salad with feta cheese, raspberry glazed almonds, and canned pears served with a raspberry dressing…

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Sante Fe (spicy) chicken with pasta

Asparagus cooked with lemon olive oil (lemony) and sea salt

Luscious chocolate cake

DISCUSSION OF THE BOOK

Our book club read Erik Larson’s previous book, In the Garden of Beasts, several years ago.  I really enjoyed reading that book, and even found much of the information (& characters) in the book to be quite useful with subsequent reads about World War II.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about Dead Wake.  In general, I found this book to be too long and drawn out.

Overall, our book club rated Dead Wake about a 3 out of a 5 scale .  It is very clear Mr. Larson thoroughly researched the events for this book, but the book was too bogged down with tedious (World War I submarine) details for our taste.  We also would have preferred more character development.

If you’re new to author Erik Larson, I would highly recommend reading one of his earlier books, In the Garden of Beasts or The Devil in the White City, and skipping Dead Wake.

Cute little Halloween decor she had displayed on her coffee table.

Happy Reading…Happy Halloween