Falling Star

Thursday night, shortly after 7 PM, I was walking into the building where the book club that I attend, meets.  I looked up at the sky, facing west, and saw a shooting star, a bright ball of light going north, and then, fizzling out.  

I did not make a wish, and I never even thought to tell my colleagues in the book club.  But seeing a falling star is not a common experience for me, although I have seen some in the past.

It was awesome, and I was pleased, but not over excited.  I just don't get over excited much any more.  That is okay, I appreciated being able to see the falling star.

Reading

I love to read. I have written that my library card is my most important card. Sometimes, I read a book a week, or more. And I usually do not buy books, because, I was afraid that once I started to buy books, I would become over run with books.  Then, I joined a book club, and many of the selections are not available at the library.  Sometimes, I used inter-library loan, when it was free.  It now has a nominal fee, but often equivalent to what I would pay online at Abebooks or Albie's.  So I buy the book, and then recycle it.  

So, I am overrun with books.  I have books on my computer desk, on the dining table, in the book shelves, and on the floor.  Most of the books on the floor are awaiting a trip to the Resale Center .

Some are library books, some are used books I have read and will probably not keep, and some are books that I purchased with the intent to keep.  The most recent of these, although I have not had time to read it, is PAPI.  

Well, it gives me something to look forward to.

The Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club

The second Thursday night of the month, I attend the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club.  We often eat dinner together before the meeting.  And then, we get together to discuss the book we read for this month. 

Some months ago, the B&N manager told us that many of the book clubs have gone digital, holding their meetings on line in chat formats of some sort or another. Our response was that we like each other and enjoy socializing together once a month.  And that is the truth.

We are a congenial group. Several of us have contacts in other realms besides the book club. This is an open, friendly and very social group. If Barnes and Noble did not want to host us, we would probably find a new meeting place.  That is very comforting. These are good people. 

Such a Nice Gesture

Last fall, when Patrick Modiano was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2014/modiano-facts.html I mentioned to the Barnes and Noble www.barnesandnoble.com Mystery Book Club that I attend, that we might want to read one of his books, Missing Person http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_Person_(novel), which is a mystery of sorts.  Several members of the group had heard of his Nobel Prize and this book, but ultimately, we did not decide to read the book as a group.

I went on line looking for the book, and the price on Alibris and Abebooks was very high.  One of the club members, Debbie, told me to go to Amazon, and I did.  They offered the book a reasonable price.  But then, they kept telling me the order was delayed, and they asked me if I wanted to continue the order, continue to a specific date, or cancel the order.  I decided to continue the order, indefinitely.  We discussed it at the book club, and thought that a new printing would occur, and the book would be available at a reasonable price.  This is exactly what happened.

This week at the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club, Debbie had her copy of Missing Person.  She wanted to be sure that I had access to the book. She had not yet read it.  Debbie made such a nice gesture. (I received mine and was about half way through the book)

Later in the meeting, I had to excuse myself to use the restroom.  By the time I returned, the group had disbanded. Suzy was still waiting, because I had left my coat, and a book loaned from another member at the table.

These are really good people who are kind and considerate of other members in the group.  I really appreciate the people in the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club in Lubbock.

The Nobel Prize for Literature

Some time back, on NPR, I heard that the Nobel Prize for Literature went to Patrick Modiano  http://www.npr.org/2014/10/09/354792697/french-novelist-patrick-modiano-wins-literature-nobel.  The story highlighted one of his books: Missing Person http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_Person_(novel).  We talked about it at our Mystery Book Club, and I suggested it for a future read.  However, when I went looking for a copy of the book, the prices were outrageous.  A member of the book club suggested Amazon, and sure enough, they were offering a copy at a reasonable price.  But they kept sending me emails regarding the fact that they could not procure a copy at the price stated.  Until recently.

Today, I have received the book.  It is a slim novel. I hope it will be an interesting read.

Fruitcake!

As we often do at the mystery book club I attend, we did a "Chinese gift exchange."  If you do not know what this is, it is very interesting.  The participants draw numbers equal to the number of gifts being exchanged.  From there you set your own rules, pretty much.

