Book club, second meeting

Stupid strep throat.

The lads gathered Thursday at the Canoe Club for beer and french fries ("hand-cut kennebec potatoes, sweet chili & sour cream," says their online menu, but such cold words for such beauty) for a conversation about Terence Young's first novel, After Goodlake's, featuring Terence Young himself.

Yes, my book club got the month's chosen author to come to a meeting, and I was at home sleeping the fitful and interminable sleep of the recently penicillined. He was a very good honorary member, I hear, full of insight and warmth even before the fries arrived.

Next month is Cormac McCarthy's The Road -- no word on whether he'll make the trip out. They really are good fries, though, if anyone knows Mr. McCarthy. Our questions will be better than Oprah's, and -- OK, we can't compete with your shiny new Pulitzer.

Comments

fiona-h said…
what a shame you had to miss it. So impressive, having the author attend. hope you're feeling better!
richard said…
I know, SUCH a shame. Sigh. But I don't know how impressive - surely we're not the first book club to buy off a local author with food and drink? You should try it in yours - if anything would, that might make them forget Confederacy of Dunces.
fiona-h said…
good suggestion. we're reading ian mcewan next! (NO ONE had read the autobiography at our last meeting!!)
richard said…
I'm not surprised, really. It's enough "not a real book" that the harder core readers wouldn't take it seriously, but long enough and with a specialized enough audience that the light readers won't commit to it.

Honestly, look at who's teaching in the local colleges; who's had a novel out in the last three years; and who scores well for involvement on ratemyprofessors.com - people will read for a warm body who's showing up!

(I should probably say this stuff in email rather than a blog -- but then again, I've only got maybe a half-dozen regulars.)

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