We are seven handsome and charming* guys who meet at a different restaurant every month or so, having read a book in common, and discuss whatever we want--generally the assigned book, but usually many other timely topics as well. We rotate the responsibility to suggest titles, but the group has the final say. Our book club rules: 1) Anything goes, fiction or nonfiction; 2) paperbacks are preferred; and 3) staying under 300 pages is desirable (N.B., we violate this one all the time). We rate all books and restaurants on a 5-point scale.

* All other adjectives were vetoed.

January 13, 2009

Dreams Of My Father by Barack Obama (Seafood Palace)

Our book was Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father, a memoir by our 44th. A thoughtful, well-written, and candid self-exploration by the future politician on the eve of his election to the Illinois State Senate, the book was far more impressive than the usual campaign tract. Our dinner at the Chinese restaurant, Seafood Palace, was good overall and a great value. Our next book is the classic, Tender Is the Night, by Minnesota author F. Scott Fitzgerald. We also considered Fred Kaplan's Lincoln: Biography of a Writer and The World Without Us by Alan Weisman.