Something in a Dragon

Last spring I was invited by R^2 to join a book club that a girl we know was starting.  It seemed like all my friends in other cities were in at least one, so I jumped on the opportunity.  Informally, the initiator has taken on the roll of president of The Book Club that Shall Not Be Named, or so it has been called, and drives the organization by email.  We meet once every five or six weeks to talk about the book, drink lots, and pick our next read.  If you have not joined a b.c., I would highly recommend starting one for a few reasons, which are as follows:

1.  Meet new people!  If everyone brings a different friend, you get a random cross section of people you otherwise might not have found occasion to meet.  If you are invited through friends, you are likely dealing with some q.p. and lots of humorous new folks - I am always for broadening your laugh pool when possible.

2.  Incentive to read!  At the time The Book Club that Shall Not Be Named was formed, I was in a rut of only reading magazines and had not read a book in a long time.  But reading books is so fun and I do it now - at least once a month.

3.  Grow your personal library!  Unless you check each months' pick out from the library.  Which is the recession proof way to go about book clubbing.

4.  Booze and cheese are the personal pan pizzas of adulthood!  Only now you don't have to have your parents sign-off on your books to get Book It stickers because nobody cares if you finish, you still get to eat.

5.  You can say "yes" if people ask you if you belong to any clubs!  Like when my outplacement consultant asked me today.  "No" would have been such a depressing answer.

6.  Learn new things!  Book club conversations invariably turn to topics other than the content of the book.  I have learned some crazy things at The Book Club that Shall Not be Named.  Many of which I had not learned before because they are generally terrifying to see in print.  If you want a list, call me.  Oh also, you learn from the reading, obvi.

Our most recent book was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  At first I was just excited for this pick because - finally!  A book in a dragon!  (I always prefer the option in a dragon if there is one vs. not.)  As it turns out, the dragon is not too heavily involved, and it's not really about the girl much either.  Maybe she plays a bigger role in the next two of the trilogy.  But, since we didn't pick those for our next month's read, I'll probably never know.  

Up for next month - The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano.  Book report to follow.