I always wanted to be in a book club. I was complaining about it to my friend Lauren one day and she said, “Why don’t you start one.”
So we rounded up a handful of ladies and began meeting once a month. And I’m pleased to report that our book club is still going strong in its third season.
Here is how our meetings go:
We go around in a circle and everyone says how they felt about the book. The ladies are very diplomatic, so even when we read Billy Budd, Sailor, no one flat-out said, “I thought this book sucked. Who is Herman Melville? ” Instead we say things like, “There are things about this book that I really liked.”
Usually whoever is hosting has prepared some questions for discussion. At least, this is always my hope. I myself have an actual numbered list at hand, and after each question is addressed in the order it appears, I like to cross it off. Sometimes I’ll draw a little box next to each item and when I feel that it has been beaten to a pulp, I’ll go ahead and put a check in the box.
Not everyone does this.
We have a nice mix of personalities in our book club, which makes for lively discussion. We have a Philosopher, an Empathizer, a Quiet Introspectionist, a Pragmatist, a Wild Card and at least one Republican, as far as I know.
And we have good snacks. Usually wine, some nice bread and fine cheeses, fruit, a pastry, and crudités. My friend Lauren sometimes makes crêpes, which she serves with fruit, Nutella, and crème fraîche.
After we discuss the book for about an hour, we veer into extra-curricular discussion topics, like mortality, fitness, our children, Greg Mortenson (we are still very disappointed in Greg Mortensen and his Three Cups of Bull$hit), and last but not least, our husbands.
Boy, do we love talking about our husbands. From my book club discussions I have learned the following universal truths about them:
A husband cannot read a wife’s mind. You would think that after ten plus years of marriage, this would be the case. But it is not.
A husband is blind to counter crumbs and toothpaste scum.
You have to remind a husband to get his haircut.
A husband will walk into the house and hang his coat on a chair in the kitchen, even though there is a hook with his name on it right there next to the garage door.
Some husbands, when they come home, like to lay their work clothes on the bed to “air them out.” What’s up with that?
A husband needs very specific directions. For example, if you ask a husband to get some sheets out of the dryer, the husband will not intrinsically know that he is supposed to turn around and put those sheets on the bed.
You don’t really want the husband to make the bed, because he’ll screw it up. No, what you want is for the husband to offer, so that you in turn could say with the faintest hint of martyrdom in your voice, “No, I’ll do it.”
It’s a good thing that during book club, our husbands are in the basement, watching the kids.
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“You don’t really want the husband to make the bed, because he’ll screw it up. No, what you want is for the husband to offer, so that you in turn could say with the faintest hint of martyrdom in your voice, “No, I’ll do it.””
This is spot on.
slouchy´s last [type] ..On the Day
I have nothing to add, except that I would really love to be a part of your book club. I think I’ll start looking for jobs in Ohio and hope I’m cool enough to be invited.
Kate´s last [type] ..Laundry and The Future
YES, counter crumbs and toothpaste scum and inept bed-making!! I want to be in your book club too.
Becca´s last [type] ..More! Educational! Fun!
So true and So true about bookclub. When was part of one, we would meet at Yours truly or a coffee house and talk about the book for 15 minutes and the conversation always went right to something about life. Always.
in our house, i’m the one who is blind to crumbs on the counter.
i hated book club. it was full of uptight people who only wanted to talk about the books, and the books were always earnest foreign non-fiction. i was delighted when it fell apart.
magpie´s last [type] ..True Story
Can we still be friends?
What? You’re telling me this stuff doesn’t go away after year five? *slumps disappointedly into chair*
Vicki´s last [type] ..House update: the walls
I very briefly flirted with my aunt’s book club when I lived in Columbus many years ago. I read the book for the month, delved deep inside of me to find meaning, and when finally presented the opportunity to add to the discussion, proffered that the protagonist was a Christ-like figure who in the end had to die in order to save humanity.
It was at this moment I realized that the “book” club was simply a ruse for having a monthly social outing where the actual topic was anything but the book. Fortunately, the homemade white chocolate Chambord cheesecake I brought seemed to ease the rumblings of the natives.
Needless to say, I didn’t go to any more meetings.
Tom´s last [type] ..Opening Pandora’s Box
I went to a book club meeting like that once with a friend. I was very excited because I thought I had finally found my book club. I even had some notes that I’d jotted down. There was a lot of friendly chatter and food and libations. All night I kept saying to myself, “I bet the book discussion will start any minute now!”
It never did.
Its shocking how similar husbands are. I completely concur with a lot of these assessments. Particularly, “A husband is blind to counter crumbs and toothpaste scum.”
I need to start a book club, this sounds like a great get together.
Marta´s last [type] ..When You’re Disappointed
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