London Book Club

Thanks for making the booking, Moggs!  It doesn't affect the numbers, but my other half, pianohouse, will probably only make it for the tale-end of the discussion and dinner now.  He's gotta work, due to change in plans.

Just wanted to double check about the times tomorrow. What time are we meeting at The Clarendon? What time do you reckon we'll finish? I'm trying to arrange a train to Brighton for after the discussion, so I just need an idea of when we'll finish.

I'm really looking forward to it! If you see a slightly pudgy (that's the first trimester for you!) blond looking lost (despite having DH with me), that'll be me!

2:30 pm meet at the Clarendon, start the discussion at 3 pm  Our dinner reservations are at 5:30, so we will probably have to finish up the discussion at 5 pm, or 5:15 at the latest.

I'm excited about this.  I finished the book the other day.

Yeah!  I woke up today thinking  "Tomorrow is the Book Club!"  I am a geek!  I am so looking forward to meeting everyone and discussing the book. 

I might be a wee bit late (i.e. getting there at 3 rather than 2:30), as I've got a prior commitment for the morning.  Schedule's been a bit manic lately, so I do apologise!  Will do best, as I'm only just across the river so don't have much of an excuse for being late .

If I come in smelling like horses, please forgive...am doing first volunteer day at Vauxhall City Farm tomorrow morning.  I promise not to stink too bad! :-P

If I come in smelling like horses, please forgive...am doing first volunteer day at Vauxhall City Farm tomorrow morning.  I promise not to stink too bad! :-P

  LOL 

I wanted to offer my thanks to Moggs and Karrit for organizing this! It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed hearing how the book was perceived by others. You all made some great points. The cookies and Mexican food were also very nice! 

I took a quick peek at the book I suggested and just wanted to let you guys know that they storyline (on the surface) has a few similarities to Brick Lane. This is the synopsis from Waterstones:

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household. Laila and Mariam are to find consolation in each other, their friendship to grow as deep as the bond between sisters, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end, it is love that triumphs over death and destruction. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is an unforgettable portrait of a wounded country and a deeply moving story of family and friendship. It is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond and an indestructible love

Although chances are they are very different, I wanted to say that I would be OK with a different book if you guys think this one is too much like Brick Lane.

I agree that the similarities are surface ones (arranged marriage, religion).  I wouldn't have a problem with this being our second book.

We had a very good time yesterday.  Thanks to everyone to coming.  I forgot how much I really missed literary discussions until yesterday.

It was a lot of fun!  Thanks to Karrit and Moggs for organising (and the cookies, yumyum).  It was really good to have a chat and also talk about substantial topics as well.  Courtney, I think anything you pick we will go along with, so let's just commit to your book, regardless of the similarities.  Actually, that could be a good thing, because then we could spend part of the discussion comparing the books.  That's what made the first chat a little difficult - no previous reads to compare it to!  In the future, we can always talk about how our previous reads relate to each other, which is always a fun discussion.

Thanks again!!  (P.S. Those cocktails were a killer! Cactus banger :rofl:)

Yeah, they had a fantastic cocktail menu