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It's been a little while since I've filled you in on any of the goings-on of my Book Club. We have such a great time. I've written before about how to start a book club and about the different ways to select the books, how to choose members, etc. One tradition that I haven't mentioned before is the email that goes out the week or so prior to our meeting. The way it works in our club is that you host one month, and then the following month's book selection is yours for the taking. That way, there's an incentive to host.

So, this past month was my month to host. I love hosting my Book Babes (the fabulous name of our amazing book club!). We have such a wonderful group of ladies. Not only does the hostess get showered with wine when she hosts, but she also gets to send out the "heads-up" email reminder with details of the evening. This should include directions and any other pertinent details of the evening. A fun tradition has been to try to assume a character from the book's persona or to adapt the general "feel' of the book in your email. As a writer, I really have fun with this little task!

So, last month we read The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, by Bill Bryson (also author of A Walk in the Woods and I'm a Stranger Here Myself). This book involves the author regaling us with hilarious tales of his youth, while growing up in Des Moines, IA in the 1950's. Bryson is widely regarded as one of the sharpest, wittiest writers of our time. He has a way of making you laugh out loud in the most uncomfortable places (hospital surgery waiting areas, crowded planes full of people, waiting outside the principal's office for that unexpected visit with your child's teacher...you get the idea.).

You really should grab a copy of this book. I'll try to recreate one of the side-splittingly funny scenes that Bryson described:

Bryson asked his elementary school teacher if he could go to the bathroom. She replied (something to the effect of...):

"Number One or Number Two?" which Bryson found to be rather curious, not to mention  disturbing, since in his house they didn't use these terms but rather "Toidy" and "BM", and even those on rare occasions, not seeing the need to announce to all the world your toileting business.

Bryson replied:

"Well, I'm not sure. A really big BM, I guess. Probably a 3 or a 4." For this, he was sent to the "cloakroom", where he apparently spent most of his youth.

In my next post, I will fill you in on the email that I sent out regarding our pending discussion of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

Happy reading!