Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Best book club meeting evah!

So I took a break over the weekend to attend a local book club. I’m friends with one of the members because - let’s be honest here - she likes my books. (What, I’m going to attend a book club where they don’t?) I actually met LeAnne when she carted TSoS up to the register at Borders while I was standing there with “the Cadillac of strollers” and signing books. So after getting the rest of the girls to read my latest (Reading the book is not actually a requirement for this bookclub. Being able to hold your own on a playdate and in a dive bar is) and promising me there’d be mixed drinks, I dropped by their latest meeting.


And by “meeting” I mean to say, “What the hell?”


Because at one point, after a drink or three, I said, “Look, are you guys ever going to talk about my books?”


They said no, and we moved on to more important things. Like:


*Lill knows definitively who killed JFK, but she’s mostly keeping her trap shut about it, so don’t come after her if you’re worried about the truth getting out. (And if you do, she’s second from right in the picture below, not the one in the middle. That’s me.)


*The classic ‘dog-ear book pages or not?’ debate. This was divided, and some people seemed to play favorites with hardcovers. I’m very right-wing about my book use, and not opposed to banging the b*stards against the wall if I feel like it, but I’m also tolerant of those with more exacting standards. As we all liked one another, we declared it a draw.


*LeAnne asked that I inform Harper that my books aren’t terribly well bound. For instance, she was holding SCENT when she fell off her floatie and into the pool, and then left it out in 100 degree heat and the damned binding fell apart, making it hard to read. So I’m here to say, Work on it, Harper! These harsh elements aren’t going anywhere soon!


*Republicans should never, under any circumstance, get laid. This was almost unanimous. (Don’t worry, LeAnne. They’ll never find that body.)


*Keri reads the most of all of us: 4-5 books a week. B*tch has my life.


*I need more sex in my books. (I did not get to vote in this matter.)


*If you want to wear it, you know it’s good champagne. (This is book related because I’m going to put it in one.)


*LeAnne is the queen of the dead. She can tell you everyone who has died recently. Or ever.


*Though some book club members have clung to their classic Catholic guilt, most of us would become Pastafarians (Worshippers of The Flying Spaghetti Monster) if pressed.


*Owning your own business while raising four kids really cuts into your reading time. (Note, Anje, I didn’t say “Boy, you have your hands full!”)


Unfortunately we all had to go home before we drank ourselves sober - a Vegas girl hazard - but we’ll meet again soon for the Haunted Vegas tour. 


Thank you, ladies, for the invite, the much needed break, and the laughs.


(BTW, I know it looks like I have to goto the bathroom in the pic below, but I’m really just wringing my hands. I was tired, and pulling on body parts to stay awake.)



Keri, Anje, me, Lillian, and LeAnne

11 comments:

Tara Parker said...

Thanks for helping me start the day laughing my ass off!

Angela/SciFiChick said...

Wow. I really need to start a book club.
Granted, I only know a couple female friends who actually read more than a book a year. But I guess you don't actually have to discuss books at a book club! lol

Vicki Pettersson said...

Tara - yur welcome!

Ang - yes, books are props. Or coasters for the drinks.
Who knew, huh? I feel like a whole new world has opened to me...

Rachel V. Olivier said...

I have been very hard on books in the past, dog-earing them, using them as coasters, etc. These days I'm a little more careful because I've borrowed books or just wanted to keep them nice for some reason (because they were signed for example! ;-)).

Sounds like you had a great time! I need a book club like that!

Personally, I think the amount of sex in your books is fine. It's supposed to be action/adventure, not romance - dammit! But that's just me.

Point is (and there is a point - I'm not drunk, really, just up much earlier than normal) I love it when you get your Vegas Girl on!

Crazy Lady said...

Saturday night was a TON of fun - and we DID talk about the books... some! Well, a little at least.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow. Now I really wish I lived in Vegas, this sounds like such an awesome group of women.

Carolyn Borgman said...

My best friend, Anje, is one of the book sluts..er, club...members. I wanted to thank you for the inscriptions in the books. I got them from her yesterday and will start reading them tomorrow. She told me all about the night and then hearing your side....made me really wish I hadn't moved away. Thanks again and I can't wait to dive into the series.

Chandra Rooney said...

I dunno, Dude. Putting more sex in your books might mean the fanfics would have to have plots instead of forced pairings.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you had a great time with your club, but I felt compelled to comment when you said they demanded more sex.

Please, don't. You have a nice, sensible level of sex in the books at the moment. I totally believe in Joanna's feelings both for her ex and the Aries. I don't think I'd believe her torn emotions as much if she just fell into bed with them easily. And I don't think I'd believe in her emotions as much if she were being endlessly courted by a harem of men.

I think sex can be a great part of character development, and you've really used it well. But I also think it has ruined series in the past when all the characters do is hop in and out of bed. I'd rather be left wanting more from my books than left disappointed because the characters no longer feel real to me.

Candace said...

Just dropping a comment to let you know that I'm still reading your blog! Lol. Seems like you had fun at the bookclub. I know I always do with my online Jane Austen book club. :)

-candace

Ellen D. said...

Vic,

Just read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Thought of you many times. Mostly because Las Vegas and Lookout Mountain (Rock City) are sort of American shrines and have major scenes in the book. For another--the characters and level of supernatural seems like something you'd get into.

Ellen