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 20, 2019

The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron (Longfellow Grille)

Our intrepid band of readers, diminished somewhat by a few snowbirds, met over lunch at  Longfellow Grille on a balmy Friday.  Impeachment was on the menu, of course, but it failed to dominate the conversation for very long.  The dawn of a new age of authoritarianism?  Maybe, but we also have golf and housing options to discuss.

The book is an early example of modern exotic travel writing from a western perspective, mixing cultural observations and architectural critiques with real-life social encounters. Byron brings Pausanias into the 20th century.

Our next book is Porter Fox, Northland.  Also considered were Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato and Lisa Genova's Still Alice.  Our next meeting date is likely to be after mid-February, depending on everybody's availability.  Stay tuned.
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