tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81535910164285782892024-02-07T18:42:12.852-08:00The Club of BooksEl Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-61663642580515898862014-01-25T22:17:00.002-08:002014-01-25T22:28:07.384-08:00Burning Marguerite<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to Ms. K for ringing in 2014 with a lovely BC at her
home. We started off the evening with
delicious spinach and pine nut spanakopita from Thyme Café, followed by an
outstanding and seasonally-appropriate <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/white-bean-and-chicken-chili-recipe.html">corn and chicken chili</a>, and double
desserts in honor of the Maharani’s birthday:
homemade cupcakes and chocolate peanut butter bars. Lish!</span><br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><u>Burning
Marguerite</u>, by Elizabeth Ennis-Brown, scored a 7.6. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">This was a languid, poignant and delicate jewel of a story about Tante, a
spinster living in a remote area somewhere very, very cold, and Jack John, the
orphan who grew up in her care. The book was largely a character piece, and more than one of us commented on how well we felt we came to know the characters.
Both
Tante and Jack John were lovingly revealed as the story looked
back in time to the formative events of their childhood
and young adult years. Indeed, it took a while to get one's bearings in this book: the story's geographic setting is not immediately evident (is it ever evident?), and it also migrates back and forth over a fifty-plus year span. Nonetheless, these conventions were clearly effective. Across the board we praised the author for her beautiful writing. The Maharani said she had the impression of reading a poem, while the Foxx remarked how the descriptions were so vivid that she felt a sensory connection to the events in the story. Despite the craftmanship that went into this novel, it got dinged for being a bit too soap opera-y. After all... turns out Tante was a lesbian, forced to have an abortion by her parents, resulting in her sterilization, after which her father killed her boyfriend with a dagger through the heart, etc. Nonetheless, the unfolding of these tragedies ultimately led the reader to understand the ties between Tante and Jack John, and the final catharsis in sending Tante's body up in flames on the frozen lake, setting her spirit free.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Our next book is Jumpa Lahiri's <u>The Lowland</u>. Until next time, read early and often! xoej</span></span><br />
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-45547150403674756602013-12-31T21:16:00.000-08:002014-01-25T21:36:10.209-08:00The Dinner<div class="MsoNormal">
Just when you thought El Jefe had abandoned her post. Take yourselves back in time, way back, to
early December. Fake snow on the front
porch, the aroma of rich winter cooking in the air, Christmas trees alight, and
avid readers drunk on champagne. It could
be none other than the twelfth annual holiday Book Club! Even better because
Blondie was all up in the hizzy! Once in
BC, always… <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thanks to The Highlander and Mr. Matty once again for
hosting. Seems like just yesterday there
were a million calories worth of artichoke dip and cured meats set forth before
us, to be followed by beef bourguignon (new recipe—a winner!) ladled over
truffled mashed potatoes (it’s always early January before El Jefe recovers
from potato mashing carpal tunnel syndrome), roasted brussel sprouts,
non-under-saladed salad (a bounty in fact!), crusty baguettes and Heath Bar
cookies galore. Deee lishy! All El Jefe
wants for Christmas is to never stray from that menu. And the other thing El Jefe wants is for
Carmen not to take ALL the leftovers home. Ever. Again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our December book, <u>The Dinner</u>, by Herman Koch, is an
international best-seller but did not fly off the shelves among our group. It came in at a lackluster 6.7. To refresh
our collective memories, this was the story of two families living in
Amsterdam: Paul, an ex-schoolteacher (dishonorably
discharged as we later discover), his wife Claire, and their son; and Paul’s
brother Serge, Dutch presidential hopeful, his wife Babette, and their two
sons, one adopted from Africa. The
children of these two families commit a heinous crime when they set a homeless
person on fire inside an ATM booth, and the story deals with the parents’
discovery of this incident and the ensuing consequences—all recounted during
the course of a dinner at one of Amsterdam’s hottest restaurants. Despite the
violence and psychological twists in this book, several people commented that it
was a slow read: long stretches between
inflection points, disjointed chapters flipping back and forth in time, and a pace
that just generally dragged. As a
counterpoint, it was noted that the pace of the book was deliberately measured
in order to match the theme and setting, that is, it took place over multiple
courses of an elegant meal rather than being served up in one shot like fast
food. <u>The Dinner</u> also was
criticized for not having a single likeable character and for the fact that
Paul, the protagonist, did not wrestle with the moral issues in the story at
all. On the other hand, the author clearly intended the readers to grapple with
the significant moral questions presented, and we went around the room and
talked about what we each would have done if our own child had committed the
crime but had not been apprehended.
Would we keep silent and hope the authorities never figured it out? Or would we turn our kids’ asses in? In
addition, the book was highly successful in its stunning 180 degree flip of the
reader’s expectations as to which family was “normal” and “happy.” The book is narrated by Paul, and at the outset
he depicts himself and Claire as the upstanding couple and casts doubt over
Serge and Babette. Most of us really
enjoyed the way Paul’s utter depravity was developed little by little—his
uncontrolled episodes of remorseless violence brought on by some unidentified (and,
according to The Doctor, fictional) genetic flaw—and then of all things Claire
turned out to be a total psychopath, instructing her own son to kill his cousin
and slashing Serge’s face to pieces with the stem of a broken wine glass so the
truth wouldn’t come out. Dang! Finally, because of the fact that Paul turns out
to be so cray-cray, he is an unreliable narrator and the reader is left
questioning whether there are parts of the story that never even happened at all. In sum, better than <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/fooling-houdini.html">last year’s book on magic tricks</a> but a far cry from <u><a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2010/12/zeitoun.html">Zeitoun</a></u>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Who needs dinner in Amsterdam? Just snacks when you get the munchies.</div>
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Deceptiv<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ely peaceful.</span></div>
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Cate Blanchett will make her directorial debut adapting <u>The Dinner</u>-- easy, Claire.</div>
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January recap is right on the heels, stay tuned. xoej</span>El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-43943753413572394922013-12-03T23:09:00.002-08:002013-12-03T23:09:25.426-08:00A Hundred SummersA woefully belated recap of our end-o'-the-season BC hosted by The Doctor at the Autumn Chateau. Methinks El Jefe was a little saucy that night, as the entire meal, start to finish, is hazy to say the least. Ah yes, due to the fact that some of us started off the evening with Salty Dogs, note the plural (whose idea could that possibly have been??). Pretty sure that the hors d'oeuvres involved burrata and were lishy. Less sure that dinner was a hearty Tuscan soup involving sausage. And drawing a complete blank on dessert, clearly just plain hammered by that point. Thank goodness that El Jefe knows the holiday menu by heart after ten years, so have no fear for next month.<br />
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What is crystal clear in El Jefe's memory (ahem, notes) is the abysmal review of Beatriz Williams' <u>A Hundred Summers</u>. Three 2's, two apiece of 4 and 5, and one 6, for an overall average score of 4.5. Yowsa, but not the lowest rating in BC history! <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2004/03/true-to-da-game.html">True to da Game</a> scored a 3.6 so this book is well in the clear. Nonetheless, when an author writes stuff like "Her lips formed a perfect 'O' around his…." you know we are not talking about great literature. Those at the low end described the book as "atrocious," "wretched," and "it made me angry." Another complaint was that the Kiki reveal was obvious (recall, Kiki was the love child of Lily's mom and Nick Greenwald's father). And Red said that she would rather read F. Scott Fitzgerald than someone copying the voice of that era and doing a shitty job (maybe we should read him, then!). Those at the high end, as it were, found the book to be more silly than repulsive-- for example, all the characters riding on the doors of houses through the hurricane to safety-- and at least credited it with having some fun drama and intrigue (but really poor sex scenes, unfortsch). We all agreed that there was simply not much to talk about here, so let's leave it at that and look forward to Thursday's holiday BC where there will be plenty of discussion! Can't wait to drink many glasses of champagne with all of you, not to mention the added treat that Blondie will be in town for the festivities!<br />
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Two days to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Herman-Koch/dp/0385346859/ref=la_B001JXMSZW_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386140274&sr=1-1">The Dinner</a> by Herman Koch if you haven't already. xoej<br />
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P.S. Just remembered that the dessert was a caramel pie!El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-59642812065744747662013-10-07T10:29:00.002-07:002013-10-07T10:29:54.827-07:00The InterestingsWe had a great meeting Chez Jefe last week, getting together over a mega cheese and charcuterie platter, duck liver and all, followed by Prune Restaurant's <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/kitchens/recipes/gabrielle-hamilton-cheeseburger-recipe-0612">lamb-chuck burgers</a> with parsley butter on English muffins, and finally Sweet Rose Creamery ice cream sandwiches. Like bears hoarding calories in preparation for winter hibernation.<br />
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The Only Cheeseburger Recipe You'll Ever Need</div>
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<u>The Interestings</u>, by Meg Wolitzer, may or may not have deserved its title. </div>
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The book scored a respectable 7.6, partially the result of a 10 dragged down by a few 6's. OK, admittedly the 10 came from a once-every-few-years El Jefe rave review, and disappointingly the Doctor broke ranks. So much for loyalty en la familia. Starting with the praise: the book was exceptionally well written and had excellent character development, a la Jeffrey Eugenides (who wrote the book jacket quote). There was a little of everything in this story-- some drama, primarily around Goodman's alleged rape of "Cathy Kiplinger" and his subsequent flight to Iceland, a bit of humor, a bit of romance, and plentiful references to current or recent historical events, such as the AIDS epidemic, the "Moonies" cult and the obvious reference in Ethan's character to Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons. Also, the sheer breadth of this story was impressive, in that it deeply explored social, emotional and career-related themes involving characters with widely varied personalities and over a long period of time, from the early teen years through adulthood. Finally, for at least one of us the book resonated on a personal level with reaching an age where you look both backwards and forwards at the trajectory of your life, partially with nostalgia and partially with adult objectivity, reassessing long-held perceptions of friends and family in light of the way they, or you, have changed. </div>
