Bound by Books
It is a dazzlingly sunny late July morning at Bay of Islands, a rocky archipelago of hundreds of islands north of Manitoulin’s eastern flank. The quartzite La Cloche Mountains rise in the background, familiar to me from paintings by members of the Group of Seven. And at Jane and Reg Drolet’s island camp, boat after boat arrives with other islanders. First it’s three generations of Van Sickel women from Pittsburgh and Seattle—Barbara, daughter-in-law Erika, and granddaughter Maren (with her baby, Anderson). Then a succession of aluminum Stanley boats, as women boatpool over with their neighbours or, to save limited dock space, are dropped off. Kathryn Reeves, from a few islands over, scoots in on her PWC, as does retired educator Sheila Williams—both Canadians. On and on, until vessels are tied up all along the Drolets’ dock and barge. By the end, 22 women have arrived for their once-a-year literary discussion group, Bas Bleus, the first cottage book club I’ve ever come across.
the Bas Bleus have met at each other’s camps to discuss a work of fiction or non-fiction. The club was founded by Marianne Schafer, a retired teacher from Indianapolis now living in Florida, and the late Ann Thoburn, a Toronto librarian who loved reading the classics. They set it up as a group that would bring together the American and Canadian women who spend their summer holidays on the 40 islands within
