A Tale of Two Book Clubs (Part 1)

I originally joined the Texarkana Library's book club for the sole purpose of meeting people. It was last July. My home on Arizona Avenue was smothering me. I would have gone to June's book club, but I had workers in my home who just couldn't get a bathtub installed in under three and a half weeks.  

My initial expectation was the book club would be a diverse group of book nerds who wanted to have interesting discussions about that month's book and would bring to the table a unique, yet intelligent, perspective. 

What it turned out to be was Tammy the Librarian (and I assure you, she's pretty cool--just not in this setting) asking each sweet octogenarian (also awesome folks) as well as me and a woman named Joy for a rating 1 to 5 and ONE sentence about what we liked about the book. If anyone dares not to like the book (sigh) they are cast as a mini-pariah for the meeting--even if I point out obvious plot gaps like the killer had to know the victim because otherwise the storyline didn't go together or the fact everyone else seemed to miss out on the reason the main character was in Lake Superior in the first place was because he was committing suicide and that "pretend friend" that bothered all of the Book Club participants throughout the story was the main character's guardian angel. But I digress... 

At any rate, the books are tyrannically selected by Tammy the Librarian, who hasn't read them either. Tammy then buys them in bulk through Amazon and tells the Club members not to break the spine and return the books by the next meeting so they can be sent back to Amazon for a full refund. I have a significant problem with this and just get my own copies (usually through the library). So far the two best books we've read were a child's book and the Lake Superior story. Rounding third place was March's book (a 1970s sci-fi). However, we didn't meet in March because Tammy had a bum knee. 

At the end of the meeting Joy, who was an English lit major and I usually stand outside the library chatting and looking for validation ("You did recognize the main character was trying to kill himself? "Yes, but I didn't want to embarrass the rest of the group." "Do you think the characterization of the theme of rebirth was accurate?" "Absolutely. Great analysis. Too bad the book was horrible"), until we decide it is raining, freezing or could be better served moving our discussion to (whips out phones) say next Tuesday? Cracker Barrel or Indian food? 

The entire meeting lasts exactly 59 minutes, with Tammy saying she has to lock the meeting room door before she rushes back behind the check-out counter.