About a month ago, I mentioned to Gail--she's one of the Church of Christ/Lunch Bunch/Coronas, I liked to read. We then got into an interesting discussion about books, stories, plots, etc. I told her I'd found the Texarkana Library's book club and then made a heavy sigh, filling her in on the crazy stories we've been reading.
She told me about her book club. It is through the Church of Christ and invited me to go. "But I don't go to your church," I said. "That's okay. You are our sister anyway." (Squee!) She cautioned me that March's book--if I wanted to come--was a long epic Russian tale. She hadn't started it just yet, but she was looking at the book with a hairy eyeball.
"What is it?" I asked.
"A Gentleman in Moscow," she replied.
And this is where I went all book nerdy. You see, A Gentleman in Moscow happens to be one of my absolute favorite stories. Everyone should read this book!
I started gushing about what an amazing story teller Amor Towers happens to be. I shared with her my observations and even found one of my favorite quotes from that book.
"Why did you write the poem?"
Rostov: "It demanded to be written. I simply happened to be sitting at the particular desk on the particular morning when it chose to make its demands."
This month's Church of Christ book club meeting was this past Monday. A group of folks from diverse backgrounds (including the token Catholic) all met. Other than Gail, I hadn't met any of them before.* We were served a quick brunch, heard a talk from one woman who'd gone to Russia in the 1990s and showed us some of her treasures she'd brought back. We asked lots of questions about the culture and then settled down into the nitty gritty of the book. Each of us were able to speak, contribute to others and shape the conversation. It was enlightening and I left feeling like I was around a bunch of readers who wanted to discuss a story instead of rating it in on a scale of 1 to 5. By the way, Gail has changed her tune on this particular "long epic Russian tale," but may not be as giddy as I am about the story.
More than one person invited me to come next month--Gail will be out of town. I hope I can make it. April's book is Painted Horses. I've already started it. But it is a letdown after A Gentleman in Moscow. But then again, most every book under the sun is a letdown after A Gentleman in Moscow.
As for the library's book club. I hated the premise of April's book--The Fourth Hand. It also turns out I have a Master Gardener event that day, so I won't be going anyway.
*Though I hadn't met any of them before, a delightful woman came up to me and said, "I think you know my sister, Leah.
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