Broads Read ZOOM Book Group a Pandemic Success

Timely books and passionate readers were a great combination for the beginning of the Greater Wasatch Broadband Broads Read Book Group.

The idea for the group was the brainchild of Broadband co-leader Di Allison who asked Amy Brunvard to lead our discussions. You couldn't ask for a better leader. Amy is an academic librarian at the University of Utah Marriott Library and a rabid reader. Early on we decided to keep our book selections confined to environmental topics. 

Amy said it best, "Even though COVID has given me a chronic case of Zoom fatigue, I still eagerly  look forward to our Broads Read book discussions. It has been a delight to connect with a group of people who want to read and discuss the same kind of books I love about wilderness, women and the great outdoors.  One thing we've noticed is, Great Old Broads are practically the target audience for books published by the Utah-based Torrey House Press (and BTW, they offer a 20% discount for members https://www.greatoldbroads.org/member-discounts/).  During a time of social distancing, reading together has given me a real sense of  connection, not just to the community of Great Old Broads but to a wider community of people who care deeply about the natural world. "

Co-leader Janifer Larson spoke about one of the books. "Stoney Mesa Saga was an easy read. For those of us that know the history, it was great to place the characters to real the life individuals and places. 

We are reading Windswept right now and Di wanted to share one of her favorite pages from the book she identified with, “Virginia Woolf believed women needed a room of their own. Mary Sarton believed they needed time of their own. Me? I think women need a route of their own. Outdoors.”

We are currently reading Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women. Annabel Abbs. Torrey House Books, 2021, and will be discussing it on December 9. Jan Larson has started the book and had this to say, "I haven’t been an avid reader for years but since we started our GOB Book Read I’m back into it. Walking the trails each morning with the same group and their woofers brings a great uplift to my day. No matter how many times you walk the same path you always see something different things. The women in this book help inspire me to keep moving."

Please join us on December 9. A Zoom invite will be posted soon.

 For reference, here's the list of what we've read so far:

• Desert Cabal: A New Season in the Wilderness. Amy Irvine. Torrey House Press, 2018.
• Vesper Flights. Helen Macdonald. Grove Press, 2020.
• American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God and Public Lands in the West. Betsey Gaines Quammen. Torrey House Press, 2020.
• Processed Meats: Essays on Food Flesh and Navigating Disaster. Torrey House Press, 2021.
• Stony Mesa Sagas. Chip Ward. Torrey House Press, 2017.
• Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. Suzanne Simard. Knopf, 2021