Book Club

Great Smokies National Park
Tennessee

Dear Jody:
What's the book? Would you believe there are NO B&N or BORDERS anywhere in Tennessee. Come to think of it, this is probably no great surprise. The last four books I bought were paperbacks in WalMart, and it turns out I've read every single one of them. I just have a bad memory for titles. But after the first two pages, I sincerely regret the fact that paperbacks now cost $9.99.
Love Betty

I miss my friends! And among the friends that I miss are my Ladies Nite Out Book Club friends. Every other month we forgo the restaurant visits and settle in at somebody’s house to discuss our latest mutual read. It’s usually a book with something to say, questions to ponder, or a plotline that’s fresh and new. And okay, we don’t forego the food. The hors d’oeuvres are always wonderful, the wine freely poured, and later, there’s coffee and dessert. Which probably ends up more calories than the dinner out, but who’s counting?

If we’re really organized, we have a question guide and we try to discuss the book and answer the questions. But if you ever had to answer questions from the guide in back of your reading book in grade school, you already know that some of these questions are incredibly stupid or worse yet, awesomely obtuse.

The conversation invariably slides towards more mundane issues like work, kids, politics, and of course Brittany, although I can’t remember talking about her lately. She’s a little over, I’m afraid.

Now Hillary may be over according to the nation, but she’s our neighbor in Westchester, and we still think she’s pretty cool. Even if some of us hate her, we have to admit her role in establishing that women do indeed count in the grand scheme of things.

We always try to be finished in time to make it home for Grey’s Anatomy, or some other favorite must-watch. But more often than not, the conversation is so lively that we forget the clock and miss our shows. When that happens, we thank our hostess, then stand next to our cars and talk for at least another 15 minutes.

Book Club is about the book, to be sure, but it’s also about women sharing opinions, information, news, and yes, gossip. It’s about supporting the two who got breast cancer, the three who lost husbands to death and divorce, the two who lost children, and the ones who’ve moved away and still want to stay in the loop.

So if not this month, because I haven’t read the book, then next month, I will sit in front of my computer, turn on the camera and attend the next meeting as a face on a screen. And I will have opinions, smart-alecky remarks and some gossip to share. It won’t be like being there, but it’ll be something, anyway.

I miss my friends.