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11.05.2007First Rule of Book Club, Don't Talk About Book ClubI was invited to my first book club... and, yes, I did have to fight my first night. In their ultimate wisdom, a group of friends decided to read He Kept to Himself, Mostly for their book club. Then, in another stroke of genius (ever so close to insanity), they invited me to come answer their questions. I'm sure Twisted Wife had a good time watching me squirm under the interrogation of seasoned readers. Let's run down the revelations of the evening: 1. Suburbia is not only a male sexual fantasy. It is a story about our deteriorating moral fiber rolled in a male sexual fantasy. See the difference (they didn't either). 2. I am writing a novel that will be mistaken for a collection of short stories when it is really a novel made up of novellas. See the difference (they did, but they're skeptical as to whether or not I will pull it off). 3. He Kept to Himself, Mostly is deliberately a short read for people who don't read. Yes, I know this is an oxymoron. 4. My characters are not fully developed. (And...?) 5. Everyone has days when they feel like they are the only rational person left on the planet. 6. After reading Statistics Don't Lie, no one will trust a pool fence salesman. 7. Twisted Wife does not jump up after reading one of my stories and scream, "YOU ARE A GENIUS!" And I should stop expecting her to because it will never happen. 8. I was more scared of book club than they were of me. And, drinking didn't help. All in all, this was a great experience. I've always had a hard time talking about my writing, but I thouroughly enjoyed being around people who genuinely wanted to know more about my stories. Of course, this was a group of women and they all could have been faking. I hear women can do that.
posted by Jim at 5:55 PM
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