I waited until June to post just to see if that March Farmer's Almanac blurb about raining in March was correct and it was!!!
In April we had a real live author, Teresa James, come to speak to us about her book (now available on Kindle for $5.99) Below Yudaha. She was wonderful! She answered all of our questions about writing and publishing our own books. She laughed with us, she got deep with us, she talked about the nuances of her book with us. She stepped right into the meeting as if she belonged there, we were immediately comfortable with her. And she even signed our books for us! Teresa is definitely an honorary member of the book club and invited to all future meetings.
I would love to have more authors come to speak... or... have meetings at readings! Send me an email as soon as you know of readings that may be of interest to the group. I am taking my husband to a Neil Gaiman reading for his birthday: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/179279 but if I happen to see you there no harm no foul! Speaking of... Anyone read Moneyball by Michael Lewis? I will do a separate post about it because it is one of my all-time favorite books although it is written around a subject I never felt passionate about, baseball.
For me, Moneyball illustrates how we, as a human race, may observe something for decades and build theories off those observations but then some nut job comes along and scratches the surface and says "hey, did you know all those theories and observations are wrong?" And we all laugh because, of course, we know better as we have decades of observations and who-is-this-guy-to-tell-us-differently. But the nut job, being nutty, persists in his argument, eventually wins the attention of a few important people that happen to have some influence and suddenly the whole human race, after being hit over the head by the argument for 20 or so years, realize that the nut job may have a point.
It's kind of like the 100th monkey effect, although the 100th monkey effect was discredited it has brought forth another valid point that new methods of behavior are learned then passed down to the next generation. It would take baseball management about 20 years to retire the employees that didn't believe in the new stats and hire guys that were raised on the new stats. ... Moneyball is fascinating stuff, honestly. There is humor and some great storytelling even if you don't like baseball and you try to avoid statistics.
Our Reliquary Build for May was reduced to a mini-build due to a family emergency and then the mini-build was cancelled due to a supply shortage, it was shortsighted of me to try to quickly schedule the mini-build without my supply cohort, Nicole, so I apologize to all that were looking forward to that meeting. We hope to reschedule the Reliquary Build for September and will keep you posted on the location.
Our next meeting is at the Vallejo Pirate Festival on June 18th and so far we have a good turnout. We have a few guys that RSVP'd so it looks like I have to be more mindful of FB's private event setting, especially when we have the events at private locations! We'll synchronize our phones and figure out a good meeting spot as the date approaches. Once there we'll be piratin', guzzlin' grog, mindin' our loot and guardin' against them yellow-bellied ninjas... Arrrrr!
post hashed by Angela
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A Kiss and a Good Rogering
As it rains in March so it rains in June. ~Farmer’s Almanac
Rain, sleet, fog, apprehension and motion sickness could not keep Book Club’s most dedicated members from attending the meeting this past Saturday night. One member said she was apprehensive about attending because she imagined everyone in their bondage collars, stilettos and flogging accessories and she was uncertain that she wanted to be part of that scene. Imagination aside, we were a pretty tame crowd. While we were waiting for dinner we discovered that only one of us in attendance had heard of the Citadel in SF and she amazed us by sharing her experience with touring a real life dungeon set up for BDSM play.
Maguire’s was a fun meeting location; small but cozy and warm and not crowded at all. It was one of the only Irish pubs that I’ve been too that offers fish tacos and this weird concoction they call Pub Nachos. The Pub Nacho platter had me pondering the definition of Nacho, which, according to Dictionary.com is “a snack or appetizer consisting of a small piece of tortilla topped with cheese, hot peppers, etc., and broiled.” If you go by that definition then these pub nachos were not nachos at all; they were a sinful dish consisting of a bed of bbq kettle chips, generously drizzled in buffalo sauce, sprinkled with bleu cheese, salted pork and tomato. When the dish arrived at our table it was this terrible looking sea of red and browns, with some bleu cheese muddied in on top for some extra ugliness. However one taste sent the imagination soaring. How can something as ugly and wrong as this dish taste so damn good?