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And then, of course, the irony-- that these fabulous youngsters riding atop the world, profoundly impressed by their own ideas and opportunities, poised for greatness and yearning to conquer New York, were at the end of the day not all that interesting. While this undoubtedly was part of the book's message, and in fact the author expressly acknowledged it on the last page, it didn't necessarily make for good reading according to several in our group. Boring, self-indulgent, young, lacking in forward trajectory. The characters were stereotypical (in fact, several people disliked Jules, the main character, finding her weak and annoying), certain of the writing conventions were obvious and the whole thing was just, well, uninteresting. </div>
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Our next meeting is on Tuesday, November 5. The Doctor is hosting (in her new (temporary) house!), the Highlander is on apps and the Foxx on dessert. Having read ahead, El Jefe can guarantee that the November book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/A-Hundred-Summers-Beatriz-Williams/dp/039916216X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381164195&sr=8-1&keywords=hundred+summers">A Hundred Summers</a>, will be a fun and pulpy change of pace. Highlander, don't miss this one, it's right up your alley!</div>
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Ethan... fo' sho'</div>
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Mass wedding performed by the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity under Rev. Sun Myung Moon</div>
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1980s. We have come a long way.</div>
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-68738792995607662052013-09-05T08:37:00.000-07:002013-10-05T08:41:19.274-07:00The Kitchen HouseThanks to the Foxx for hosting a lovely BC. We started out with artichoke dip spread over crostini and pesto-topped hummus with sweet potato chips, courtesy of Logan's Run, followed by a fresh and delicious saute of shrimp, spinach and tomatoes, and polished off with a berry pie baked by Quakers in Idaho and lovingly transported by El Jefe 14 hours back to Cali in a cooler. An homage to our well-intentioned but ultimately futile Sun Valley BC.<br />
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<u>The Kitchen House</u>, by Kathleen Grissom, cooked in at a meager 5.3. This was the story of an Irish girl named Lavinia ("Abinia" in the author's rendition of southern slave dialect) who was an indentured servant and was raised by the plantation slaves with whom she worked. On the positive side, several of us really got into this story (albeit after a slow start) and found it to be riveting enough to overcome the frankly depressing nature of the subject matter. Also, the characters were well developed and therefore interesting, even if not likeable. The detractors found the story to be overly dramatic-- the Maharani actually compared it to a telenovella-- with rape followed by beating followed by molestation followed by morphine abuse. Although these tragedies undoubtedly were all too commonplace in the sad and harsh world portrayed by <u>The Kitchen House</u>, our group felt that the novel was so packed with them that it dulled the effect on the reader. For example, one person mentioned that by the time Ben's ear got cut off, the gruesome incident came across as just one more violent act in a parade of horribles rather than a shocking scene that stopped the reader in her tracks. Some also simply didn't like Abinia: although she struggled with her place between the white and black worlds, she was a people pleaser and a weak character who didn't garner much sympathy. In fact, there was more discussion over Marshall, who suffered years of cruelty and molestation at the hands of his tutor and emerged a ruined and abusive man himself. The trauma of his childhood resulted in Marshall growing up to be more comfortable banding together with the diabolical slavemaster Rankin that with his own family members. Finally, Ms. K. felt that that the book was a "Roots" copycat-- not very original except for the indentured servant twist; a historically interesting theme but ultimately not enough to salvage the overall rating.<br />
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Stay tuned for the recap of <u>The Interestings</u>! Until next time, read early and often.. xoej<br />
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-61590234530902179532013-09-04T22:25:00.000-07:002014-01-25T22:25:52.275-08:00Dark Places<u>Dark Places</u>, by Gillian Flynn, was our August book, read in L.A. and Sun Valley, and discussed by the L.A. team over dinner at Le Zinque.<br />
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Overall the book scored an 8.4. It was entertaining, easy to read and suspenseful. So much so that The Highlander snuggled up every night to read (wha??), dying to find out what happened. Possible pun intended. Apparently people were pretty fooled, thinking it was Diondra who was the killer. A very effective thriller, this was better liked than <u><a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/09/gone-girl.html">Gone Girl</a></u>. Want to hear something weird? In going back through the blog to get that link, El Jefe noted that the Gone Girl recap was September 4, 2012-- one year to the day ago.El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-12594927019466094432013-07-31T16:49:00.000-07:002014-01-25T21:35:48.434-08:00A Thousand PardonsOy, El Jefe has really slacked off this summer and is relegated to backdating the blog posts. But why call it slacking off when we can call it "being flexible?" A way belated thanks to Logan's Run for hosting July BC, with a special appearance by none other than Blondie- once in BC, always in BC: it was just like old times! Glad we proved we still hold the bar high as far as food is concerned. We shared CA and ID gossip over bruschetta with three kinds of toppings (pesto and parm, roasted beets with fresh feta, and roasted red bell peppers with chives), followed by orzo with roasted veggies and an amazing salad (<a href="http://cookingwithcandi.com/2011/12/18/vinaigrette-with-maple-syrup-the-new-salad-dressing-youve-been-looking-for/">maple syrup dressing</a> from Gwenyth's cookbook, right?) and assorted French pastries and cookies. Lish!! <br />
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A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee garnered a 5.7. It was a full house, and everybody voted. One or two high scores were countered by a number of votes in the 4-5 range, with a lot of consistency in the comments. To refresh memories: this was the story of the housewife, Helen, whose husband cheated with the law firm summer intern and went broke from the resulting legal battle. Helen was forced to move to NYC and take a job in crisis management PR. She runs into an old high school flame now movie star, Hamilton Barth, and subsequently "rescues" him from a drunken oblivion and hides him in her ex-husband's house while trying to locate Hamilton's one-night stand and prove she (the one-night stand) is still alive. Meanwhile, the adopted daughter is getting into all kinds of delinquency. And then at the end, um, they move back in together? That part is pretty fuzzy in El Jefe's memory which is exactly the problem people had: the first half of the book was fun and sensationalist, while the second half just kind of went nowhere, despite the high expectations that maybe there would be a murder! Maybe Helen and Hamilton would get together in a sizzling romance! Maybe the adopted daughter would do something really crazy! But, no, they all just kind of resumed their post-divorce, post-scandal, post-trouble-making-African American boyfriend lives. At the worst, Ms. K wondered why an author would even write this, setting up the reader for nothing to happen. Anopther critique was that the author treated Helen very harshly. We were all picturing her as middle aged and dowdy, loathed by her teenage daughter, struggling to get back into the workforce. But then we find out she's only like-- our age! Ouch. On the flip side, a couple of people thought that for all its hints towards celebrity and drama, the book had a streak of realiam and, going even further, the author actually was deliberate in giving the book a somewhat drab ending. That is, neither marriage nor divorce may be all that exciting, affairs don't always end in a huge dramatic flame out, and resuming commonplace lives is, well, just what happens most of the time. <br />
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Stay tuned for the next installment of The Club of Books to find out what happened to the Sun Valley book club which turned into the LA and Sun Valley book clubs which turned into just the LA book club. Funny how natural disasters can do that. See everyone tomorrow to discuss our August and September books. And happy End o' Summer! xoej <br />
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<br />El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-91005336803037934452013-06-17T21:54:00.000-07:002013-06-17T21:54:06.555-07:00The End of Your Life Book ClubLife is good. Book club, incredible food, beautiful and amazing friends and the beach (sigh). Does it get any better? Thanks Red for the portable feast, enjoyed from a cozy cabana overlooking the Pacific at sundown. I mean does it?! Manchego cheese canapes and homemade spicy mixed nuts, two kinds of quiche, one of which had melted leeks God bless, mixed baby greens and El Jefe's birthday cake! Deee-lishy.<br />
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<u>The End of Your Life Book Club</u>, by Will Schwalbe, scored a 6.6 Although not the feel good book of the summer, the poignancy of this story moved our group and gave rise to an emotional discussion.<br />
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As Logan's Run put it, TEOYLBC is at its core a story about a relationship and how it was affected by books. Just as reading opened up new areas in her life, the shared love of books transformed the last years the author spent with his mother while she battled pancreatic cancer. This book touched the hearts of our own little book club in many ways. Rarely in our ten-plus years together has there been such a personal and sad conversation. The trust and intimacy among us is truly special; we are lucky for this group of friends, our time together, our families, our intellect, our sense of humor. Herein lies the real value of the book. It was a reaffirmation that time spent with loved ones will never be something to regret. And it shows how there can be opportunities in all kinds of ways to give back to people who are meaningful to us. In this case, the author and his siblings took weeks out of their lives-- otherwise filled with jobs, kids, various other commitments that "busy" people have-- to stay with their mother during her chemotherapy treatments and while she was admitted to the hospital. What a big influence she must have had on her children, how much she must have given them over the years, to receive such love and respect in return. On a lighter note, it was fun to come across books that TEOYLBC had read that we have as well-- A Long Way Gone, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_439641227"></span>Felicia's Journey<span id="goog_439641228"></span></a> and the Kite Runner to name a few. </div>
