Emily Bleeker of What's Left Unsaid Join's Shelf Indulgence Book Club - Meeting Recap

 

People who aren’t in book clubs might have some misconceptions. Like, the discussions are stilted, forced recitations of people attempting to out intellectualize each other. Or, the book club members never actually read the book or discuss the book. But they do drink wine and eat delicious snacks.

 

Well, not our book club. We’re not stuffy. We do read the books. And, the wine and snacks are at a minimum because we often are lucky enough to have the author with us. (Thanks, Brittany). So, we’re too busy asking questions for those snacks.

 

We certainly were fortunate this past Sunday, June 6th, to have the effervescent Emily Bleeker, author of our selection What’s Left Unsaid, in our Zoom book club room.

 

What a treat. As Amy pointed out, Emily Bleeker really made us coconspirators with her protagonist as we joined her on her riveting search into a family mystery from another era.

 

Bleeker emphasized how much her book was about the setting. So how do you get the logistics correct when you’re writing a novel during a pandemic and your travel is limited. Well, Gretchen got this answered for us - Bleeker used google maps and actually had her characters “drive” from place to place. As she pointed out, readers need accuracy to stay in the story. Books don’t have the latitude of movies to suspend belief.

 

We readers can be rather meticulous about details. Bleeker knows this. She does her research.

 

What we didn’t know is that Bleeker is also an actor. She shared that, as an actor, she closes her eyes and visualizes scenes. Perhaps that’s why readers are so easily connected to the action in her novels.

 

Turns out, none of us figured out “who did it”. (Not even Becky!). Amy had an interesting take - if you’re her sister, watch your back. By the way, did you know ChickLit has been replaced by publishers with the designation Book Club Lit? “What’s Left Unsaid” is difficult to categorize. That’s a plus.

 

What’s in the future for Bleeker? Well, more books, of course. She has two in the works. More acting. And maybe, just maybe, stand up comedy. She certainly had us laughing.

 

Bleeker calls writing “the truest form of empathy”. Her excellent book What’s Left Unsaid, resonated with all of us. We connected. As for Bleeker’s Hannah having an edge, due to her Midwestern roots, well, watch the zoom. (Meryl is nodding her head). Judge for yourself. Midwestern members vs. Southern members. Hmmm.

 

Her book What’s Left Unsaid is out July 27^th, and it’s certainly one you won’t want to miss…

Posted by book lover: Phyllis T.