Gloria and I split the Shepherd’s pie which was delicious and made us realize that, unlike pub nachos which cannot be remotely related to nachos, the tater tot casserole is the red-headed step child of the shepherd’s pie. The main differences in the tater tot casserole are tater tots instead of mashed potatoes and processed cheese instead of gravy.
Rain, sleet, fog, apprehension and motion sickness could not keep Book Club’s most dedicated members from attending the meeting this past Saturday night. One member said she was apprehensive about attending because she imagined everyone in their bondage collars, stilettos and flogging accessories and she was uncertain that she wanted to be part of that scene. Imagination aside, we were a pretty tame crowd. While we were waiting for dinner we discovered that only one of us in attendance had heard of the Citadel in SF and she amazed us by sharing her experience with touring a real life dungeon set up for BDSM play.
 |
| These steakhouse nachos are not quite as ugly as the Pub Nachos |
Gloria and I split the Shepherd’s pie which was delicious and made us realize that, unlike pub nachos which cannot be remotely related to nachos, the tater tot casserole is the red-headed step child of the shepherd’s pie. The main differences in the tater tot casserole are tater tots instead of mashed potatoes and processed cheese instead of gravy.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Bodice Ripper and Democratic Role Playing?
At our January and February meetings, several V-Town members said that they are chomping at the bit for a "bodice ripper", a good story with a strong erotic undercurrent. In order to quell the requests we thought a clever segue from our Sookie vampire series would be to explore Mistress Roquelaure’s erotica, aka Miss Anne Rice, famously known as the author of The Vampire Chronicles. Subtly paying tribute to the sexy vampire theme that started Book Club, we assigned “The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty”, by A.N. Roquelaure*. However, we discovered by choosing the “Claiming of Sleeping Beauty” V-Town crossed the line from bodice ripper to straight up BDSM. We understand that this book may prove too strong a subject for some members, and that’s okay if you did not like it, the month is almost over, April and May will bring new book topics, probably not as shocking or controversial but hopefully intriguing.
Now let’s bring out our silken ropes or leather straps (or chains, you sicko’s) and tie up this review, we will start with the relentless questioning. Why does Anne Rice use a classic Fairytale inspired title for her book? Do you think Anne Rice named her character “Beauty” as a euphemism (for?) or to demonstrate how we may be trapped by beauty? We may desire beauty but it comes with consequences? Does Anne Rice use her character Beauty to demonstrate the conflict of mind, heart and desire we may encounter when first exposed to BDSM? What Beauty experiences at the hands of her Prince may mirror some of our deepest desires, to be the object of someone’s vehement passion, to be admired, to be possessed by someone’s fierce affections. Or do you have a more democratic perspective of her situation wanting her to be freed from her humiliating subjugation long enough to switch roles with the Prince? Do you find yourself thinking about the miserable existence she has been forced to lead and about how nobody should have that kind of oppressive authority over another without back and forth role playing?
Now let’s bring out our silken ropes or leather straps (or chains, you sicko’s) and tie up this review, we will start with the relentless questioning. Why does Anne Rice use a classic Fairytale inspired title for her book? Do you think Anne Rice named her character “Beauty” as a euphemism (for?) or to demonstrate how we may be trapped by beauty? We may desire beauty but it comes with consequences? Does Anne Rice use her character Beauty to demonstrate the conflict of mind, heart and desire we may encounter when first exposed to BDSM? What Beauty experiences at the hands of her Prince may mirror some of our deepest desires, to be the object of someone’s vehement passion, to be admired, to be possessed by someone’s fierce affections. Or do you have a more democratic perspective of her situation wanting her to be freed from her humiliating subjugation long enough to switch roles with the Prince? Do you find yourself thinking about the miserable existence she has been forced to lead and about how nobody should have that kind of oppressive authority over another without back and forth role playing?
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Prep for Spring Busi-Beesness
Whoah, it’s been a fun and busy few weeks for V-Town Book Club members! This post is a summary of a small part of that business. Please let me know if you know of more business that deserves acknowledgment and I’ll provide the update.
A couple members recently found love (outside of Book Club) and are sweetly entrenched in love’s first bloom. I’m not going to name the love afflicted here but if you have attended a meeting lately then you know who was struck with cupid’s arrow.
Many of us attended Kim’s Happiness Workshop on February 26th, and from Kim we learned to be happy from the inside out. Kim demonstrated her teaching skills and her natural leadership skills while reminding us to be true and thoughtful to ourselves and honor our feelings. The Happiness Workshop was the first of its kind for Kim and she packed a full house. I counted over 20 women in attendance and Kim led us all through the workshop; her friendly, warm energy radiating over us so that it was easy to personally identify with one another even though most of us were just meeting for the first time.
On March 4th, Melissa was awarded Teacher of the Year and I was honored to attend the ceremony as her BFF date. She looked positively radiant as she accepted her award for teaching high school math and algebra at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo. Teaching high school in Vallejo takes dedication, courage, and skill. Melissa is 100% engaged in her role as teacher and I see her dedication as she interacts with her students in public, when she talks to me about various ways she’s incorporating technology in the classroom, and when she excitedly describes the latest teaching method that she implemented in order to help her struggling students comprehend math. The award ceremony was held at the Elk’s Lodge in Vallejo and their 70’s leather furniture, comfortable bar and huge stone fireplace (no, I didn’t get a picture…dammit to hell!) would make a perfect Book Club meeting location. Now we just need to become Elks!
A couple members recently found love (outside of Book Club) and are sweetly entrenched in love’s first bloom. I’m not going to name the love afflicted here but if you have attended a meeting lately then you know who was struck with cupid’s arrow.
Many of us attended Kim’s Happiness Workshop on February 26th, and from Kim we learned to be happy from the inside out. Kim demonstrated her teaching skills and her natural leadership skills while reminding us to be true and thoughtful to ourselves and honor our feelings. The Happiness Workshop was the first of its kind for Kim and she packed a full house. I counted over 20 women in attendance and Kim led us all through the workshop; her friendly, warm energy radiating over us so that it was easy to personally identify with one another even though most of us were just meeting for the first time.
On March 4th, Melissa was awarded Teacher of the Year and I was honored to attend the ceremony as her BFF date. She looked positively radiant as she accepted her award for teaching high school math and algebra at Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo. Teaching high school in Vallejo takes dedication, courage, and skill. Melissa is 100% engaged in her role as teacher and I see her dedication as she interacts with her students in public, when she talks to me about various ways she’s incorporating technology in the classroom, and when she excitedly describes the latest teaching method that she implemented in order to help her struggling students comprehend math. The award ceremony was held at the Elk’s Lodge in Vallejo and their 70’s leather furniture, comfortable bar and huge stone fireplace (no, I didn’t get a picture…dammit to hell!) would make a perfect Book Club meeting location. Now we just need to become Elks!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Brunch Recap ~ Spoiler Alert
This brunch opens on the Valley of the Dolls conversation in the car with Jenny infor
ming me of the heartbreaking terms that Anne resolved her life to Lyon. From Jenny, I find out Neely is 10 times worse than Old Ironsides ever was and Jennifer had a heartwrenching love-of-her-life affair that left her decimated. By the time we arrived at Nicole's in Oakland I felt heavy, slowly processing the sad conclusion of the three characters that started out in life so blissfully naive. I also felt that entering Nicole's apartment was like drawing down the closing curtain on the acts performed by the characters in Valley of the Dolls.
Only thing to do now was to indulge in the buffet lovingly laid out by Nicole and better looking than any craft service table I've encountered in my lifetime. As we were enjoying brunch and talking about our experiences with the Dolls I couldn't help but feel that we were understudies attending a wrap party celebrating the end of a month of turbulent performances.
Nicole had two heavy hitting performers in this brunch, The Wifesaver featured here to the right, and the Dolls Cupcakes (above) as a surprise, happy ending to the last act.
The Wifesaver exceeded expectations on several counts: appearance, taste and name. The savory smell of the ingredients baking in the oven greeted us as we arrived, the golden delicious appearance of a perfectly baked breakfast casserole beckoned us to dive in, and the complimenting tastes and textures of the fluffy goodness of the eggy bread kept us going back for another bite! The layer of the salty canadian bacon was wonderful and the clencher was the buttery crunchiness of the toasted cornflakes topping.
The name of the Wifesaver brought much cheerful debate and conversation. Nicole said the casserole is called the Wifesaver because it saves the wife time on otherwise busy mornings. But several of us felt that it's called the Wifesaver because it keeps the husband full, content and happy with his domestic life. Something Anne could never quite accomplish with Lyon, no matter how hard she tried. Oh, if only she had this recipe!
Toward the end of brunch we weren't quite settled on a book, we had a general direction inspired by Spring and all the lusty awakenings that comes with Spring. We left with marching orders to suggest/recommend a topic for March.
Quote of the day in the context of choosing a book for March, "I don't think the topics of sleeping around and being a feminist are such a bad thing." ~ Kim
Cocktail of the month for February
Hibiscus cocktails:
champagne flute
add one hibiscus flower in syrup
pour in champagne
bubbles from champagne will help your flower bloom
Cheers!
ming me of the heartbreaking terms that Anne resolved her life to Lyon. From Jenny, I find out Neely is 10 times worse than Old Ironsides ever was and Jennifer had a heartwrenching love-of-her-life affair that left her decimated. By the time we arrived at Nicole's in Oakland I felt heavy, slowly processing the sad conclusion of the three characters that started out in life so blissfully naive. I also felt that entering Nicole's apartment was like drawing down the closing curtain on the acts performed by the characters in Valley of the Dolls.
Only thing to do now was to indulge in the buffet lovingly laid out by Nicole and better looking than any craft service table I've encountered in my lifetime. As we were enjoying brunch and talking about our experiences with the Dolls I couldn't help but feel that we were understudies attending a wrap party celebrating the end of a month of turbulent performances.Nicole had two heavy hitting performers in this brunch, The Wifesaver featured here to the right, and the Dolls Cupcakes (above) as a surprise, happy ending to the last act.
The Wifesaver exceeded expectations on several counts: appearance, taste and name. The savory smell of the ingredients baking in the oven greeted us as we arrived, the golden delicious appearance of a perfectly baked breakfast casserole beckoned us to dive in, and the complimenting tastes and textures of the fluffy goodness of the eggy bread kept us going back for another bite! The layer of the salty canadian bacon was wonderful and the clencher was the buttery crunchiness of the toasted cornflakes topping.
The name of the Wifesaver brought much cheerful debate and conversation. Nicole said the casserole is called the Wifesaver because it saves the wife time on otherwise busy mornings. But several of us felt that it's called the Wifesaver because it keeps the husband full, content and happy with his domestic life. Something Anne could never quite accomplish with Lyon, no matter how hard she tried. Oh, if only she had this recipe!
Toward the end of brunch we weren't quite settled on a book, we had a general direction inspired by Spring and all the lusty awakenings that comes with Spring. We left with marching orders to suggest/recommend a topic for March.
Quote of the day in the context of choosing a book for March, "I don't think the topics of sleeping around and being a feminist are such a bad thing." ~ Kim
Cocktail of the month for FebruaryHibiscus cocktails:
champagne flute
add one hibiscus flower in syrup
pour in champagne
bubbles from champagne will help your flower bloom
Cheers!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Mistress Roquelaure
Spring is in the air and while we were looking for a subject about resurrection in a literal sense we found that everyone was more interested in erotica in a lustful sense. We revel in the energy that is ushering in Spring and we heard from a certain groundhog that this is going to be a lusty year, we all know what Rabbits do!
Throughout our lives we are in situations where we find ourselves overpowered and dominated into submission, like at the bank when they tell us we could qualify for a better rate if our credit score was just a bit higher. Hopefully we have all experienced the power of domination as well; in everyday life we may dominate in our careers or in sports, all of us exhibiting our natural competitive streak at one time or another. We ask, why not translate that submissive/domination into the bedroom and find out more about this BDSM everyone is talking about? (Privately people, on your own time... sorry to burst your bubble but it's not that kind of book club).
March is the perfect time of year to explore erotica steeped in BDSM, it is said that the month roars in like a lion and goes out like a lamb... Book club translates this to roaring in like a dom and out like a sub and we find it fun to fantasize both roles as we assign The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice and determine punishments for not doing the assignment. (Okay, really, all I can come up with is forcing you all to read the Sookie series...)
Our meeting is at Maguire's Pub where we'll crush a few recovering leprechauns under the heels of our spiked stiletto's.
March 19th at 6pm
145 Kentucky Street
Petaluma, CA
RSVP by commenting here or on FB.
Throughout our lives we are in situations where we find ourselves overpowered and dominated into submission, like at the bank when they tell us we could qualify for a better rate if our credit score was just a bit higher. Hopefully we have all experienced the power of domination as well; in everyday life we may dominate in our careers or in sports, all of us exhibiting our natural competitive streak at one time or another. We ask, why not translate that submissive/domination into the bedroom and find out more about this BDSM everyone is talking about? (Privately people, on your own time... sorry to burst your bubble but it's not that kind of book club).
March is the perfect time of year to explore erotica steeped in BDSM, it is said that the month roars in like a lion and goes out like a lamb... Book club translates this to roaring in like a dom and out like a sub and we find it fun to fantasize both roles as we assign The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice and determine punishments for not doing the assignment. (Okay, really, all I can come up with is forcing you all to read the Sookie series...)
Our meeting is at Maguire's Pub where we'll crush a few recovering leprechauns under the heels of our spiked stiletto's.
March 19th at 6pm
145 Kentucky Street
Petaluma, CA
RSVP by commenting here or on FB.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Viva Voce or by a Show of Comments
We have a task ahead of us and the results are due by tomorrow night, 02/15/11 at 11:59pm. The task is choosing a book for our March book club reading!
Comment here or post on FB by Tuesday, 11:59pm if you have a recommended reading or you want to vote for one of the following:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Queenmaker: A Novel of King David’s Queen, India Edghill
The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
Whisper Falls, Toni Blake
The Thorn Birds: A Novel, Colleen Mccullough
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Anne Rice and A. N. Roquelaure
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
My Secret Garden, Nancy Friday
Lady Chatterly's Lover, D.H. Lawrence
Female Perversions, Louise Kaplan
Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet
Brooklyn Follies: A Novel, Paul Auster
The Giants House: A Romance, Elizabeth McCracken
Outlander, Diana Gabaldo
We'll post the March reading on Wednesday, February 16th.
Comment here or post on FB by Tuesday, 11:59pm if you have a recommended reading or you want to vote for one of the following:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Queenmaker: A Novel of King David’s Queen, India Edghill
The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
Whisper Falls, Toni Blake
The Thorn Birds: A Novel, Colleen Mccullough
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Anne Rice and A. N. Roquelaure
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
My Secret Garden, Nancy Friday
Lady Chatterly's Lover, D.H. Lawrence
Female Perversions, Louise Kaplan
Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet
Brooklyn Follies: A Novel, Paul Auster
The Giants House: A Romance, Elizabeth McCracken
Outlander, Diana Gabaldo
We'll post the March reading on Wednesday, February 16th.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Valley of the Brunch Drunch
In Hobbiton our Sunday brunch at 1pm would be considered 4th meal, 2nd lunch or 3rd breakfast. In the SF bay area, drinking and eating at 1pm is also considered Drunch, drinking during lunch. In order to simplify the potluck choices we are calling this meeting Brunch!
Here is the potluck list so far:
Angela ~ Hibiscus Cocktails (champagne, hibiscus flowers in syrup)
Nicole ~ Wife Saver (egg, cheese, bacon casserole)
Here is the potluck list so far:
Angela ~ Hibiscus Cocktails (champagne, hibiscus flowers in syrup)
Nicole ~ Wife Saver (egg, cheese, bacon casserole)
Kim ~ Apple Crumble
Jenny ~ Fruit Plate
Gloria ~ Breakfast Casserole
Gloria ~ Breakfast Casserole
Melissa ~ Champagne/Orange Juice
And... that's it. If you haven't made a choice yet or you need a little nudge, here is what the hostess suggests:
little sandwiches
potato dish
salad
beverages (Nicole will have coffee)
You may comment here or on Facebook to give your dish of choice and I'll update the blog.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Juicy Peaches and Bitter Nuts
Reading Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls (VotD) is similar to eating a juicy peach. We get to enjoy the fruity celebrity personalities while sucking on the juice of a few tantalizing sex scenes. Here are the celebrity inspirations for each of the characters we are about to meet:
Carol Landis = Jennifer North
Dean Martin = Tony Polar
Judy Garland/Betty Hutton = Neely O’hara
Ethel Merman = Helen Lawson
After we devour the celebrity bits and slurp up all of the good juiciness we are left with the story’s remains… the hard, wrinkled shell that contains the bitter nut; the message that getting old in Hollywood sucks.