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There were in fairness several points made about some of the shortcomings of TEOYLBC. Like other recent reads, this book was too long! Editor, heal thyself. The Highlander remarked that the story went on and on about the author and his mother talking about books, but left her wanting for an understanding of how books really connected them, and the feeling that the whole premise was somewhat contrived. A few people also complained that the mother's character was depicted as larger than life and as a result came across as implausible-- had she really devoted <i>all</i> her time and efforts to noble causes, did she really impart to her kids <i>that</i> many pearls of wisdom, was her attitude really always <i>so</i> even-keeled. And the author himself got criticized for being WASP-y and over-eager to drive home (likely out of a sense of guilt) the point that he was sooooo lucky that he never had to work. But at the end of the day, the book's flaws did not overshadow its message, which is one that our book club could stand to be reminded of every now and again.</div>
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Our next meeting is on July 10 at Logan's Run's house. The Maharani is on apps, Ms. K on dessert. We are reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/A-Thousand-Pardons-Novel/dp/0812983386/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371529304&sr=8-1&keywords=1000+pardons+paperback">A Thousand Pardons</a>, by Jonathan Dee. Until next time, read early and often! And come with suggestions for the LOD; methinks we need an August book. xoej </div>
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-404280527256049762013-06-03T21:43:00.002-07:002013-06-03T21:43:39.244-07:00WoolThanks to Ms. K for hosting our May BC. We started out with a platter of burrata smothered in sun dried tomatoes with crostini for scooping, followed by Thyme Cafe's chicken stew with biscuits and a mixed green salad, with two kinds of cupcakes for dessert. Lish!<br />
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"If the Lies Don't Kill You, the Truth Will." </div>
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Whoa, now that's deep. The self-published novel <u>Wool</u>, by Hugh Howey, came in just shy of a 7. Surprisingly, an almost identical score to <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/hunger-games.html">The Hunger Games</a>, our last pop culture sci-fi sensation, but with different player haters. While Ms. K. excoriated Hunger Games, she bestowed upon this book a solid 7.5. By contrast, El Jefe was a big time HG fan but found this book to be "meh." After all, Wool isn't really such a unique piece. As the Maharani pointed out, it sticks pretty close to sci-fi 101: post-apocalyptic world, only vague understanding of why, population control, Big Brother suppressing the innate sexual urges of lusty young adults, to no avail. Talk about lish! This stuff is gratuitous, entertaining and campy; <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hugh-howey/self-published-book-wool-movie_b_1540211.html">just right for a Hollywood movie</a>. What's not to like? How about 500+ pages, for starters. <u>Wool</u> turned out to be a veritable tome (and wait, there's more-- rumor has it a prequel is in the works). Logan's Run just couldn't slog through it (truly a sign of not enough editing--where's censorship when we need it?) and Red thought the story was fine but way too drawn out. Other criticisms were that the book came across as overly masculine (int, since there was a female lead), the reveals were obvious, and it made the reader claustrophobic. This latter point, however, seems to be a compliment to the author, whose highly visual writing rendered life in the silos with such detail that it actually caused discomfort in the real world. And, let's give credit that despite all the pulp, there was food for discussion. Of course the most vexing question being the one that the characters in the story couldn't answer themselves: Why do people clean? Was it out of a sense of euphoria from going outside and (falsely) discovering that the world was alive and full of color? Was it to try and clear the lenses so that others could view the same miracle? Or was it simply out of respect for the tradition, regardless of whether the cleaners knew or suspected the truth? After all, if the lies don't kill you, then, you know.<br />
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So, who would we cast? Because the world in which El Jefe might be able to answer that question is indeed a fictional one, here's the opinion of <a href="http://girlygamer.com.au/2012/12/wool-by-hugh-howey-movie-casting-who-would-you-cast/">someone else</a> who knows better:<br />
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Rhona Mitra-- as Juliette</div>
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Liam Neeson-- as Holsten</div>
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Helen Mirren-- as Mayor Jahns</div>
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Paul Giamatti-- as Bernard</div>
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Andrew Garfield-- as Lukas</div>
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Our next meeting is Wednesday night, in Cabana 173 by the Sea. Bring a sweater. Can't wait. xoej<br />
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<br />El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-17198857508019014422013-05-06T22:36:00.002-07:002013-05-06T22:36:55.170-07:00Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of BeliefThanks to the Foxx for hosting BC. It was such a lovely evening that we will even forgive her for being an SP (see below). We started out with <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/salsa-di-parmigiano-recipe/index.html">Salsa di Parmigiano</a>, a ridiculously savory blend of chunks of parmesan and Asiago pureed in olive oil with scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes, to be slathered atop crostini (it was almost embarrassing how many of these El Jefe inhaled in the first two minutes upon arrival). Next, a hearty, healthy and delicious stew of kale, cannellini beans and turkey sausage with cornbread to dunk, and <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/04/brownies-with-salted-caramel-sauce">brownies with salted caramel sauce</a> a la' mode. Deee lish.<br />
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Michael Chiarellos' Salsa di Parmigiano</div>
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On to Lawrence Wright's <i>Going Clear</i>, which garnered a 7.4 rating. In the Scientology world, this is a truly impressive score. After all, OT VII is the second highest level on the Bridge to Total Freedom--well beyond Preclear, and rapidly progressing from Clear to Operating Thetan. </div>
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Not that a suppressive person such as the Foxx would appreciate that. She described this book as "creepy," "crazy" and "nutty"-- stark evidence of antisocial pathology. Logan's Run, also an SP, compared the devout souls depicted in this book to the real nut jobs in <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2011/11/19th-wife.html">The 19th Wife</a> and Under the Banner of Heaven. Red--another SP--simply put it: "cray cray!" Finally, the Doctor, in a kind of paranoid twist on the SP, became afraid of getting snatched off her bed while reading the book. Ok, so there was an across the board consensus that Scientology is a cult: the terminology, the way it sucked in the vulnerable and destroyed their lives, the all-absorbing focus on a single charismatic individual... the way people get snatched off their beds? But let's turn to the book itself. Clearly (ha ha) the author researched this book to the nitty gritty end, as attested to by the dozens of pages of footnotes. However, as is often the case with non-fiction, it's difficult to walk that line between thoroughness and, well, boring your reader to tears. Despite the wacky theology and the star-studded cast of characters, <i>Going Clear </i>could be painfully boring at times, with one person commenting that the subject matter could have been adequately covered in half the pages. After all, this book is being marketed to the public for their reading pleasure, not as a scholarly treatise. Even the Highlander thought there was too much detail on the celebrities. (Wait, surely that sequence of words has never before been typed together, nor will it ever be in the future.) Yet this book raised some interesting questions for discussion. Such as, how could LRH, who was a wife beater and overall horrible man, become the central figure of a worldwide movement whose followers adored and emulated him? How and why is Scientology different from established religions, particularly Catholicism, which is all about mysteries, hierarchy and awesome outfits? To this last question, our group gave a lot of weight to the fact that Catholicism (and Judaism and Islam, etc.) is old (not to mention the Pope-- he is always old, too). Those religions pre-date modern means of communication, or really, almost any means of communication other than oral storytelling and writing on scrolls, and thus it's understandable that the religions' adherents could have accepted the religions' "truths"--whereas today it seems preposterous for some guy to try and convince people that he can multiply loaves and fishes. In any event, the IRS does not agree with our book club, and El Jefe's not going to argue with that.</div>
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See y<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ou ma<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">ñ</span>ana </span>at Ms. K's house to discuss <i>Wool</i>! xoej</div>
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-26776564458156958592013-04-11T01:23:00.000-07:002013-04-11T01:23:34.485-07:00A Passage to IndiaThanks to the Maharani for hosting a marvelous BC last month, and a full house to boot (no surprise, given the culinary expectations!). We dove right into the theme with samosas and two kinds of chutney for dipping, followed by the Maharani's family recipe for chicken curry, saag paneer, naan-- plus, some sort of gluten-free options (how trendy that will seem by next year) and it was all lish! (And re-created last week in Sun Valley--still lish!) Then, thanks to a minor scheduling snafu, we feasted on two kinds of dessert, never a bad thing... cheesecake and homemade ginger cookies. So excited for another feast tomorrow.<br />
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<u>A Passage to India</u>, by E.M. Forster, is such a venerable classic that El Jefe almost-- with an emphasis on "almost"-- hesitates to post a rating. But in the interest of not pulling a J.P., let's fess up and admit that the book scored a 6. Cringe! In a truly surprising display of cultural disloyalty, the Maharani led the charge with a "5," soon to be followed by a cascade of other "5s" by Ms. K., Logan's Run, and Red. El Jefe and the Doctor (rarely do they break ranks) salvaged a bit of dignity for Mr. Forster's masterpiece by bringing the rating up a notch. Lying at the heart of these lackluster numbers is the simple truth that <u>A Passage to India</u> was written in another time and place, with the pacing and languor of another time and place. It just couldn't keep readers' interest in (so cliche El Jefe can barely type) "today's fast paced world," where attention spans are short(er), there are a lot of entertaining books to choose from (funny we can't seem to find any lately) and people expect more easily accessible content. This book took patience. You had to suspend your skepticism and initial boredom and just roll with it. Very hard to do when, 150 pages in, still nothing has happened, it's unclear who the main characters are, and the whole thing is just, well, all narrative and no plot. Yet clearly this novel would not have found a place in the pantheon of literature if that were the end of it. The alternative viewpoint is that this is a poignant, colorful and beautifully-rendered story about nothing less than humanity itself. Yes, it portrays Anglo-India in a particular moment in history, yes it provides an insider's view on another culture, but beyond (or maybe underneath) all that, this was a story about individuals striving to figure out their existence relative to each other. It's too bad the Maharani's mom couldn't be there, as it would have been interesting to get her take on Forster's portrayal of English colonization and, as was pointed out, its lasting effects on Indian culture and behavior (such as a tendency to be overly deferential or purposefully simplistic). We saw some of these traits in Aziz, who alternatively came across as inadvertently bumbling and intentionally deceitful (such as inviting people to his home when he had no intention of hosting them, or telling lies regarding things he knew weren't true just because he wished they were). But overall, the group thought Aziz was a worthy character and El Jefe would defend the worthiness of this book as well, despite the poor rating. Patience, dear readers! <br />
