Book Chatter

I am not myself right now. After a very stressful work week, involving a department re-org, fighting staff members and a revelation into what may be down the road for me, I am worn-out and exhausted. I’ve worked in a lot of stressful environments, sometimes it’s unavoidable, but I will never understand the need to step on others on the way to the top. In my opinion, it stems from a total lack of self-esteem. This may work for them in the short term, but long term, it’s like pissing without a pot. Sorry for the crude analogy.

With another stressful week ahead and this also being production week for Alice in Wonderland, I am taking today to re-charge, re-group and re-focus on what’s important. My family and friends are important. This includes all of you who stop by to comment and also includes those of you that lurk. I know you’re out there and I appreciate all of you.

My mantra this week is: What goes around, comes around.

To start the morning off, I had my favorite breakfast which consisted of crispy bacon, eggs over easy, gluten-free toast and three cups of cinnamon coffee (yikes)! I will be helping The Girl with her Superstar poster, dragging The Boy out of bed and then I am off to buy something just for me.

Tomorrow, the dreaded Monday and the beginning to what may be the most horrible week ever, I plan to hit the gym (2nd visit and my body didn’t collapse into the quivering heap I expected it to). There is a punching bag there that I may get to know personally. Just sayin’.

Cheers!! Have a good week!

You might recall this post, where I asked your opinion on which books to pitch at my book club’s yearly selection meeting. The book that I most wanted to read, was also the book that I feared would get overlooked because of its content, its overly depressing nature… the fact that it’s about yet another school shooting. Well, I was right. It didn’t go over well. There were some who wanted to read it, but when it came down to it, We Need to Talk About Kevin was voted out. I think I stared off in space in disbelief. Oh, that was the wine.

My second pitch was The Sense of an Ending, but another member pitched it right before me. That left me with Lamb, which would have been a fabulous choice for discussion, but as soon as I mentioned that it involved an older man and a young girl, I saw the eyes looks elsewhere. Good lord! I just about lost it. Not because I was mad. Certainly not, but because it seems as if anything somewhat controversial gets shot down.

In my head, I was dying. I had about five other books in front of me so in a last ditch effort to get a book chosen, I pitched Norwegian Wood and it made it in. Now THAT surprised me. I haven’t read NW myself but if it’s like Murakami’s other books these folks are in for a wild ride. Plus, it’s sexually charged. Well, that’s what folks tell me.

We picked twelve books but we had books for this year already chosen so there is some overlap into 2013. Here is the list:

2012 Book Club Reading List

Jan – The Lost City of Z by David Grann [review] (chosen last year)

Feb – The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee (chosen last year)

Mar – The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds (my pick from last year)

Apr – The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

May – The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow

Jun – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (my 4th time reading it)

Jul – The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham

Aug – Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Sep – The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

Oct – The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Nov – The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

Dec – The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

2013 Book Club Reading List (to be continued)

Jan – Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Feb – The Submission by Amy Waldman

Mar – Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) by George Orwell (my 4th time reading it)

At first, I felt so-so about the list. I went home and tried to decipher my chicken scratch (apparently, the chicken was on crack) and it just looked okay to me. Now that I have the official list, I am liking it more. It’s varied and balanced from what I can tell and should, for the most part, generate plenty of discussion.

Now, if I could just pull myself out of the reading rut I’ve found myself in, I’d be thrilled to pieces!

Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…