Good Book Group Reading 2021

 WOW, it's been almost a year since our first book club meeting and we've had some fun and read some books. (Catch up on our 2020 titles here.) 

Book Club During Quarantine? Great Idea! 

Braver Than You Think helped us quench our mutual desire to travel, I think. I mean, sure she went all over and had great adventures, but she stayed in a lot of places without showers, so, you know, staying home in quarantine at least meant we had hot water most of the time. 

We also found out it's hard to get people together (there are 12 members in our group; that's a lot of schedules to coordinate!) and especially so when we decided that meeting outside was the best bet - and baby, it gets cold outside. We had a couple of "walky-talkies" where we met for short hikes, followed by hot beverages. I bought a new thermos for the occasion. It was totally worth it to see my friends, even if we could see our breath outside, too. 

Ann Patchett's The Dutch House was one of our last titles of 2020, as we decided to have a white elephant gift exchange instead of trying to schedule a meeting during the holidays. 

2021, Here We Come

So we took a page off Barack Obama's shelf, sort of, by grabbing Deacon King Kong from the former POTUS's list of "best" books of 2020, and, um, suffice to say we don't all share Mr. O's taste in novels. Lots of characters is one thing, lots of characters with lots and lots of nicknames is too much for my brain to keep straight. That said, boy did I love some of the author's dialog. 

Quotes from Deacon King Kong

"Your cheese done slid off your cracker." -- Hot Sausage, to Sportcoat, the almost-always inebriated main character, when Sport is making some (more) poor decisions. 

"Fibbling and twiddling" -- one way to waste time

And the more philosophical: 

"That's the thing when you get out and you're still breathing. Every day is a brand new world." -- The Elephant, but it could've easily been attributed to (Officer) Potts. 

Sex & Drugs & Rock n' Roll

Who doesn't love a little dose of lighthearted fiction focused on self-absorbed rock stars? Daisy Jones and the Six was a fun read, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. A Fleetwood Mac groupie card is not required to enjoy this one. 

What's Next? 

We have a few ideas, but if you want to share what you and your book club are reading this year, we'd love to hear from you.