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Our next meeting is, ahem, later today at Chez Fox. Until next time, read early and often. xoej<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087892/fullcredits">Movie adaptation directed by David Lean (1984)</a>, L to R: Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, Peggy Ashcroft (a.k.a. Esmiss Esmoor), James Fox</div>
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The Marabar Caves</div>
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This is what we're used to nowadays</div>
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<br />El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-55554847037353557342013-02-25T22:25:00.000-08:002013-02-25T22:26:02.326-08:00Let the Great World SpinThanks to the Doctor for hosting a fabulously delish BC. In <a href="http://www.theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/ms-hempel-chronicles.html">back-to-back meetings</a> (gasp), we started with the Barefoot Contessa's tomato and whipped feta crostini (what's wrong with back-to-back deliciousness?) and then followed with what may have catapulted into the top 5 BC entrees of all time: lamb tagine with chickpeas and apricots over steamed cous cous. Mouth watering just to think about it.<br />
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And then, just in case anyone had forgotten:<br />
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Thank goodness for the cake, because some of us actually needed a little reminder given the pretty weak completion rate for <u>Let the Great World Spin</u>, by Colum McCann. After all, delivering the message via chocolate and frosting is much more persuasive (and palatable) than El Jefe's alternative idea, namely, that whoever didn't read would be the next host. But in all fairness--and then we'll get to the book--if we don't hit on a popular book selection prontissimo we'll have to change the name to The Club of Torture. Anyone loving A Passage to India?!<br />
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Unfortunately, El Jefe, in her lamb tagine-fueled stupor, forgot her copious notes at Chez Doctor and thus the rating is subject to fuzzy memory: let's say 6.5-ish. Lots of us just couldn't get engaged in this novel. That the author made the Irish chapter the longest one in the book <em>and</em> stuck it in front just to daunt the weak of heart is, well, super Irish. (The 10th Member--now the 9th Member?--just leaned over and asked why El Jefe hates the Irish so much. Hmmmm.) Even for those who made it through all that Irish, there wasn't necessarily an instant connection. This was yet another book that didn't have a linear story. Clearly the whole "I've come up with a dozen stories that overlap and converge" is a popular convention in the literary world right now, however, this group of readers is weary of always having to stitch clever plot lines together in retrospect. But wait, ultimately, perseverance was rewarded: those who finished the book liked it very much in the end. The story, once all the pieces fit together, was remarkably creative and heartbreaking. So many characters were developed with love and detail, from Tillie and Jazzlyn in the Bronx to Claire Soderberg on Park Avenue to poor, doomed Corrigan in his apartment in the projects--all revealed to their core. At the same time, the novel was punctuated by one-off vignettes like the early tech-geeks hacking into phone lines on the morning of Philippe Petit's high wire walk, or the subway grafitti photographer; these were funky, pleasantly intriguing intermissions in this otherwise heavy novel. The result was a truly unique mix of chapters that left the reader deeply moved but also pondering the deeper meaning of the book. One final note (no names named): watching the movie <em>Man on Wire</em> was not a substitute for reading the book!<br />
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El Jefe is certain that at our March 12 meeting the food will make up for whatever suffering the book inflicts. So, pretend this is written on a cake: make an effort, until next time, read early and often, and for God sakes bring some good book suggestions. xoej<br />
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That is one crazy mo fo.</div>
El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-37018027778752276702013-02-04T21:10:00.001-08:002013-02-04T21:10:40.066-08:00Ms. Hempel Chronicles2013 got rolling with Book Club at Chez Jefe. One would think we were all ready to dry out after the holidays. Au contraire. We bellied up to the bar and noshed on <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tomato-crostini-with-whipped-feta-recipe/index.html">bruschetta</a> from the new Contessa cookbook, a medley of baby heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and pine nuts over whipped feta. Ina, you never disappoint! Then, an experimental (ahem) foray into a winter gratin of white beans, butternut squash, sage and garlic and an arugula salad, with cake for dessert. Lish!<br />
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Our book was <u>Ms. Hempel Chronicles</u>, by, steady now, deep breath, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum. <br />
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This petit little novel scored a 7. The story comprises a series of vignettes, not in chronological order, from the life of elementary school teacher "Ms. Hempel." Clearly SSLB is a talented writer. She dips in and out of Ms. Hempel's psyche, rendering the emotions so clearly that the reader almost experiences them for herself, whether it's the rush of an unexpected kiss, or the sinking dread of watching children play a dangerous game that could lead to disaster. The prose was well-chosen: delicate, sensitive and interesting with a touch of humor. Those who liked this book thought it was whimsical and full of charming discoveries throughout--like realizing more than half way through that Ms. Hempel is part Asian, or being suddenly deflated to find out, in hindsight, that her engagement broke off. It also was fun to reminisce and put into context just how young some of our teachers were (mere kids in their 20's!) although at the time, of course, we never would have thought of it that way. On the other hand, there was a tinge of sadness in this book that some of us found depressing. For example, how Ms. Hempel grew up being told by her father how extraordinary she was--but then wasn't after all-- or how her love life became so misdirected. The other comment that came up, once again, is that the story didn't go anywhere and was too random. It's time (although with El Jefe's vision into the future she can tell it won't be next month!) for a good meaty, linear novel that tells a story start to finish with characters you can sink your teeth into. Let's beef up that list o' death!<br />
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Until next time, read early and often! xoej<br />
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-66446016699637591732013-01-06T16:15:00.000-08:002013-01-06T16:15:10.246-08:00Fooling HoudiniThanks to the Highlander for hosting the 10th annual Holiday BC! Hard to believe, but true. Love that it's become such a tradish, <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=12">even down to the menu</a>: hot artichoke dip (the low calorie one), bruschetta, beef bourguignon over garlic mashed potatoes, LOTS of kale salad, haricots verts, brownies and blondies and those famous Heath Bar cookies from Logan's Run. Lots of champers. Lots. Thank goodness we had enough food. <br />
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Well, it looks like Alex Stone couldn't pull a high rating out of a hat for our December book, <u>Fooling Houdini</u>.<br />
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The book on average scored a 5.3. From the critics, two main themes were repeated: first, that the book was too "thin"--in other words, not enough tricks in the bag to fill 300+ pages (in fact, the 10th Member said the entire book should have been an 8-page article in Vanity Fair: snap!)-- and second, the story didn't flow well, skipping around from physics to street hustlers to the author trying to pick up girls in bars using card tricks. While these readers found certain individual elements among this melange of topics to be intriguing (in particular, learning about New York's magic "underground" was a favorite), there wasn't enough overall continuity to keep the audience engaged. Others in our group (haters, all of them) said they just didn't care about the author and that the book got overly technical. This last point is ironic considering how much heat the author took for "revealing" magic tricks in his writing. It would seem that your average reader doesn't really want that level of detail and certainly isn't going home and trying to replicate the Ambitious Card Routine. On the flip side, the non-haters appreciated the insights into the history of magic, the tie-ins to math and science, the play-by-play instructions on how to run The Monte, and the theory that Jesus Christ himself might have been a magician. Abracadabra, so much for miracles. One thing we all could agree on: the dork factor here was super high. Super. High. Magic Olympics, anyone?</div>
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Dai Vernon, a.k.a "the Professor"</div>
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Richard Turner, card manipulation expert (and blind!)</div>
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Jim McBride. Oh so Vegas</div>
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Sexy</div>
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In related news, check out this <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2006/04/magicians-assistant.html">blast from the past</a>! Our next meeting is at Chez Jefe on Tuesday. We are reading <u>Ms. Hempel Chronicles</u>. See you there and then. xoej</div>
El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-40943802276029110272012-12-11T01:37:00.000-08:002012-12-11T01:37:33.936-08:00Cloud AtlasThanks to the Maharani for jumping right in to host the November BC. We caught up on the month's gossip over wine and a cheese platter, followed by the perfect fall meal: <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/scotts-short-ribs-recipe/index.html">Ina Garten's beef short ribs</a> (falling off the bone!) with potatoes and, heavens, some delish dessert that is escaping poor El Jefe's overtaxed memory at the moment. El Jefe does recall, however, the stunning arrangement of seasonal branches and leaves in the center of the Maharani's kitchen island! Beautiful! Maharani, you can host BC any time!<br />
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On to the book, as, given the late hour, El Jefe needs to keep this short (unlike Sloosha's Crossing, which was anything but...)<br />