With her introductory poem, Jacqueline Susann warns us about the journeys we are about to witness while reading VotD yet our desire for celebrity gossip and sex overwhelm us and we dive right in, letting the story wash over us in waves of hope only to battle a vicious riptide of the reality of beautiful, ambitious, naive young women in 1960’s New York:
“You’ve got to climb to the top of Mount Everest
to reach the Valley of the Dolls
You stand there, waiting for
the rush of exhilaration you thought you’d feel – but
it doesn’t come.
You’re too far away to hear the applause
and take your bows.
And there’s no place left to climb...
…Anne Welles had never meant to start the climb.
Yet, unwittingly, she took her first step
the day she looked around
and said to herself,
‘This is not enough – I want something more.’”…
This “something more” is a common thread that binds the three main characters, Anne Welles, Jennifer North and Neely O’Hara into friendship. Outside of their ambitious career aspirations the pressure to find and marry “the one” is intense and adding to the intensity is the introduction of Helen Lawson. Helen is divorced, loud, brash, and overconfident. At the age of 32, she is considered old and decidedly unsexy by the successful men that surround her. Helen is inserted into the story by Susann like a threat to Anne, Jennifer and Neely that beauty fades with age and if you choose to be independent and don’t marry a successful man by the age of 25 you may end up with a nickname such as Old Ironsides.
Here are some book club questions to ponder as you read through VotD:
• What type is “the one” for Anne? For Neely? For Jennifer? How does the type you chose for them compare to the men they chose for themselves?
• Go back to your youthful early 20’s for this question: which character did you most relate to Anne, Jennifer, Neely or Old Ironsides?
• Could you relate to Anne’s sexual awakening? What was the first time like for you? Was it as awkward and immature as Anne’s? Or was it everything you ever dreamed of?
• What did you think/hope about Allen and Anne?
• What are your thoughts about the evolution of Neely?
• What did you think about the relationship between Maria and Jennifer North?
• While reading VotD are you longing for the simpler requirements of the women in the 1960’s? Or are you grateful for all the opportunity women have today?
• What did you think of Lawrenceville? And Anne’s picturesque house in Lawrenceville? Do you think Anne will change her mind about Lawrenceville as she matures?
Returning to our topic of juicy peaches and bitter nuts, we are working on the potluck list for Nicole’s brunch on February 13th. If you know what you’re going to bring then comment here or post on Facebook. We’ll post the potluck details on the blog next week.
Carol Landis = Jennifer North
Dean Martin = Tony Polar
Judy Garland/Betty Hutton = Neely O’hara
Ethel Merman = Helen Lawson
After we devour the celebrity bits and slurp up all of the good juiciness we are left with the story’s remains… the hard, wrinkled shell that contains the bitter nut; the message that getting old in Hollywood sucks.
With her introductory poem, Jacqueline Susann warns us about the journeys we are about to witness while reading VotD yet our desire for celebrity gossip and sex overwhelm us and we dive right in, letting the story wash over us in waves of hope only to battle a vicious riptide of the reality of beautiful, ambitious, naive young women in 1960’s New York:
“You’ve got to climb to the top of Mount Everest
to reach the Valley of the Dolls
You stand there, waiting for
the rush of exhilaration you thought you’d feel – but
it doesn’t come.
You’re too far away to hear the applause
and take your bows.
And there’s no place left to climb...
…Anne Welles had never meant to start the climb.
