Book Club Blather

I am a member of a book club. I have a group of friends and we meet once a month to discuss a book we have all read and to select a new book. There are three of us who attend regularly. It is always a pleasant surprise if our other members attend.

The last book discussed at our book club meeting was “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” by Mark Twain. I really enjoyed the book. I didn’t quite finish it because we were busy with Little League baseball every night for a couple of months. Plus, I have been nursing a tension headache for about 5 days now and it is painful to read. However, I did read the book years and years ago. It is a brilliant social and political satire. I would love to sit down and have a conversation with Mark Twain.

Our new book selection is “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire. I have read the first few pages and can’t wait to curl up and finish it.

Book Club is such a fun thing to do. Of course we all enjoy the books, but it is a great reason to converse with other adults, eat yummy food, and drink cocktails. Tonight, our hostess tried to adhere to a medieval-type theme keeping with the whole “King Arthur” subject. For hor d’oeuvres, she served pickled herring, goat cheese, fruit, almonds, walnuts, and dark bread with honey butter. For the main course, she cooked a bird pie and told us that we would be eating a pigeon pie if we were truly keeping with the medieval theme, but she had mercy on us and substituted chicken instead. We also had some sort of sauteed dish comprised of fennel, saffron, and onions. To drink, we had our choice of cider, water, wine, or hard cider. For dessert, we had berries cooked in their own juice and sweetened with honey with cream poured over the top. After our dessert, we had warm, spiced mead. I think if we had used wine, it would have been called mulled wine? I must say, the spiced mead was delicious. Kind of like wassail with a kick! Our host really outdid herself. It was a lovely evening. Had we not had such a feast, it still would have been lovely. I truly enjoy meeting with these exceptional women every month and discussing literature. If I had a mother ship, it would look much like a Barnes and Noble storefront, I think.