Book Clubzilla?

You guys catch the story in the New York Times about book clubs? I'm a little appalled by, well, everything in it. Some choice passages ...

From a woman who was too good for Oprah books and "pop-lit":

“It was bad enough that they wanted to read ‘Da Vinci Code’ in the first place,” Ms. Bowie said, “but then they wanted to talk about it.”

Okay, I admit it: I liked "The Da Vinci Code." I got it before it became a sensation after hearing the author on "The Diane Rehm Show." But I'd like to think I wouldn't force the club to read it ...

The thesis of the article:

Yes, it’s a nice, high-minded idea to join a book group, a way to make friends and read books that might otherwise sit untouched. But what happens when you wind up hating all the literary selections — or the other members?

Oh, jeez. That's when you leave the club! If it hasn't been clear before, I'll state it again: Lazy Book Club is meant to be pressure-free. That includes a no-worries opt-out clause: If you don't want to get the invites anymore, just say the word, no offense taken.

Then there is the article's description of Esther Bushell, "a professional book-group facilitator who leads a dozen suburban New York groups and charges $250 to $300 a member annually for her services. ... Like other facilitators, she is hired for the express purpose of bringing long-winded types in line." Holy crap!

On a book group called the IlluminaTea:

“When it was your month to host a meeting, you would do your interpretation of a tea, and the teas got very competitive,” Ms. Farewell said. Homemade scones and Devonshire cream were par for the course, and Ms. Farewell recalls spending the day before her hostess stint making watercress and smoked salmon sandwiches.

Actually, I was thinking of making the next meeting a competition for best smoke salmon sandwich.

If our group ever becomes anything like the ones in this story, y'all have my permission to do an intervention.