Open City

Well, 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, "The Confessions of Max Tivoli 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!

A Book Club staple

Open City 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.

Our next regularly-scheduled meeting is Wednesday, October 3.  Host TBD.  The October and November books are, in order, Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter, and Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell.  Until next time, read early and often!  xoej

Slick Willie:  B.C. B.C.

Circa The Hours--young and vital

Circa Infidel.  Ouch.  Did we age that much?!

Circa Home

Circa Cloud Atlas?

Home

It was great to see everyone at BC last week--it was a lot of fun to have everyone together again! All of us, including O.T., enjoyed the dates stuffed with cheese and drizzled with honey. After which we feasted on rack of lamb, roasted brussel sprouts and truffled mashed potatoes (hello fall) and Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake. Everything was delish!

A great turnout, a great meal, and a book that generally was liked by everyone--this night was going pretty well so far. Recall that Home had been feilded by Red's muse, J. Lee (have we mentioned she's an English professor?). As would be expected, the recommendation was a good one and the book scored about a 7 on average. But also as would be expected, it was not easy reading and despite liking the story, several people just couldn't make it though. The author's prose was beautiful but complicated and difficult to read at times, with the result that you could get stuck on a sentence or paragraph and read and re-read it several times without being able to get past. El Jefe also can't seem to get past the mental roadblock of what we discussed in relation to the book. We said Jack needed to stop beating himself up over his past, he was married to a black woman who came back to try and find him, and we revealed what happened at the end of the book. But El Jefe honestly cannot recap a single other thing we said about the book. Clearly, despite the fact that El Jefe never had that cocktail she wanted, her mind was elsewhere. Hmmm, now why would that have been the case?

So, to circle back to the point about the night going well so far, the next day things got even better. That book club will always stand out as the last day of an old era, the day before Obama's election became a reality. El Jefe has a visual image of us all sitting around the dining room table discussing the election and the propositions. As sure as we were that he was going to win, it still was remarkable and momentous when it actually happened. So, we can add history-making election to the long list of things this Book Club has experienced together. A lot has changed since 2002!

Our 6th anniversary holiday book club is coming up on Wed., Dec. 3. The Highlander is hosting, and since she ducked out early it seems like she didn't need volunteers...? Just kidding, please send us designated tasks. Just don't assign the Doctor or Blondie salad. ;)

The January book is Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson.