The Art of Fielding

Thanks 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!

 
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.  The Art of Fielding, 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 Confederacy of Dunces 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 Infidel.

From the Shortstop Hall of Fame

Honus "the Flying Dutchman" Wagner, Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates, 1897-1917

Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees, 1994 to present

Derek Jeter, New York Yankees, 1995 to present

Cal "Iron Man" Ripkin, Baltimore Orioles, 1981-2001

Luis "Little Louie" Aparicio, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox, 1956-1973

Oscar "R2D2" Mullen, Milwaukee Brewers, March 2012

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 trilogy box set, you won't regret it.  Until next time, you konw what to do... xoej

Eat, Drink and Be Married

Thanks 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.

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 Eat, Drink and Be Married, 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 oeuvre, 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!)

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 "The Art of Fielding," 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

The Poisoner's Handbook

What 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.

The Poisoner's Handbook 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 ad hoc 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.

Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler

"Radium Girls," painting watch dials at U.S. Radium Corp. circa 1917.

Cyanide.  Just a teaspoon can kill.

Moonshine

 Our next meeting is at Logan's Run's house on February 8.  We are reading Eat, Drink and Be Married, 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!

The Sense of an Ending

Thanks to the Highlander for hosting our Ninth Annual Holiday BC!  The house looked beautiful, as always, the champagne was flowing, as always, and the level of book club controversy was right where it should be for the holidays.  We started off with hot artichoke dip and a cheese and charcuterie platter, followed by--what else!--beef bourguignon over creamy mashed potatoes, a festive kale salad with ricotta salata and pomegranate seeds, and roasted brussel sprouts.  Not enough calories for this crowd, so the pecan pie and Heath Bar cookies rounded out the evening and all of us.  December book club would not be the same without those Heath Bar cookies!

Julian Barnes' Sense of an Ending scored about a 6.5.  December book club would also not be the same without someone, of the male gender, who puts up a fuss about rating the book.  Come on people, it's just a book club rating, not an official pronouncement of literary criticism!  Unlike last year's uniformly high marks (including the historic "double 10" couples vote!), this novel was more inconsistently received.  There was a camp around the 7 to 8 zone, some haters around 4 and 5, and those who rated it a 6.  Oh, wait, that was Brother D rating Chris a 6.  Never mind... (Incidentally, El Jefe was extremely content to sit back, sip champagne, and let Brother D crack the whip.)  Although the book's rating was lackluster, the discussion was not.  The overarching theme of the novel was about growing old, and how, when we look back upon our lives, we inevitably view our own history through a lens that distorts the truth.  Do we perceive ourselves as better people than we really were?  More fair?  More honest?  More important?  Although somewhat heavy-handed, the author framed these questions in an eloquent and interesting way, first through the classroom discourse in a prep school history class, and then through the events that unfold in the life of everyman Tony Webster, the book's narrator.   Tony sets forth the story of his school years, his best friend, Adrian, his youthful romance with Vanessa, and his innocuous journey into middle age.  The first half of the book progresses slowly, with beautiful prose but not a lot going on.  Until we learn about the venomous letter Tony sent to Vanessa and Adrian, containing a curse that ultimately comes true.  Not only does the letter force Tony to re-evaluate his memories and, in fact, his entire character, but it forces us, as readers, to question everything we have been told.  (A heated debate, El Jefe recalls, ensued over whether Tony being an "unreliable narrator" was a noteworthy feature of the book, or whether all narrators are unreliable and therefore this was an obvious and uninteresting observation.  Ah, the holiday BC!)  We also hotly deliberated over the end of the book.  Why was Vanessa so angry with Tony when she should have been angry with Adrian?  Why did the mother leave Tony the diary?  Why was her bequest to Tony "blood money?"  Although this book was not for everyone, its poignant and ominous ending leaves each of us with much to reflect on, and the disturbing uncertainty of wondering what long-forgotten act may come back to haunt us, compelling the revision of our personal legacy as we believe it to be.

Blood money. noun. 1. a fee paid to a hired murderer. 2. compensation paid to the next of kin of a slain person. 3. money obtained ruthlessly and at a cost of suffering to others. 4. money paid to an informer in order to cause somebody to be arrested, convicted, or especially executed.


We are very excited to start 2012--our 10th year!--by welcoming T-- and R-- into The Club of Books.  Our January meeting will be either at Chez Jefe, or at the Winter Chateau, depending on our construction situation.  Date to be confirmed by separate e-mail.  Our next book is The Poisoner's Handbook:  Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, by Deborah Blum.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, read early and often!  Until 2012...xoej 

A Visit From the Goon Squad

You know it's a party when a spontaneous book club meeting breaks out!  Yes, at Red's baby shower today we realized we had a higher hit rate of book club members than on any other day in the month.  Hors d'oeuvres, main course, dessert--all check.  So, our track record remains unbroken:  nine years of The Club of Books, with not a meeting missed!

 Jennifer Egan's A Visit From the Goon Squad was a real dud, scoring a lackluster 5.0.  Everyone read it and everyone seemed to have come away with the same impression:  it was simply too much.  Trying too hard, too zeitgeisty, too post-modern (and too late to be trying to be post-modern), too bizarre, too musical, too masculine, and just kind of irritating.  This story started out with promise, and at first it was fun to piece together the connections between the characters as the book skips back and forth in time, like when you initially realized that Bennie Salazar's assistant Sasha is the kleptomaniac from the first chapter, and also the girl whose uncle goes to track her down after she runs away to Naples, Italy.  But it just didn't hang together tightly enough.  Some of the chapters--like the one about La Doll, who threw the most fabulous event in New York until her VIP guests got burned with hot wax (note to the party "no-no" file) and then tried to redeem herself by doing PR for a Central American dictator--were amusing but overly complicated and random.  The PowerPoint presentation felt played (if you've read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (and have we?) you've been there and done that), and the futuristic chapter at the end where they're all texting on cell phones was kind of lame.  So an "A" for effort and inventiveness, but this author tried to do too much and didn't quite nail it.

This picture seemed to go with both the Thanksgiving and the Baby Shower themes:

As everyone knows our Holiday Book Club is on December 14th, and we're reading Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.  Read early and often and make sure your spouses do the same!!  xoej

The 19th Wife

Thanks to Ms. K for hosting BC at her brand... new... house...!  It was so exciting to see your long project come to fruition, and everything looks incredible.  Congrats! 

It's been quite a while since El Jefe reported:  work, Barcelona, San Francisco, kids, life, the Fall Festival, New York--all of that waylaid El Jefe's best laid plans to write the recap.  But, as not one has been missed in 9 years, we're not starting now (in fact, El Jefe currently is writing this post from 15,000 feet above Albuquerque, New Mexico--now that's dedication!).  So, to the best of El Jefe's recollection, we started out with a cheese and charcuterie platter, garnished with some sort of figgy or pineappley jam that was decidedly delish with the goat cheese, followed by a hearty beef stew, perfect for fall, and a green salad, and... wait... why can't El Jefe remember what was for dessert?

We then moved on to a discussion of The 19th Wife.  It would be an utterly unrealistic strain on El Jefe's memory to try and recount this book's rating to the decimal point, but suffice it to say that it was fairly well received with no passionate votes for or against (after all, without La Mademoiselle, the chances for a 0 or 10 have gone way down).  So let's call it 6.5.  The 19th Wife was a fast and entertaining read, melding historic fiction and non-fiction about the life of Ann Eliza Young, the so-called 19th wife of Brigham Young (second prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) with a murder mystery set in current day fundamentalist LDS-land.  Probably the most interesting part of this book was the way that the author switched styles between the various chapters, convincingly imitating an early 19th century editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle or the text of a Wikipedia posting.  While some of our group wrote this book off as "Under the Banner of Heaven-lite," most found it to be sufficiently different and didn't mind a second opportunity to excoriate the LDS institution for first sanctioning, and later attempting to cover up, the deplorable treatment of women in the early days of the church.  Still difficult for El Jefe to understand how this new religion managed to get started within relatively recent history and people actually went for it.  It's one thing to pass down the stories of Moses parting the Red Sea from generation to generation as part of a tradition stretching back more than 2,000 years.  It's another for a regular guy from Vermont to come along in 1830 and claim that he had discovered golden tablets inscribed with the divine truth (but that no one else could see).  Int, very int.

Ann Eliza Young

 

Sacred Underwear

Our November meeting is this Sunday, November 13th at Red's house in the 'Dena.  Note the new Sunday start time:  5.30.  The Highlander is on dessert, and please volunteer if you're able to bring apps.  The book we will be discussing is A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer, Egan, which, ahem, hopefully everyone has already finished by now or is close to it.

We also have our December book!  We will be reading Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes, which is a holiday-friendly 176 pages, and accordingly finishable by even the most slacker husbands.  Sense of an Ending just won the 2011 Man Booker prize, so it should be a good one.  Date for holiday BC to follow.  xoej

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

What sad, sad circumstances led us to congregate at the Fall Chateau last week instead of a cozy bungalow in Venice Beach:  our beloved Mademoiselle rentre au pays, or in case El Jefe butchered that, she is, alas, returning to France.  This is far worse than Blondie moving to Sun Valley.  It's just too damn far!  La Mademoiselle has added so much fun and zest to our little group over the years, it will not be the same without her.  She will always be welcome to send in her extreme votes and feisty commentary from abroad.  Not to mention... Book Club field trip, anyone?!

Who knew that we were in for an impromptu jewelry show?  All the better way to spend our time (and money) while catching up on the month's news and chowing down on a veritable feast of Italian deliciousness:  prosciutto with melon, and burrata with tomato and basil to pile on top of pizza dough foccacia.  It was the perfect lead-in to our dinner of spaghetti carbonara and an arugula salad, followed by fresh fruit topped with a ricotta sauce for dessert.  We definitely were more Mussolini than Hitler on the dinner front, but El Jefe would pick pasta over bratwurst any day.  Lotta carbs.

Eric Larson's In the Garden of Beasts scored about a 7, with quite a few people who didn't finish the book in time.  Needless to say this was not light, summer reading.  The story of William Dodd, the U.S. ambassador to Germany during the first year of Hitler's chancellorship, and Dodd's party-loving daughter Martha was disappointing to some who expected more mystery, intrigue and merdher a la Devil in the White City.  Apparently, the 85 people (at a minimum!) whom Hitler ordered killed on the "Night of the Long Knives" did not constitute an impressive death toll, knowing that monster's capabilities.  There definitely were several chapters (and chapter titles) that led the reader to think that a big reveal was waiting a just a few pages ahead, but no payoff was delivered:  merely another correspondence between Dodd and someone in the state department back home about Germany's debt to American bankers, or a description of a lover's spat between Martha and one of her many paramours.  The group generally also found both Dodds, father and daughter, to be unlikeable.  William Dodd was an overly-stern complainer who didn't know how to have fun, while Martha seemed frivolous and immature.  What's more, the book did not bring to light a particularly interesting relationship between William and Martha themselves.  However, despite these shortcomings, the story was a window onto a fascinating time in history that many of us knew little or nothing about.  Even the descriptions of the foreign service and how members of the diplomatic corps lived and worked--that is, they basically threw or attended lavish parties all week long--were eye-opening.  But what really gave this book its intrigue and omnipresent tension is that we all know how things turned out.  If only . . .

The Bad Guys

Der Führer

Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of the Third Reich

Hermann Göring, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe

Putzi Hanfstaengl, Head of the Foreign Press Bureau in Berlin

Rudolf Diels, first Head of the Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo)

Our next meeting is at Ms. K's new house!  And so far it's on our regularly scheduled date, October 5.  The Doctor is bringing apps, and the Highlander dessert.  Our book is The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff.  It's a long one (but an easy, enjoyable read), so until next time, read early and often!  xoej