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David Mitchell's tour de force <u>Cloud Atlas</u> scored a 7.3. Let's break this down a bit further. Now, this was an extremely difficult piece of literature to sink one's teeth into, and indeed there were two of our fearless band who did not make it to the main course and therefore abstained from rating. A lowball 3 from the Maharani was paired with 8s and even a 9 from the rest of us. An interesting dichotomy. This book was comprised of six separate stories that shared certain thematic connections and were organized for the first half of the book in chronological order, and for the second half in reverse chronological order--with Sloosha's Crossing at the apex (or nadir). The characters, plots and linguistic styles ranged from a Melvillian sailing expedition from the 1800s featuring questionable physicians and aboriginal stowaways, to the modern day rise and fall of a British book publisher cum old folks home prisoner, to a heart-wrenching tale of violence and survival set in post-Apocalyptic Hawaii and written entirely in a made-up pidgin dialect. Phew! So what did we make of all this? Clearly Mitchell was not entirely successful in interweaving these tales. The low rating was given on account of the stories failing to relate to each other in a coherent way and a lack of payoff (understandable that one would be looking for a payoff given how difficult it was to get through this book!). On the other hand, high marks were given for the sheer literary achievement of <u>Cloud Atlas</u> and its many inventive features. True, not everything was spelled out (in fact, most things weren't). For example, what the heck was going on with those comet-shaped birthmarks sported by one character in each story? To some, the birthmarks were an annoying and unsatisfactory gimmick. However, as Ms. K. insightfully noted, even though they were not fully explained, the birthmarks might have symbolized death and reincarnation, a central theme of the book. Overall, it seemed like the amount of enjoyment taken from this book was influenced by the reader's expectation, and perhaps the best way to read <u>Cloud Atlas</u> is with no expectation at all, just a willingness to go to whatever time and place the author takes you. <br />
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Interestingly, the motion picture feature was released the same week, to mixed reviews. How about the casting?<br />
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Tom Hanks as a goatherd survivalist; he also plays the nuclear physicist Isaac Sachs</div>
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Halle Berry as Luisa Rey; she also plays Meronym in the Sloosha chapter</div>
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Ben Whishaw as the composer Robert Frobisher; also plays the record store clerk who helps Louisa Rey find a copy of the <em>Cloud Atlas Sextet</em></div>
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Jim Broadbent, playing Timothy Cavendish the book publisher; also plays the composer who takes Robert Frobisher as his apprentice</div>
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Still confused? Here's a <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2012/10/guide-to-the-characters-and-connections-of-cloud-atlas-confused.html">guide</a> to all the characters!</div>
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Our next meeting is, oops, today, that is, in 18 short hours. It's the annual holiday BC at the Highlander's house. Hopefully everyone knows their dinner assignments and has practiced their magic tricks (and, of course, read the book--we never said this wasn't a high maintenance book club!). See you very, very soon. xoej</div>
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-325900855312201952012-11-03T22:09:00.000-07:002012-11-03T22:10:04.821-07:00Beautiful RuinsThanks to Red for hosting what may be the last ever BC in The 'Dena. The night started out like a skit from The Californians, with at least the first half hour devoted to "How did you get hearre?" Be it The 10 to The 110 to The 5, or The 405 to The 101 to The 134, it just goes to show our DEDICATION to discussing a good book among friends over lots and lots of wine. We started off with pepadew peppers stuffed with chevre and a platter of spinach and feta spanikopita, followed by a hearty vegetarian bean chili (with a kick!) out of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Tart-Salads-Muffins/dp/0375709738/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352002920&sr=8-1&keywords=once+upon+a+tart">Once Upon a Tart cookbook</a>, accompanied by corn bread and jalapeno jelly, followed by French cookies and petits fours to finish off the evening. Lish!<br />
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Once Upon a Tart in NYC... probably underwater now</div>
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Welcome to the Maharani! We're delighted and excited to have you on board (even if you did get a bit of a break the first month since you already read the book)! <br />
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<u>Beautiful Ruins</u> by Jess Walter scored roughly a 6. Forget the relative merits or detractions in the story, the Maharani brought the hammer down right out of the starting gate with a criticism of the cover! That's right, we're talking about the book jacket. El Jefe thinks this is a BC first, but, hey, what's the point of a new member if they don't bring fresh commentary to the table?! Specifically (sorry, just can't resist), one can't judge a book by its cover after all. If you thought you were picking up a sophisticated, subtle tale of love and loss, nostalgically set in the Cinque Terre circa 1950--well, you were, that is until you flip to the chapter about the cheesy movie producer and the even cheesier dude with the tattoo hawking his Donner Party movie script. Say what? Exactly. It's not that this book was terrible. It was really two books, one of which most people liked (the one about broken hearts on the Italian coastline and Richard Burton and Liz Taylor) and the other of which was more or less lame. (This is how El Jefe is remembering the consensus opinion three weeks later, however, admittedly it may just be El Jefe's opinion.) But really, this story was not all bad, or even half bad. Certainly there was humor in this book, from the madcap hijinx that unfolded on the set of <em>Cleopatra</em>, to the descriptions of the producer Michael Deane's plastic surgery, to the charmingly named Hotel Adequate View. The way the book mixed in real life personalities from 1950's Hollywood also was fun, and there were a number of likable characters from Pasquale the innkeeper to Alvis Bender the novel writer to the drunk fisherman on the beach in Porto Vergogna. Although <u>Beautiful Ruins</u> won't go down in BC history as a fine piece of literature, it was an easy and enjoyable enough read, and (in retrospect) a breath of fresh air in comparison to next month's beast!!<br />
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Cinque Terre, Italia</div>
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Those lips! No wonder she fell for him!</div>
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Our next meeting is on Monday at the Maharani's house. El Jefe is on apps and Red on dessert. Come with your note pads to <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/propositions.aspx">review the propositions</a> and your calendars to pick a date for Holiday BC. Hope you've been reading early and often. xoej<br />
<br />El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-90448456760062673352012-09-06T00:44:00.003-07:002012-09-06T00:48:52.201-07:00Open CityWell, El Jefe wanted to knock this one out before decamping to Sun Valley to visit Blondie. Plus, the book discussion won't take too long.... Thanks to Logan's Run for hosting this evening, and to the Highlander for making up for lost time on the apps! With none other than William Jefferson Blythe Clinton (a mouthful, ha ha) on low volume in the background, we caught up over a bountiful cheese and charcuterie platter and all the reasons we should re-nominate the Pres for another four years. Just think: in two more books time, we will have ushered in the fourth presidential term of The Club of Books! From our first meeting on Bronson in 2002 (George W. Bush's first term) to our regularly-scheduled meeting on the first Wednesday of the month, November 7, 2012, the day after we pick the 45th president of the United States (assuming no protracted election contest as a result of dangling chads). What a lot has happened! Maybe to lend us some historical gravitas we should start referring to our books like, "<a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2005/09/the-confessions-of-max-tivoli.html">The Confessions of Max Tivoli</a> was the 10th book of the 2nd term of George W. Bush." Dinner was a fresh pea and mint puree soup, with tomato and buratta crostini. And then luscious, creamy banana pudding with wafers and fresh blueberries in individual ramekins for dessert. Lish!<br />
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A Book Club staple</div>
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<u>Open City</u> by Teju Cole scored about a 5.75. However, that rating may not be entirely accurate. If this novel were a stock on NASDAQ we're refer to it as "thinly traded," and may question whether the reported price truly reflects the value of the company. Let's call this book "thinly read." To be specific: only 2 of 9 BC members got up the gumption to make it to the end, and only 3 of 9 felt that they had read enough to proffer a rating. Wow! End of summer should have been the perfect time to leisurely read (and complete) an acclaimed novel. What gives? In a nutshell, this book was too just damn slow. Although beautifully written, it meandered all over the place, stopping to muse over such disparate topics as the attack on the World Trade Center, immigration, mental illness, the collapse of "old economy" stalwarts like Tower Records, race relations, bedbugs and global warming. As the Doctor said, "The story really doesn't get going until page 50 when Julius ambles over to 143rd street and has a revelation about a flock of pigeons." That email was more or less the death knell for those who already were skeptical about the esoteric ramblings of this book. To be fair, while Julius' ruminations were insightful and poignant, he, as a character, was too academic and removed for readers to connect with. This book's strong suit was being a calm and relaxing read if you had no places to go and no people to see, with all the time in the world to just give in to its gentle discussions. And for anyone who lived in New York, it looks out upon the city through a particular lens, then lens of a black (but lighter-skinned due to being mixed Nigerian and German), single male professional, who is acutely aware of the legacy that race and politics have left on the City's history. You truly get a sense that although the City hasn't always been "open" to everyone in terms of opportunity, it is "open" to exploration and experience and will reveal much to someone like Julius who makes an effort to learn its secrets.<br />
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Our next regularly-scheduled meeting is Wednesday, October 3. Host TBD. The October and November books are, in order, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Ruins-Novel-Jess-Walter/dp/0061928127/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346915699&sr=8-1&keywords=beautiful+ruins">Beautiful Ruins</a>, by Jess Walter, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/0375507256/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346915737&sr=1-1&keywords=cloud+atlas">Cloud Atlas</a>, by David Mitchell. Until next time, read early and often! xoej<br />
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Slick Willie: B.C. B.C.</div>
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Circa <em><a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2002/12/hours.html">The Hours</a></em>--young and vital</div>
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Circa <em><a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2007/03/infidel.html">Infidel</a></em>. Ouch. Did <em>we</em> age that much?!</div>
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Circa <em><a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2008/11/home.html">Home</a></em></div>
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Circa <em>Cloud Atlas</em>?</div>