The first person chooses a gift.  The second person can choose a gift, including the first person's gift.  So then the first person would get to choose another gift.  The third person can take a gift already chosen, or choose a new gift, and so on.  Sometimes when people do this, they put a limit on how many times a gift can be chosen after the original chooser.  Sometimes, there is no limit.

The bottom line is everyone gets to choose a gift, and everyone leaves with a gift.

This can get interesting and even a little vindictive when you have a group of personalities that do not always get along. Then, you have people taking gifts for spite not because they like the gift. I think that the people in the book club are very polite and considerate, mostly because we only see each other as a whole once a month, although some of the members do have other relationships with each other. So, there was not much taking of others' gifts. 

My turn was midway through the selections, and I took a tall package bag with a reindeer face on it.  Because I liked the bag. It contained a fruitcake!  Well, I am one of those weird people who likes fruit cake.  And the people sitting next to me asked me if I did. (There were 9 of us present, and including myself, 3 liked fruitcake.)  After the gift exchange was done, the person to my left said she almost took the fruitcake when it was her turn, but decided not to, since she was the person who brought it (there was no rule against that, I have seen it done before.) She told me it came from United Supermarkets, a local supermarket chain http://www.unitedtexas.com/ (recently purchased by Albertsons.)

The book club was Thursday night.  The next morning I decided (was salivating at the thought) to have a piece of fruitcake for a snack at work.  I opened the package to cut a slice, and the aroma of rum struck me first thing.  I understand that the alcohol "cooks off" but decided it was probably not appropriate to bring something to work that smelled so strongly of rum.

This cake is wonderful: moist, lots of candied fruit, lots of nuts.  Hmmm. And, here it is Sunday night, and every time I open the package, the aroma of rum still wafts out!  This is a great fruitcake!

Social Life, What Social Life, I Don't Have a Social Life...

I engage in activities for two reasons:  they are activities I enjoy, or I am wanting to be social.  Mostly, I engage in activities I enjoy, and if I know someone else who also enjoys that activity, we might share it. But, just as often, I go it alone.  It is easier on me.  I can set my own schedule, and I can be involved in the activity instead of having to socialize with someone and miss the activity while attending the activity.  Does that make sense?  I will give you an example.  I go to a Lady Raider Basketball game with someone. This someone talks incessantly, not just to me, but to all of the people around us in the stands.  And then, when something happens on the court, this someone says "I missed that, what happened."  And, because I am distracted by the chatter, I missed it also.  I do not enjoy watching an event like that.

I do not mind attending an event with someone who socializes at appropriate times, but otherwise pays attention to the event. 

Well, I realize that I have quite a social life, if you want to call it that.  A monthly book club meeting is not too time consuming.  Neither is a monthly board meeting for a not for profit organization.  Attending the Lifestyle Center 2-3 times a week is not so bad.  Now, add in Lady Raider Basketball.  There are 4 home games in 10 days.  That is a lot.  Then things will settle down, and spread out. But I want to be available to listen to or watch the away games.

While it is not a social activity, the communications work I do for the South Plains Branch of NASW is an obligation that requires dedicated time.  But that is also at home, on the computer, and I can watch TV or listen to music as I want.

I am not accustomed to having something to do several nights in a row.  So, this week is an exception:  a board meeting last night, basketball tonight, the Lifestyle Center tomorrow night, and basketball again on Friday.  Whew!  It cuts into my reading time.  But, I need the variety and interaction, and physical activity.   So, it is good.

Barnes and Noble Myster Book Club

Surely I have written about the Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ mystery book club before.  About how they made me feel welcome at the first meeting. About how fun it is to join this group for dinner before we actually go to the meeting. About how fun it is to talk about the book we read. If we all like the book, the discussion is usually minimal, unless we really, really like the book. If we disliked the book, the discussion extends.  Sometimes, we learn from members about background information pertinent to the book.

The selection process for the book to read has varied: We sometimes decide as a group. There was a time that each member was assigned a month to pick a group.  There have been a few times when just a few members have been asked to select the group. Those who are consistent and persist with the group do not complain if the selection is not to their liking, because, ultimately, they do have the opportunity to select a book, too.

We have had an author, with ties to Lubbock, join us on more than one occasion. That is neat. But, that does not mean that we select the author's book to read for the book club.