More Angels

That's how I feel about those who show up for book club, after I've spent the afternoon slaving over straightening up and setting up for the event. At one point, I thought to myself, "I am never doing this again!" But to my profound relief, everything went fabulously, and I know I'll be happy to take my turn at hosting again ... in a few more months.

I jumped on the candy buffet bandwagon, although admittedly mine was a mini version of the grand spreads found at wedding receptions. We had dried blueberries and cherries for a little healthier choice, lemon heads, peach rings and Ttwizzlers for sugarsugar, peanuts and chocolate-covered almonds for the nuts among us, chocolate-covered pomegranantes for the sophisticated (like me), and gummi frogs were the piece de resistance. Only readers of the book, Dark Angel, will know why frogs were given this honor.

Book clubs seem to be proliferating lately. Why do you think that is? I think it's because of the surprising insights we gain from fellow readers. someone invariably picks up things we overlooked entirely, or interprets events in a way we hadn't considered, adding to our appreciation of the author and the story, and of one another. There's also the unforseen turns discussions take that make every gathering unique. It wasn't much of a surprise that this book led us to discuss our personal feelings on polygamy, whether we felt we would participate in it, etc., but no one expected to receive advice on whether to pay the extra fee for an expedited passsport, or to discuss the question of one's post-resurrection gender. At book club, you never know what you'll eat, hear, say, or learn. So far for me, it's all been good.