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-23006352475713355642012-09-04T22:47:00.000-07:002012-09-04T22:47:00.012-07:00Gone GirlThanks to Ms. K for jumping in to host August's BC, featuring, full details below, one of the all-time great BC meals. (Hint: it did not come in a pizza box!) We started out with <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/06/grilled-corn-crema-mexicana-cilantro-crostini">grilled corn, crema Mexicana and cilantro crostini</a>, and if anyone thought it couldn't get better than that, drum roll please: build-you-own chicken salad sandwiches. Sounds deceivingly simple, but El Jefe must linger just a moment to relish the memory. Fresh cibatta rolls, topped with <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-salad-contessa-recipe/index.html">home made chicken salad</a> chock full of pecans and walnuts and flavored with tarragon, with your choice of garnishes, accompanied by heirloom tomato caprese with a balsamic reduction, and... <em>sigh</em>, ruffled potato chips. Heavenly. El Jefe rushed straight to Trader Joes (not actually that night, but the next morning) and the balsamic glaze was out of stock. But perseverence pays off, and it's now in the pantry Chez Jefe. This just may be one of those rare discoveries--like cubed pancetta (thank you, Blondie)--that could revolutionize la cocina Jefe. And then the mixed berry pie <em>a la mode</em> that tasted like it was straight out of the oven--from Whole Foods! Ah, what a lucky time and place in which we live. Can't wait to chow down tomorrow!<br />
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Grilled corn, crema Mexicana and cilantro crostini</div>
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On to the book, <u>Gone Girl</u> by Gillian Flynn. This book scored a perfect 7, to the decimal. Big points for the entertainment and shock value. This story kept reinventing itself with unexpected plot twists up until the last page. Part One set up Nick and Amy's characters: him, the hunky, flirty New York party guy, her, the sappy, frail wife who would take solace in her diary when Nick bailed on their wedding anniversary to hang with his guy friends. Some even thought that the book got off to a slow start. It was hard to tell what was going on or what to make of Nick's behavior in the wake of Amy disappearing. After all, is there a "right way" to act when one's spouse may have been murdered? Part Two addressed the question of whether there's a "right way" to act 100% psycho? Apparently there is. As the story unfolded, all the expectations from the beginning were turned upside down. Part Three dealt with what happens to a totally creepy high school ex-boyfriend who thinks he can control the psycho. Oops. Whether this was great literature is debatable (not really), but it certainly was a fun summer read that didn't require too much discussion and left us ample opportunity for our other favorite BC pastimes, namely eating and trying on jewelry!<br />
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Tomorrow's meeting is at Logan's Run's house, and we are reading (hopefully have read) <u>Open City</u> by Teju Cole. If you haven't gotten to page 75, <em>you don't know what you're missing</em>! Bring your LOD suggestions! xoej<br />
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Not seeing it...</div>
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Nope, can't see it.</div>
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Still no.</div>
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Ah, yes, now that's more like it.</div>
El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-42799482926696382352012-07-31T00:47:00.001-07:002012-07-31T10:57:39.247-07:00UnbrokenThanks to the Saint for hosting a delightful midsummer BC. Wine, cheese and charcuterie alfresco (nice work, Doctor, for rescuing us on that one!), followed by <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CHICKEN-MARBELLA-SILVER-PALATE-COOKBOOK-1277030">chicken Marbella</a> and roasted brussel sprouts, and--was it fruit cobbler?--topped with ice cream for dessert. Lish!<br />
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Chicken, prunes, olives and capers... who would have thought?</div>
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Let's get right down to it, since Laura Hillenbrand's <u>Unbroken</u> was one of the top scorers for the year, and certainly up there in BC history overall.<br />
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This book was praised across the board, as evidenced by a whopping 8.9. (Allow El Jefe a huge non sequiter right here: on Wednesday can we please rate Michael Phelps? As I'm typing, he's taken the lead in the 200M fly semifinals, OK, now he's won it. Separate scores for face, body and personality.) But yes, Unbroken was a big hit, not to mention timely given the lead-in to the Olympics. Even those of us who normally don't like to read non-fiction found something good in this book. Logan's Run commented that she felt a particular connection, having had family members in the military. Ms. K. found the story to be an amazing testament to the human spirit. And Red thought the author's description of Louie's 47 days stranded at sea on a raft was beautiful and compelling. And the raft was just the beginning. How many times in reading this book did you wonder how it was possible for one man to endure so much hardship? If the author hadn't included 50 pages of research footnotes in 6-point font, the book would be completely impossible to believe. (The Chinese men's gymnastics team is currently kicking ass on the pommel horse. Talk about hard to believe--is the human body really made to do that?!)<br />
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From narrowly escaping drowning in a plane crash, to having the single piece of chocolate on a life raft with three men stolen from under his nose, to somehow avoiding being shot to pieces by strafing from enemy aircraft, to drinking albatross blood, to fending off sharks with his bare hands, to... wait, sorry? Oh right, all that happened <em>before</em> Louis got put in a Japanese POW camp and was terrorized within an inch of his life by a maniacal perverted sadist known as The Bird, and suffered what seemed to be about two straight years of diarrhea among other countless incidents of physical and mental torture. (Whoa! The Brits just won the silver in men's gymnastics. El Jefe didn't even know they competed in that event!)<br />
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As if the plot needed more, it was all underpinned by the story of Louie's incredible athletic potential and the heartbreak of his being robbed of the opportunity to fulfil his life's dream--competing in the Olympics. (In a bizarre prallel, the judges just reconsidered the pommel horse score for Japan and gave them extra points--kind of like when the Doctor grade inflates!--demoting Great Britain to bronze and knocking Ukraine out of the running.)<br />
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Not only was Louie's own story amazing, but the author also opened our eyes to the conditions faced by thousands of World War II veterans once they returned home--alcoholism, PTSD (undiagnosed at the time), poverty, inability to connect with family and friends. To be fair, there were some critiques of <u>Unbroken</u> as well. One telling comment was that in spite of the amazing story material, a certain emotional component was lacking. The reader didn't feel as if she herself was experiencing the saga with Louie, and in fact didn't shed a tear. Actually, that was the only negative comment that El Jefe remembers. A great book and a great discussion. Nothing like some light summer reading. <br />
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Made in China? So what? Ador!</div>
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Ryan Lochte, now that's lishy.</div>
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But the American flag grillz?</div>
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Not lishy after all.</div>
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Missy Franklin, 100M backstroke</div>
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Guessing she's not competing in swimming.</div>
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Eternally lishy</div>
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Our next meeting is Wednesday (yes, that's tomorrow) at Ms. K's house. El Jefe's on apps, the Foxx is on dessert. Looking forward to talking about Gillian Flynn's <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Novel-Gillian-Flynn/dp/030758836X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343719778&sr=8-1&keywords=gone+girl">Gone Girl</a></u>, and, don't forget your List o' Death suggestions so we can pick some new books! xoej<br />
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<br />El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-56566640016659193162012-07-05T23:16:00.000-07:002012-09-04T22:49:23.676-07:00Already Dead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-DqU2eTE75NRqEzmpqE6q18UECegBXPIz7DXNZxcAjYmrm1fbNrN5WJBsvUvPPqcNX_AcFM8AUvYHPsk02Te9Yt7F_dAtGRKJ5to_d1j1DoKUBMonjX36AFlI755s_4u-utfsiWhjz8/s1600/Already+Dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-DqU2eTE75NRqEzmpqE6q18UECegBXPIz7DXNZxcAjYmrm1fbNrN5WJBsvUvPPqcNX_AcFM8AUvYHPsk02Te9Yt7F_dAtGRKJ5to_d1j1DoKUBMonjX36AFlI755s_4u-utfsiWhjz8/s320/Already+Dead.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<u>Already Dead</u>. What foresight the author had! His title aptly describes the level of discussion that ensued from our June book pick. The upside is, the book gets a score of 8 by default, since El Jefe was the only one who read enough to vote, let alone finish. For what it's worth, El Jefe loved this noir-to-the-core novel with a crazy cast of offbeat characters--pot growers, spiritualists, Buddhist monks, and deadbeat policemen-- set along California's far north coast. On the other hand (and here, El Jefe had to resort to Amazon just to get a counterpoint opinion!), "It's extremely long, meandering and often losing the thread of the plot; disturbed by meaningless shifts in the method of narration (from first to third person to retrospective documents), marred by far too much stream-of-consciousness rambling, such as a series of letters written by a lunatic which hold no interest at all." Amen.<br />
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For anyone who noticed the format change, it's because there was simply no book discussion, so might as well dispense with it up front! There was, however, plenty of enjoyment to be had otherwise at our little summer BC retreat, held in Cabana 173 down at the Bel Air Bay Club.<br />
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#173 is slightly north of this view</div>
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How many people in the world have the chance to relax at a cozy beach retreat, spending a weekday night with good friends, lots of wine, discussing books (or not) while the sun sets and the waves crash against the shore not 10 feet away? Only nine people!! How lucky can we get? Pretty amazing. We noshed on the Contessa's <a href="http://www.barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=218&S=0">roasted eggplant and red pepper tapenade</a>, always a winner, followed by a cheese and charcuterie platter and Feast from the East Chinese chicken salad (yes, yes, a bit of a mixed bag, but hey, no cooking facilities), and for dessert birthday cupcakes in honor of El Jefe and Logan's Run. Delish!<br />
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We also just had to do a little beachside shopping... some of El Jefe's faves from <a href="http://www.jannaconner.com/home.htm">Janna Conner Designs</a>:<br />
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Gold wrapped smokey druzy briolette on an antique gold plated chain. </div>
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Gold wrapped cobalt quartz and turquoise.</div>
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Yellow gold starburst with diamond.</div>
