August 2009

Dear Book Clubbers,
OK, first things first...FOR ONCE I was rendered speechless and surprised by your kind and thoughtful celebration of my birthday at our book club gathering! I regret that I was unable to immediately come up with a voice to express my gratitude for your outpouring of good wishes. To be acknowledged for (almost) turning an age that many of you have attained and some still aspire to, touched me deeply. The cake and other goodies are tasty caloric memories that will eventually be burned off, the Barnes and Nobles gift card and sleep shirt will no doubt be put to good use, but the recognition of a group where I number all of you among my close friends will last forever. I really appreciate all the thought and consideration behind your efforts and highly value our friendships. You got me!
Going onward…what a terrific turnout we had! Barb’s deck was a terrific place for our summer meeting, the weather cooperated (a summer of 2009 rarity) and the food was fantastic. Jill did an AMAZING job of pulling together a lively discussion of Possession. That was an incredible, multimedia feat considering only 8 of 25 of us finished the book. Barb, Jill, and all who contributed, we can’t thank you enough for making such a special evening of our summer event.

Next up is the very important selection night for the ’09-’10 reading season. We will meet at Shirley’s on Wednesday, September 16th. Last year we commenced this meeting at 6:45 PM, so let’s shoot for that again. Snack volunteers are Polly, Joan and Marilyn (appetizers); Beth and Loraine (desserts) and Carol and Pam (wine). Each of you should bring 1-2 suggestions for our club to consider reading. They must be readily available (not out of print), and in paperback and audio book editions. The length should be something shorter than a book which risks back injury when lifting. Please bring a print out or brief handwritten description that may be placed on the counter during the voting process. You will also be expected to give a brief description of your selection(s) when we go around the room to review the proposed books. Consider also bringing an armload or two of books to throw into our used book swap. If you weren’t there last year and have questions about this meeting, please feel free to contact me.

Of the books selected, we will pick one of the shorter ones for a quick read for our next meeting which is October 14th at Beth’s. It would be wonderful if some of the guys sent along some ideas for consideration for the 2010 co-ed selection. Once again the 2009 co-ed selection is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Tolle.

Belated congratulations to Grace on her 50th wedding anniversary and to Polly who turned 80 (if you can believe that!) on the same day. Thank you all again for pulling together to create such a wonderful summer evening. Our book club rocks!

Jan