The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

 

This month was The Lager Queen of Minnesota, by J. Ryan Stradal for June, with Nazi Wives, by James Wyllie up next for July's pick. This meeting was so good for a few reasons, mainly that the author, Mr. Stradal, was able to join us via Zoom for the last half of our discussion, but also that we had a great turn out~ with a couple new faces! Welcome, and thank you to all who participated!

We learned at this meeting that it's rather difficult to conduct a Zoom meeting with some people joining from home and others gathering together in the meeting room at the library. With that in mind, we are planning on meeting outdoors for July 13th's book club discussion, however, if the weather has other plans for that afternoon, we'll aim to assemble all in person (while social distancing) in the meeting room at the library. We'll let you know the final word on where we're meeting as it gets closer.

In other news, Susan is in need of volunteers to help set up for the book sale happening next week. If anyone has some free time this next Monday and/or Tuesday (June 14th and 15th) and would like to stop in to lend a hand, it sure would be a big help! No appointment is necessary~ just swing by any time during regular business hours and stay as long as you'd like. Please also plan to stop over to peruse the the book sale~ which will be held from Wednesday, June 16th through Saturday, June 19th (during regular business hours as well)!

Without further delay~ 

Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself.

With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country. Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late.

With a few exceptions, this book turned out largely to be a, "I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either", kind of read. Most of our members said it was a good, easy read with well constructed characters and plot lines. There was a poignant, specific mention of Mr. Stradal's exceptional ability to illustrate profound loss and grief, which we later learned was based on his personal experience losing loved ones, most notably, his mother, not so many years ago. Mr. Stradal also shared that the three female leads of the book are all based on a mixture of the prominent female figures from his life~ both of his grandmothers and his mother~ which was well received and respected among the group.

The few criticisms we came up with were in regard to several scenes and narratives that were unrealistic, along with a juvenile feel throughout the book. It was also said that this book had a way of switching back and forth between plot lines and time frames, which can be hard to follow and confusing at times.

In closing, Mr. Stradal was an excellent speaker and we enjoyed his insight and conversation immensely! It is such a treat to be able to come together again for a book club meeting, but to have the author join us put it over the top! See you next month!  

Did you love The Lager Queen of Minnesota? Fans of this book also enjoyed: Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes, and Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson. Both books are available in Viking~ reserve them today!

At the end of every book club discussion we ask three questions and track the average answers:
Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
Would we recommend this to a friend to read? 
"YES"
Rate the book 1-5 stars with 1 being the lowest rating: 
 3.5 stars