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Our next meeting is at The Saint's house, on Wednesday July 11. The Highlander is on apps and we need a dessert volunteer. Surely most of you are nearly finished with our book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/1400064163/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341554900&sr=8-1&keywords=unbroken">Unbroken</a>, by Laura Hillenbrand, and ready to start on the August book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Novel-Gillian-Flynn/dp/030758836X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339013699&sr=1-1">Gone Girl</a>, by Gillian Flynn. We need great picks for the fall, so bring your LOD suggestions to the meeting! Until next time, Read Early and Often! xoej<br />
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El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-69026370580979204012012-05-10T19:33:00.000-07:002012-05-10T19:33:55.815-07:00The Marriage PlotThanks to Ms. K for hosting a lovely May BC! The Saint was back in effect after her authorized one-month maternity leave, and hopefully at some point the little Saintlet will make an appearance, too! And.... yet another book club bebe' has arrived! Congratulations to Logan's Run on the birth of William!! We expect you to be back next month.<br />
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We started off with Indian street food inspired "<a href="http://www.oprah.com/food/Millet-Puffs">millet puffs</a>," seasoned with turmeric, fresh curry leaves and Reshampati chili powder (oh, and marshmallows, natch), followed by a selection of several different Pitfire pizzas, including a greens egg and ham version that was topped with braised rapini, prosciutto and a fried farm egg on top, a green salad, and a scruptious hot fruit crumble with a dollop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Lish!<br />
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Indian street food inspired snacks. How Mitchell Grammaticus.</div>
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<br />On to the book. Jeffrey Eugenides' long-awaited first novel since 2002, The Marriage Plot, garnered an average rating just short of 7.5. Of the six of us, four ranked it in the "8's." The other two ratings were lackluster 5's and 6's. El Jefe suspects that there might have been some tendency towards grade inflation here: either due to confusion caused by the book's deliberately misleading cover (the <u>author</u> is a Pulitzer Prize winner, not the book itself!), or due to a sense of loyalty towards Mr. Eugenides, who for the past ten years has been lauded as a BC favorite. (And if someone doesn't send in that review of Middlesex...). Now, just because El Jefe was one of the lowballers, she's not trying to undermine the majority who rated the book highly. Rather, El Jefe is simply making the observation that when we got into the meat of the discussion, the actual commentary didn't hold up to the scores. On the upside, several people did appreciate and enjoy that the book was set on a liberal arts college campus. Although it took place before our own college years (the book was set in the 1980s), people found it to be funny and nostalgic. Ah, to read about the foibles and pretensions of college seniors as they angsted over post-structuralism and breakups, religious studies and keg parties! Another interesting observation was regarding the parallels and contrasts that could be drawn between Madeleine's choice of women's studies for her major, and her tendency to be anything but a strong woman. She followed Leonard around like a groupie, let her own ambitions languish on his behalf, and generally was indecisive and passive. Surely these ironies weren't incidental, but were deliberately plotted out in advance by the author and included as discussion-worthy tidbits for the insightful book clubs who pick up on them. And, Eugenides' treatment of Leonard's mental illness was unanimously described as masterful: how he led the reader to the darkest places in Leonard's tortured psyche, and broke our hearts with Madeleine's futile attempt to gain control over the disease. But beyond those few points, there wasn't much more that we liked. The characters were annoying. Derrida is annoying. Madeleine's thesis (or lack thereof) was annoying. And most basically, what the heck was this book about? "A novel about life, love and discovery." "A story about being young and bright and lost." "A robust rich story of adults in a love triangle." "A confection for English majors and book lovers." (All from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Marriage-Plot-A-Novel/dp/0374203059/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336698415&sr=1-1">Amazon.com's editorial reviews</a>). Oy. All we said was that it wasn't as good as Middlesex.</div>
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Fashionably dressed students at South Shields Marine and Technical College in the 1980s.</div>
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Short shorts in college baskball... if only!</div>
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Even smarter than El Jefe in the '80s.</div>
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Who can you spot on campus at Brown University?</div>
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Our next meeting regularly-scheduled meeting will be at Georgia's home. We are reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Already-Dead-A-California-Gothic/dp/B002KE5VGM/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336700055&sr=1-2">Already Dead: A California Gothic</a>, by Denis Johnson. Apps and dessert to be arranged by separate email. Until next time, read early and often! xoej</div>
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<em>A contemporary noir,</em> Already Dead<em> is the tangled story of Nelson Fairchild Jr., disenfranchised scion to a northern California land fortune. A relentless failure, Nelson has botched nearly every scheme he's attempted to pull off. Now his future lies in a potentially profitable marijuana patch hidden in the lush old-growth redwoods on the family land.</em></div>El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-86808362981987820332012-04-24T22:36:00.000-07:002012-04-24T22:36:21.475-07:00The Hunger GamesThanks to the Foxx for hosting the April BC. El Jefe heard it was lovely. Rumor has it: chicken pot pies (gotta assume with a green salad?) and an apple tart with vanilla ice cream. Was it lish? This is so piecemeal! How much cap can a recap cap if a recap can't be capped? On to the book...<br />
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Our book was first volume in the mega-bestseller Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. Courtesy of the Highlander:<br />
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"Overall, the book was very well received, with only two holdouts: Ms. K and Logan's Run. Most everyone loved the book and, while admitting it was pretty light fare, found it thoroughly creative and engaging. People were sucked in the plot and details, and were eager to get onto the next chapter of the trilogy! Scores:<br />
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El Jefe, via write-in ballot: 9<br />
The Foxx: 8 (loved the book, started it two days before BC and couldn't put it down. Already on to the second book)<br />
The Doctor: 8 (much better than the tween fiction she thought it would be)<br />
Red: 8<br />
Miss Georgia: 8 (nice score…although she thought it was predictable, and written for an 8th grade audience)<br />
Ms. K: 4 (thought it strange that it was written for young people, when she didn't feel the content was necessarily appropriate for young adults. She also thought it lacked originality)<br />
The Highlander: 8.5 (very enjoyable; a book doesn't necessarily have to be a literary masterpiece to be enjoyable)<br />
Logan's Run: 5 (thought it was strange the book has become so cultish; she said a client had taken her children and was SOOO into it, and Logan's Run kept thinking "what did I not get?!")"<br />
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Whoa, Highlander--do we have to do the math?!<br />
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Katniss Everdeen</div>
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Gale Hawthorne</div>
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Peeta Melark</div>
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Most importantly... which one is hotter?</div>
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Our next meeting is Wednesday, May 2. Dinner assignments and host to be sent in a separate communique. We are reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Marriage-Plot-A-Novel/dp/0374203059/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335331848&sr=1-1">The Marriage Plot</a>, by BC favorite Jeffrey Eugenides. Until next time, read early and often! xoej</div>
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<br />El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-41696621783852270892012-03-30T01:36:00.000-07:002012-03-30T01:36:16.627-07:00The Art of FieldingThanks to the Doctor for hosting a lovely BC! We started off with two kinds of bruschetta topped with delishy tapenades, followed by pulled pork tinga street tacos with all the garnishess and a slightly Mexi salad, and a peppermint patty chocolate cake in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Lish!<br />
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Normally El Jefe likes to linger a little longer over any discussion of tacos, however, there are special circumstances surrounding this month's book that require immediate attention. <u>The Art of Fielding</u>, the fiction debut of author Chad Harbach, was one of the all-time highest scoring books in BC history with two 8's, two 9s, a 10, and two scores in between! Said another way: the lowest score this book got was an 8! Almost unheard of since <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2003/08/confederacy-of-dunces.html">A Confederacy of Dunces</a> back in 2003. This newcomer of an author writes like an old pro. Every character was lovingly conceived, each one's neediness and desperation revealed in a unique and poignant way. And all so likable! Schwartzy, jockish and determined on the outside, vulnerable as a kid on the inside. Scrimmer, so talented and tragic! Guert, the handsome and stately college president (think, Mit Romney hair) who falls head over heels for a gay freshman, Owen (aka Buddah), in what is somehow a sweet rather than creepy romance. Even the rest of the team was lovable, with their macho locker room banter and disgusting college guy habits. The only characters that rubbed people the wrong way were Pella, Guert's daughter and her ex-husband David. Some thought Pella was a spoiled brat and pretty bitchy (although that reaction is probably just from siding with Schwartzy!). The other critique was that the end of the story fell apart. But El Jefe says, what's wrong with digging up a dead body and burying it in a lake? And others actually found Owen's tribute to Guert out on the boat to be quite touching. Of course, one of life's great unsolved mysteries will be whether Guert took his own life (insert gesture of tying noose around neck and head jerking sideways), or his ticker simply gave out. We'll never know. In sum, this story was a joy to read with something to like for everyone: humor, drama, sports, romance, coming of age, tragedy and triumph. No doubt a BC hall-of-famer alongside the likes of Life of Pi, Middlesex, and <a href="http://theclubofbooks.blogspot.com/2007/03/infidel.html">Infidel</a>.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">From the Shortstop Hall of Fame</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yrR2Dsx5KEK1pO4eniVjf0bw7FWPVin44Mzwjgeam1Ews_Oj9Lq2USK-QF_adpJw0iN8M1EfeNMoa3jrUoFfjqSgjSFSmswoSF2obCBpViqX0LJDF-8QC9jFbshar_6M2gA6RZ2ZBFE/s1600/honus-wagner-card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yrR2Dsx5KEK1pO4eniVjf0bw7FWPVin44Mzwjgeam1Ews_Oj9Lq2USK-QF_adpJw0iN8M1EfeNMoa3jrUoFfjqSgjSFSmswoSF2obCBpViqX0LJDF-8QC9jFbshar_6M2gA6RZ2ZBFE/s1600/honus-wagner-card.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Honus "the Flying Dutchman" Wagner, Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates, 1897-1917</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnq5MHSVfADh0uEQZQtjdFWwgEMVk-Xues44shTmXt-7Mh0FA133JqsRKw4E0u21L4AA13ovYMyY8cl24WX_imjRwxAM3cvuAbDBcQgpETiOQxA4mXo_3cIU24DShKVLeTMjSsZG1nVI/s1600/alex-rodriguez-picture-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnq5MHSVfADh0uEQZQtjdFWwgEMVk-Xues44shTmXt-7Mh0FA133JqsRKw4E0u21L4AA13ovYMyY8cl24WX_imjRwxAM3cvuAbDBcQgpETiOQxA4mXo_3cIU24DShKVLeTMjSsZG1nVI/s320/alex-rodriguez-picture-1.