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.

December 7, 2009

The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner (Red Stag Supper Club)

We dined at the Red Stag Supper Club, and enjoyed satisfying if not exceptional meals. Our discussion ranged from Tiger's trials, to football foibles, to Palin's preenings. I'm sure some elevated topics were in there, too. The book, The Spectator Bird, got a pretty good reaction, especially for the author's lyrical and often iconic writing style, but there were questions about plot lines and character motivation. The meaning of the eugenics subplot? And why didn't the countess choose to escape to the US? At Max's suggestion, we'll read E. B. White, One Man's Meat (alternative idea: Per Petterson's To Siberia), and we'll meet on February 9. The next book will be suggested by Don.