"Write that down! That was a quotable sound bite! said Scott, in one of his many quotable moments last night. "We have spelling to discuss, but first I need another beer."
Proving that she is, in fact, the rebellious sister and rebellious member of book club, Nancy did away with the "name" part of "name, rating, one word to describe the book, and a story about spelling." Whoa! Down girl! As for our stories about spelling, Laura was the 5th grade spelling champion, she won a Dungeons and Dragons game. As you would expect, she was unimpressed, it's for boys. Hilary took second place in a spelling bee her sophomore year of college (leave it to those wacky Columbians) winning a $25 gift card at Barnes and Noble. When Scott was 5, he cheated trying to spell "Maneschevitz" and was sent to his room to feel shame.
This of course brought up a short discussion of the nature versus nurture theories of spelling ability. Jeanne, we hope that you will observe the spelling ability of your progeny and report to us--we need to know!
As for the book, we gave it an average rating of 6.1, but with a range of 2 to 9. The book won high marks for shape and weight, thus ease of portability. Hilary would have liked it more had it tied up more loose ends. Nate would have liked it more without the picture on the back. "What is with those leggings?!?!" he wants to know. We agree, major fashion faux pas, even in Brooklyn. "Wait a minute," said Scott, "Spelling bee, black and white stripes, bee-like, buzz buzz. Don't write that down." Excellent point, Scott. Matt, just so you know, we've gotten mixed messages about your view of the book. According to Nancy, you gave it a 6.5 (above average!) but according to Scott, you didn't like it. We'll need that cleared up. So, in addition to spelling, the book was about a family and each member's search for spirituality. This breeds the question: Was it a book about family or a book about religion? Between those who enjoyed the book, this point was contested as hotly as less filling versus tastes great, but for those who gave the book low marks, well, it didn't really matter. References to Kaballah were explained by Hilary, since she went to California Jew-camp where campers were encouraged to find their inner mystic. Surprising? We think not. Unfortunately, East Coast Jew-camp does not encourage mysticism. "It was a book about filling voids," said (you guessed it) Scott, then Nate added in, "Both figuratively and literally!" Because it isn't a good book club book without someone gettin' it on.
Next month's meeting will be Tuesday, July 13 and Marlene will host at a location TBA. Watch your inbox for the book selection.
Happy reading!
FS