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees, 1994 to present</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwQ6NqbwiBVUMCdZ5NYy21Mw0nofC2Y4mWwamlLFrL_nD9y3qljSlBqKFTOpoUnY_xsVl9RvH0jLKbOmykGovw4aTYD2lvmWpkifiyPeFPAQKnYlPGF4TAwFRUEe9yR-pFLilNy25S_c/s1600/derek-jeterswag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwQ6NqbwiBVUMCdZ5NYy21Mw0nofC2Y4mWwamlLFrL_nD9y3qljSlBqKFTOpoUnY_xsVl9RvH0jLKbOmykGovw4aTYD2lvmWpkifiyPeFPAQKnYlPGF4TAwFRUEe9yR-pFLilNy25S_c/s1600/derek-jeterswag.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Derek Jeter, New York Yankees, 1995 to present</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7q46tkRGdHPKVxJSUtd1vGEMFdDKD7XZzhwaNaadZL2Wy30txLD_niJhyphenhyphen-qDGD_jsbunrZ2lSfNTamXpJR_SYNjktXVbBYC2vvMtgnlgi6kYcbhuRIUDMdnLGrlAT_o-Ut_Vdgj6EaKw/s1600/Cal-Ripkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7q46tkRGdHPKVxJSUtd1vGEMFdDKD7XZzhwaNaadZL2Wy30txLD_niJhyphenhyphen-qDGD_jsbunrZ2lSfNTamXpJR_SYNjktXVbBYC2vvMtgnlgi6kYcbhuRIUDMdnLGrlAT_o-Ut_Vdgj6EaKw/s1600/Cal-Ripkin.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Cal "Iron Man" Ripkin, Baltimore Orioles, 1981-2001</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpGrfQbWANxX9t9mr36MUCGndbjumPYElrhtDPO5ZVrHMlvXLqXNOpSfMi_6xtOQgOGxTDzPRwgA5Bdw0AAMHmqoCP1MDgEAsGhkShmNmr2U0KvRNvFBG82iHF3Z0WYdU_M8wIJNifI8/s1600/Aparicio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpGrfQbWANxX9t9mr36MUCGndbjumPYElrhtDPO5ZVrHMlvXLqXNOpSfMi_6xtOQgOGxTDzPRwgA5Bdw0AAMHmqoCP1MDgEAsGhkShmNmr2U0KvRNvFBG82iHF3Z0WYdU_M8wIJNifI8/s320/Aparicio.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Luis "Little Louie" Aparicio, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox, 1956-1973</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtOWnpu7DGVAwJUPIRj2doloFsQxqQraucpNu-yCJI7q9mH0YCBuceo4Vi335VRaw8L36BsdWXX1rCnN7HNbKpLqEALZ8nhnGgo4cniesDPEhs1kTiMM1cnGYD94ZbfUz09pHaSDIku8/s1600/Oscar+rotated.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtOWnpu7DGVAwJUPIRj2doloFsQxqQraucpNu-yCJI7q9mH0YCBuceo4Vi335VRaw8L36BsdWXX1rCnN7HNbKpLqEALZ8nhnGgo4cniesDPEhs1kTiMM1cnGYD94ZbfUz09pHaSDIku8/s320/Oscar+rotated.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Oscar "R2D2" Mullen, Milwaukee Brewers, March 2012</div><br />
Our next meeting is at the Foxx's house on Wednesday, April 4th. El Jefe was on app duty but needs a sub, the Highlander is on dessert. As it is Bisnonna's 89th birthday, El Jefe and the Doctor will not be able to make it. So sorry to miss as we are diving headlong into the Hunger Games craze. Take El Jefe's word for it: just go straight for the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Trilogy-Boxed-Set/dp/0545265355/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333094774&sr=1-2">trilogy box set</a>, you won't regret it. Until next time, you konw what to do... xoejEl Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-89757999609049590462012-03-12T00:51:00.000-07:002012-03-12T00:51:15.080-07:00Eat, Drink and Be MarriedThanks to Logan's Run for hosting a lovely BC, and a packed house to boot! We started off with a cheese and charcuterie platter, with some sort of figgy-quincy dip on the side that made it exceptionally lishy. Next, steaming hot chicken pot pies in individual ramekins, accompanied by wild arugula salad with goat cheese and a citrus vinaigrette dressing, and finally, homemade red velvet cupcakes with Valentine's Day sprinkles. Lish!! Always love the seasonal desserts.<br />
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Such a treat! For only the second? third? time in BC history, our book's author was in attendance! Rebecca Bloom (we get to call her Becca!), author of <u>Eat, Drink and Be Married</u>, joined us to talk about how she wrote her book, got it published, and won't be embarrassed if her kids read it when they grow up. As many books as we've read and discussed over the years, this was the first time that we've gotten this much insight into the actual writing and publishing process. One might think an author has overcome her biggest obstacle once the denouement is conceived, the final chapter written, and the word "Fin" triumphantly typed out on the keyboard. Alas, no. There still needs to be someone who wants to read the darn thing and get behind the idea that other people will want to read it. And as it turns out, finding that someone is pretty difficult in these latter days of the recession. And so, Becca took it upon herself to self-publish her latest <em>oeuvre</em>, a tale of four best friends who reunite for a wedding, all kinds of drama ensuing. Of course the first thing we all wanted to know was whether any of the four was Becca herself, and of the others, were they real people? As it turns out, no character is an exact representation of any particular person Becca knows (or herself), but rather, each is a montage of various personality traits that are familiar to us all. Which is why the second thing we did was to go around the room and each choose the character with whom we identified the most. High-brow Hannah, who is a glaringly selfish Bridezilla, but ultimately has a stroke of self-realization on the eve of her wedding? Nina, the work-out obsessed power player, who can't bear the thought of a baby adding an inch to her waistline or otherwise throwing a wrench in the works of her agro life? Zoe, the edgy punkster who is the rock her friends lean on, but deep down somewhat self-loathing? Or Kate, the weird cat-guitar lady? (Actually, no one picked Kate, and El Jefe would normally take back that uncharitable description of her, except that it doesn't matter because no one picked her.) It was a lot of fun to get to know these ladies--as well as Becca-- over the course of the book, and we very much look forward to Becca's next project! (Maybe starting a book club, ha!)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our next meeting is, ahem, Wednesday (did someone say, "Oh Snap!"?). The Doctor is hosting, Red is on apps, and Ms. K. dessert. In case the Highlander is reading this, open up your Kindle and download "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_browse-b_mrr_2?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Athe+art+of+fielding%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011&bbn=283155&keywords=the+art+of+fielding&ie=UTF8&qid=1331538136&rnid=618072011">The Art of Fielding</a>," which is the book we have all read over the past month and will be discussing in two days. Until Wednesday, read early and often! Bring your picks for the List o' Death! And good luck to the Saint! We are very excited to have yet another little one in the BC family by April! xoej</div>El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8153591016428578289.post-24839666498042142542012-01-26T00:14:00.000-08:002012-01-26T08:59:00.463-08:00The Poisoner's HandbookWhat a kick off to 2012! Welcome to Miss Georgia and the Saint, we are deeelighted to have you aboard! We got acquainted over fromage et charcuterie, Chez Chateau, followed by pasta with Italian tuna, roasted bell peppers and pancetta and a tricolore salad, and then chocolatey mini-brownies in individual ramekins with vanilla ice cream and fruit compote for dessert. So cozy--so delish!--the perfect winter BC.<br />
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<u>The Poisoner's Handbook</u> by Deborah Blum scored a 6.5, and would have been higher were it not for a dramatic, lowball "3" by Red. We endeavored to explain the art and science of the BC rating system to Miss Georgia and the Saint, but, like the scores themselves, the discussion was fraught with disagreement. Only a few clear rules were delineated: don't wimp out and refuse to rate, no fractions less than 0.5, and always, always, change your score on an <em>ad hoc</em> basis as a result of the opinions of those who rated before you! But El Jefe digresses...there were a lot of criticisms of this book. Several of us were unimpressed by our jazz age protagonists, the incorruptible Charles Norris (New York's Chief Medical Examiner) and his trusty sidekick Alexander Gettler (Chief Toxicologist). According to our group, they were lacking in character (or, at least the author lacked in describing their characters) and their disgusting toils were repetitive and tedious to read about. No sympathy for these stalwart men, valiantly laboring away under preposterous working conditions (no car service!) and for too little pay in a corrupt and violent city. Bah! Others expressed the opinion that although the author tried to create an integrated narrative, the story nevertheless was disjointed, and reading the book felt like taking a chemistry lesson (assuming that's a bad thing). But on the other hand, there was unanimous recognition that one learned a lot from this book, which illuminated fascinating and little-known historical facts about a time and place that has been endlessly romanticized, dramatized, and made to seem better than the godawful s*&#hole that it actually was. The book also raised some interesting socio-political questions as we observed how the most poisonous wood alcohol was consumed by New York's poorest residents, while the uptown population somehow managed to score decent hooch--an obvious comparison to how crack cocaine and other lethal street drugs wreak havoc in poor communities today but are not used by affluent people who can afford "safer" drugs. Finally, we talked about whether, after reading this book, we felt more or less optimistic about modern health and safety and exposure to chemical substances in daily life. Sadly, while the understanding of industrial poisons has come a long way since the 1920s, most of us feel that there are new and unknown poisons lurking in consumer goods all around us, and science will just never catch up with detecting or monitoring the substances that find their way into food, cosmetics, the environment and our bodies every day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhTM7Z2QJCYEG3UywHh4WMSdS4OlNqMuOhrlraBpOV4A3Rk45mi4vgowLRzyUIXus2zQ5CjyjbOqFSXEVfpwbOPFvaqqWS3JWbZ7rw4XW1oMBa-p0VHitJeNVqWDuoCO4QjoIelkkQwU/s1600/gettlernorris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhTM7Z2QJCYEG3UywHh4WMSdS4OlNqMuOhrlraBpOV4A3Rk45mi4vgowLRzyUIXus2zQ5CjyjbOqFSXEVfpwbOPFvaqqWS3JWbZ7rw4XW1oMBa-p0VHitJeNVqWDuoCO4QjoIelkkQwU/s320/gettlernorris.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r8XFy2e4WbGG4tAXZGgJ1WFzQWonIsXyPG28yxBcfToyyrJbFVHs3nXB56LyrhKpiv4e_OclFQFwi928ZvTQXFzNGrEsMcU1bqj021rn7xiNZTEqR3q8rB884r5jkMOo1aMcupBUuwI/s1600/RadiumDialPainters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r8XFy2e4WbGG4tAXZGgJ1WFzQWonIsXyPG28yxBcfToyyrJbFVHs3nXB56LyrhKpiv4e_OclFQFwi928ZvTQXFzNGrEsMcU1bqj021rn7xiNZTEqR3q8rB884r5jkMOo1aMcupBUuwI/s320/RadiumDialPainters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">"Radium Girls," painting watch dials at U.S. Radium Corp. circa 1917.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyZZbJg7UkUP1hFJRhXlk3lhpn5oxiCAYB_vBpwIXUolMktug53FRvLUIJFJr4J9otckzmfstJkbcDZ2Bz5bHJWEZFFTs3qcNnruFgzDbRvtkL_XFjB7bvAWTbf1VRatRTbi4ZYLQFlc/s1600/Cyanide2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyZZbJg7UkUP1hFJRhXlk3lhpn5oxiCAYB_vBpwIXUolMktug53FRvLUIJFJr4J9otckzmfstJkbcDZ2Bz5bHJWEZFFTs3qcNnruFgzDbRvtkL_XFjB7bvAWTbf1VRatRTbi4ZYLQFlc/s320/Cyanide2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cyanide. Just a teaspoon can kill.</div><br />
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Our next meeting is at Logan's Run's house on February 8. We are reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Drink-Married-Rebecca-Bloom/dp/145029507X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327565106&sr=1-1">Eat, Drink and Be Married</a>, and author Rebecca Bloom will be there to discuss the book. The Highlander is bringing apps and Miss Georgia is bringing dessert. Until next time, read early and often, especially because the author is coming!El Jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380747697681547041noreply@blogger.com0