Our Next Book

"Blindness" it is! Prepare yourselves for some crazy punctuation...

Take Your Pick

Hey, ladies! Lisa and I need your help. We're hosting next month (7 p.m. June 7) and we can't decide between two very different books. So you have to decide for us (feel free to post in comments). Here are your options:

"I Was Told There'd Be Cake," by Sloane Crosley

"Blindness," by Jose Saramago

Sorry, I was gonna put in reviews, but I had issues copying and pasting. So follow the links!

Gossipmongers

Spotted in Adams Morgan: L, J, K, A and D, giving up the wait at the Diner and venturing for good eats at Bourbon instead. As befits a group of gals lazing about, brunch cocktails were ordered (with the waiter delivering a "backup Bloody Mary" by accident).

K mentioned liking "Gossip Girl" more than she had expected. Everyone at the table had seen the CW series, so how scripts diverge from the novel was fodder for conversation. The consensus was that the Vanessa character seems a lot cooler in the book, but the Humphreys lose something in paperback by living on the Upper West Side instead of in Brooklyn.

References to boozing, sex and bulimia were mentioned as turnoffs for recommending the book to the younger set (ironic, as that's the target audience). Serena's "diet plate" of lettuce, lemon yogurt and hot tea didn't appeal to anyone. (A mentioned celebrity diets seeming to fall into line with that nutritionally questionable assemblage, and the table agreed that teenage girls eat weird things.) One thing the book taught us is that hotel bars don't card. Who knew! If only we could turn back time -- and gain Upper East Side penthouse apartments in the process.

The remainder of a leisurely lunch was spent on actual gossip. Shh, I'll never tell.

Btw, for a peek into the TV wedding plans of Lily van der Woodsen, check this out.

Book Ideas: True Stories Edition, Part 1

Sorry for dearth of blog posts. What can I say? I've been lazy!

It occurred to me that after a run of novels, we might be ripe for a nonfiction tale. Here are some ideas, all available in paperback!

Something to plug us into the eco-friendly trend: Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." Time magazine named it one of its top 10 nonfiction books of 2007. Cribbing from its review:

When Kingsolver and her family moved from arid Tuscon, Ariz., to verdant Appalachia, they upped the ante by deciding to eat only food they grew themselves, or which grew locally, for a full calendar year. They're not the first to try it, but they may be the funniest. Kingsolver and her family — who chip in on the writing — are never shrill or scoldy about their project, just quietly convincing, and they make the food in their agricultural epic practically vibrate with seductive organic intensity.

Hungry for the great outdoors? We could take on "Into the Wild" or "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. The former follows the adventures of Christopher McCandless, who was born in Annandale, took off after college and ended up in the Alaskan wilderness, where he died at age 24. You no doubt know about last year's movie adaptation by Sean Penn -- we could do a DVD screening as a tie-in! "Into Thin Air" is another wilderness adventure tale that details Krakauer's ascent of Mount Everest. He survived (obviously), but let's just say things did not go well. A good friend recommends both.

I know I don't have to sell this once, since we were all excited about reading it at the first book club meeting: "Kabul Beauty School" by Deborah Rodriguez. Amanda has even bought the book already! Tie-ins include a documentary, "The Beauty Academy of Kabul," and an NPR report.

Want any of these to be a book club pick? Host a meeting! (Hint, hint.)

I've got a few more nonfiction suggestions that I'll try to write up soon. Stay tuned! And if you have your own, let us know in the comments!

Say What?

New York Magazine's cover story is about "Gossip Girl," the TV show. I admit I didn't have the patience to slog through the whole thing, but I thought I'd post in case you all were interested. Beyond the cover headline at right, the magazine calls the show "genius." I have three words to say to both those comments: Friday. Night. Lights.

Anyway, we're supposed to be focusing on the book, right? The women-centric blog Jezebel comments on the article but also has some insight on how the show's portrayals of characters compare to those of the book. Could be fodder for discussion next month!

OMG! A Tween Pick!

I've been loving "Gossip Girl" on CW and wanted to check out the book that inspired the guilty-pleasure TV show. It's such a hit that author Cecily von Ziegesar has her own site.

The early May meeting date/time is TBA (so please vote on the Evite!) We'll be meeting at The Diner in Adams Morgan, so bring your appetite and your hunger for good scoop.

No worries if you haven't read the book or seen the show.

Your wannebe UES* resident,
Doris.

*Upper East Side of Manhattan

Persuasion: We're Convinced

We had a small but pleasant turnout for April's meeting: Jenny, Catherine and myself. So a consensus wasn't difficult: We all liked "Persuasion." It was the second time reading the book for me. The last time was in high school, I think, and I didn't really appreciate it then. We talked about reading books too young -- before you have the life experience to understand or fully empathize with characters. Can you really feel the emotion of such a romantic story if you've never been in love? All I know is I was super-swoony at the end of "Persuasion," and I don't recall feeling the same the first go-round.

If you're a Jane Austen virgin, "Pride and Prejudice" is probably the best place to start. But this one is right up there -- short and very romantic.

Speaking of swooning: For a while there, it was threatening to become the James McAvoy Fan Club instead of Lazy Woman's Book Club. Jenny and Catherine both enjoyed the movie "Becoming Jane," the fictionalized imagining of Jane Austen's romantic life that James starred in. I'm adding it to my Netflix queue! We're also looking forward to his upcoming decidedly un-Austen-esque role in the summer action flick "Wanted," with Angelina Jolie.

Anyhoo, back to books. Catherine brought up Goodreads, the book-centered social networking site Doris recommended a while back. Yeah, I begged off at the time, citing laziness. I sucked it up tonight and created a profile, adding a paltry 18 books to my "have read these" virtual bookshelf. (Seven of those are Harry Potter!) Catherine has 119 books. Doris has a shelf-busting 259! Look us up if you join!

No time to read? Would you rather be read to? Jenny mentioned the Web site LibriVox, which has free audiobook downloads of titles in the public domain. The catalogue was down when I checked, but Jenny has Austen books on her iPod. Fun!

Hope to see you all next month! Hosting slot and book choice are open for May, so if you're up for it or have a book idea, let us know. I'll also send an e-mail about it soon.