Book Club Next Tuesday (9/30) September 24, 2008
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Remember, you don’t have to have actually finished the book to attend and enjoy the conversation. We’re meeting at Cafe Cimmento again, 7:00, September 30 (next Tuesday). Last month, the guys at Cimmento set us up in our own room. We had a fruitful and focused discussion of The Lover, and I think a few people left liking the book more than when we started (not me, I loved it from the beginning).
This month’s book, Christopher Moore’s Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, is described in multiple reviews as “laugh out loud funny, ” so if you haven’t started it and are intimidated by the size, don’t be. It’s a fun and easy read. If you’ve ever attended CCD or were raised in a Christian household, you’ll enjoy the extra kick of the naughtiness (being bad feels good, right?). We may also fully revel in the blasphemy and play some Bible-themed card games.
Here are some links to reviews of Lamb (they’re mostly just summary with a couple of good analytical points):
Feel free to post links to additional reviews in the comments section.
We’ll also need to talk about how we’d like book-procuring to happen from now on. Yesterday, I spoke with Jack from Dorian books, and he said he’d ordered pre-paid copies of our next book, Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, for $14 each. Bring cash if you’re interested in ordering from Jack/Dorian.
Let me know if you have any questions, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all.
Kris
Catching up… September 2, 2008
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The Oakland Book Club is in full swing, contrary to popular perception via this blog.
Some changes: we’ll be meeting the 3rd Tuesday of the month instead of the 4th Wednesday, except for September, when we’ll meet on the 30th to accomodate some members’ schedules.
Kris Harrington is now a moderator. Chris B and me are swamped with work, and Ric has been busy being a supahstar, so Kris has graciously agreed to take over for a bit. You’ll be hearing more from her soon, we hope!
I think we might move our meeting to our neighbor, Cafe Cimmento. At our last gathering, they gave us a whole lovely room where discussion could flow as loud as we wanted in a quiet, safe space. The food is FAB, the staff is uber friendly, and the prices are manageable. Plus, they’re such great neighbors that we want to support them as much as possible.
Marcie Applegate, Fred Shepherd, and Karen Wennberg all designed some kickass bookmarks. I threw together some beady thingys which people did not care for as much as Marcie’s cool photos pronted on leather-like material or Karen’s laminated watercolors…sturdiness is, apparaently, key to a grand bookmark.
So if you haven’t signed up yet, do so in time for our rousing discussion of Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, our September pick. It tells the story of Jesus from the POV of his childhood friend. I’ve never read any Christopher Moore, but there are a few fans in our group and they swear he’s great, so I’m looking forward to it.
I’m behind and still in the throes of The Lover, August’s steamy read. Ms. Duras knows her way around exposition, something that was discussed at length in the last meeting, and her way with words and description is grand. It’s a very prose-y book and a quick read. Pick it up and see what you think!
More to come…thanks for staying tuned!
Not Your Oprah's Bookclub 