Some thoughts about the book club

Every now and then I have these delusions that I will do more than I am currently doing. Like blogging. I am a blog reader, rather than a blog writer - just like I am a novel reader and will probably never be a novel writer.

I have a personal blog - but don't ever hold your breath waiting for a post. I am inspired every few months to write something. It is not enough to get my blog listed on Rice Bowl Journals. (Dear Celia, how do you create a link? alternatively, Dear Reader - Google it.) (I edited it for you. And what there is of Oanh's personal blog is excellent, so go read it - Celia)

Here's hoping I will do a better job posting to a blog that has numerous authors (peer pressure). At least there will be posts more than once every purple moon.

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Thought number 1:
This book club has minimal rules. (not like this club - don't get me wrong I like this blog. It has colour coordinated authors, quizzes and interesting writing and thinking).

The rules go something along the lines of: someone pick a person, person pick a book, whoever has the time and inclination read that book, someone (not necessarily the person who chooses book, but preferably) choose date and time for meeting, at meeting talk about book for long enough to justify it as 'book club meeting' and otherwise discuss anything and everything else. Tangents are important. Tangents are among my favourite things.

A de-facto rule has been: theme the meeting to the book. It's getting extravagant but heaps of fun.

Thought number 2:
Book club is all women. Wonderful women. Why is it all women? I ask my partner what he thinks - he is probably one of the most avid readers I know, one of the reasons I think he's a keeper - he says it's an excuse for us to get together and talk and exclude our partners. He scoffs at book clubs (but not this one because he would not dare).

I suggest that he is being too specific and not considering that most book clubs comprise women. And anyway, I often exclude him from things I attend without any qualms. I don't need an excuse to exclude him - it's very easy (I'm going here(insert place, function, friend) now (or sometime in the not too distant future). I don't want you to come. Entertain yourself for a while)

He suggests the evil 'O' word. I can't bear to repeat it here, but some of you may know who/what I mean. I shout him down. It has nothing to do with the evil 'O' word. Nothing. and our book club is nothing like that book club (because we don't have a TV show and we're not saps).

We talk about Ian McEwan. (you all know the story, right?) (Dear Celia, how do you so cleverly embed your links? I'm not sure if you can do it from email - so I've done it for you :-) ) Ian says that if women stopped reading, the novel would be dead.

Thought number 3:
I like book club because ... everyone lets me rant. Some of them even seem to enjoy my rants.

Book Club is an opportunity to do what I have done for years: say to people: ooh! have you read this? you must read this ... Conversations in the vein of the above are among my favourite conversations. I love it when people say the same sort of thing to me. Unless they are going to tell me to read Da Vinci Code, in which case I shall put my fingers in my ears and start chanting "Umberto Eco, Umberto Eco".

Thought number 4:
Blogging is evil. This blog has taken precious billable units away from my time sheet. I am in big trouble, now.

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Until next time (I promise to post re Novel without a Name).
- Oanh (the ranter)