Yet, unwittingly, she took her first step
the day she looked around
and said to herself,
‘This is not enough – I want something more.’”…
This “something more” is a common thread that binds the three main characters, Anne Welles, Jennifer North and Neely O’Hara into friendship. Outside of their ambitious career aspirations the pressure to find and marry “the one” is intense and adding to the intensity is the introduction of Helen Lawson. Helen is divorced, loud, brash, and overconfident. At the age of 32, she is considered old and decidedly unsexy by the successful men that surround her. Helen is inserted into the story by Susann like a threat to Anne, Jennifer and Neely that beauty fades with age and if you choose to be independent and don’t marry a successful man by the age of 25 you may end up with a nickname such as Old Ironsides.
Here are some book club questions to ponder as you read through VotD:
• What type is “the one” for Anne? For Neely? For Jennifer? How does the type you chose for them compare to the men they chose for themselves?
• Go back to your youthful early 20’s for this question: which character did you most relate to Anne, Jennifer, Neely or Old Ironsides?
• Could you relate to Anne’s sexual awakening? What was the first time like for you? Was it as awkward and immature as Anne’s? Or was it everything you ever dreamed of?
• What did you think/hope about Allen and Anne?
• What are your thoughts about the evolution of Neely?
• What did you think about the relationship between Maria and Jennifer North?
• While reading VotD are you longing for the simpler requirements of the women in the 1960’s? Or are you grateful for all the opportunity women have today?
• What did you think of Lawrenceville? And Anne’s picturesque house in Lawrenceville? Do you think Anne will change her mind about Lawrenceville as she matures?
Returning to our topic of juicy peaches and bitter nuts, we are working on the potluck list for Nicole’s brunch on February 13th. If you know what you’re going to bring then comment here or post on Facebook. We’ll post the potluck details on the blog next week.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Reboot Post ~ January and February Meetings
Our January meeting is this Saturday the 22nd at Scotty's in Vallejo, 11am!
We haven't caught up to books 5-6 of the Sookie series so this meeting will be all about breakfast, future meeting topics and exchanging books. Bring a book or two that you would like to exchange and another book or two that you would like to discuss for future topics. We are on the hunt for fun/interesting books centering around the following topics:
Pirates (June meeting)
Resurrection/Religion (our theme for Spring)
Horse Racing (August meeting)
Here are the RSVP's we have for Scotty's:
Dalila, Angela, Melissa, Gloria, Alice, Ivy, Darla, Gemma
we'll be holding a table so let us know if you are not on the list or if your name is on the list but you can't make it.
Potluck Brunch at Nicole's place is now scheduled for February 13th at 1pm.
Arrange a designated driver and bring your Valley of the Dolls inspired dish/cocktail. We'll start a potluck list within the next week and everyone that RSVP'd will receive the address to Nicole's place too. We are arranging a carpool caravan from Angela's house in Vallejo, here's the list we currently have for the carpool :
Alice, Gloria, Gemma, Melissa, Angela, Jenny
If you don't have time for reading we found the Valley of the Dolls movie on Netflix!
Hope to see you on Saturday at Scotty's!
We haven't caught up to books 5-6 of the Sookie series so this meeting will be all about breakfast, future meeting topics and exchanging books. Bring a book or two that you would like to exchange and another book or two that you would like to discuss for future topics. We are on the hunt for fun/interesting books centering around the following topics:
Pirates (June meeting)
Resurrection/Religion (our theme for Spring)
Horse Racing (August meeting)
Here are the RSVP's we have for Scotty's:
Dalila, Angela, Melissa, Gloria, Alice, Ivy, Darla, Gemma
we'll be holding a table so let us know if you are not on the list or if your name is on the list but you can't make it.
Potluck Brunch at Nicole's place is now scheduled for February 13th at 1pm.
Arrange a designated driver and bring your Valley of the Dolls inspired dish/cocktail. We'll start a potluck list within the next week and everyone that RSVP'd will receive the address to Nicole's place too. We are arranging a carpool caravan from Angela's house in Vallejo, here's the list we currently have for the carpool :
Alice, Gloria, Gemma, Melissa, Angela, Jenny
If you don't have time for reading we found the Valley of the Dolls movie on Netflix!
Hope to see you on Saturday at Scotty's!
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