![[ the first rule of ] BOOK CLUB](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLGOw71PHpkZTmu08-Jh8bLwydChAvKj70t7elCBvxuL3eJ1zQ0qTv5HDyDzO-KSnWITQ8kGImf-wb-Zfk8VmuFznxnYIWc_xGSyCU9ZApdQOmKIpo6Ak8rWCYqEcEhUAOghl4PNuxkPm6pDtl6_jIDCwqrcMUD3_OBvQrpINzFwcmRZrIPxAUftqx2w=s960)
These are some early posts from the Facebook group, including my call to gather for our first Book Club meeting. Some rather humorous posts are in there where it was like herding cats to get anyone to gather or participate, as many of these posts had no comments, and I tried so hard to move us, including myself, through Siddhartha. We took a long break after that and mostly just shared memes and articles for a few years until we breathed some life back into Book Club when Carli chose the selection Lincoln in the Bardo. We [mostly] successfully kept marching on, after that.
Missie Sue created the group [ the first rule of ] BOOK CLUB.
Missie Sue
September 9, 2011
I know this is pretty late notice, but in light of me postponing the walk-a-thon, would anybody be interested in a quick "first meeting" of the book club this evening? I can maybe have the baby down by 7 or so, and we are going to throw on a pot of chili. Joey just left for Lowe's and to get chili supplies. I think we should have a few drinks and gather on this day, anyway. How's about it?Missie Sue
September 19, 2011
I found quite a few Siddhartha books on half. Looks like I should be able to snag us some here for around $4.25 a piece (total with shipping). Is that cool with everyone?? I'm going to order them sometime this week, probably.Missie Sue
September 23, 2011
Okay, so that would be a copy for Joe, Matt, Me, Joey, Hilary and Dave can share one, Wagner found one, Clayton needs one...and...that's 6 books, right? Looking to order them tonight. Should be under or around $5 a piece! We're probably going allot two weeks to this one, ya think? It's fairly short. Little to read. Lots to discuss. 
Missie Sue
September 25, 2011
I finally got the books ordered! haha! Hey, guys! I was able to snag us all a HARDBACK copy of Siddhartha for only $4.78/book!!! A couple of the 1951 edition on hard cover! And then a few of I think the 1997 edition?? Either way, I figured it would be a little nicer to have a "hard" copy of this book and thought it was a good deal, so I hope everyone concurs and likes them! Should be shipping soon. Could take a week or more to get, I'll let you know when they come. Thanks!Missie Sue
October 7, 2011
Excitement is...getting a brand new book in the mail! 
Disappointment is...tearing the back cover in half while opening the package. 
Missie Sue
October 12, 2011
Still waiting on two more books to come in. Should be here within the next couple days. I do have 4 copies now, though. See me soon!Missie Sue renamed the group "The [First Rule About] Book Club...".
October 13, 2011
Missie Sue updated the description.
October 13, 2011
This group was created for us to come together and do our best to stimulate ourselves and each other with...reading material!! We're all friends here! You'll love it. It's a way of life!
We will meet occasionally to possibly and probably imbibe spirits whilst discussing and musing on books and/or topics we have mutually chosen to read and wax philosophical on, like the pseudo intellectuals we like to think ourselves to be. 
Join me, friends!
Join me, friends! Missie Sue
October 13, 2011
I'm thinking we should meet ASAP (maybe this weekend sometime) to make sure everyone has their copy of Siddhartha and go "in session" to decide how we are deciding on books AND after doing so we should select the next read so we have that taken care of after Siddhartha. I propose that at each "Book Selection Meeting" we each choose a potential read, and then we put them all out there. Discuss/debate/decide. Rabble rabble rabble. Vote it down to the top 3 or 2 or something. Discuss/debate/decide. Each time we choose a book, we might change our mind as to what we want to suggest, so we should make a selection every time and come to a consensus on one instead of having one person decide or keeping a tally of suggestions. Thoughts??
Missie Sue
October 17, 2011
Everyone SHOULD have got their book that needed one, so I think we all can START READING SIDDHARTHA if you haven't already began doing so!
Missie Sue
October 18, 2011
"One must find the source within one's own Self, one must possess it. Everything else was seeking---a detour, error."
November 3, 2011
Truth be told...I still haven't started into Chapter 2 yet. And I started this club. Haah! 
Missie Sue
November 17, 2011
The First Rule About Book Club is....we should probably read.
Missie Sue
December 27, 2011
Maybe the first rule about book club should be....read. 
Missie Sue
January 10, 2012
Okay, I move to schedule a meeting to discuss Siddhartha and finish it up, but more so decide on our next read and the process in which we will decide. All those in favor? (It will move us along, right?)
Missie Sue
March 19, 2012
Siddhartha. READ IT, FUCKERS!! Two weeks, we're meeting. I'll make a date...if you can, you come, if you can't, you don't. SO BE IT!
Missie Sue
September 8, 2012
Okay, we have moved on to shit-reading material, so all of you, the next time you're taking a shit...pick up something near you, a shampoo bottle is good, the back of the Neosporin tube...PrepH...a cleaning product sitting near by, can be a little lengthy, but I think we can all manage to find something!! I just finished Lemon Fresh Comet Cleanser. It was riveting. I must share, the dual theme of tenderness and strength in the character of the Cleanser is remarkable. It polishes and shines WITHOUT scratching! It cleans Corian! I classify this as a Self-Help read, as I am now considering using this to clean the stainless steel canisters I just acquired! Happy Reading!! ;D
Missie Sue
January 30, 2015
Book Club shirts??! Haaa!
Missie Sue
October 29, 2017
Guys, wouldn't it be swell if we could breathe some life back into this old book club and try to read something in November/December? Somebody pick something!
THE COMMENT THREAD THAT PULLED US FROM OUR OWN BARDO:
Carli Dinsmore
Lincoln in the Bardo
Carli Dinsmore
In some schools of Buddhism, bardo (Tibetan བར་དོ་ Wylie: bar do) or antarabhāva (Sanskrit) is an intermediate, transitional, or liminal state between death and rebirth.
Missie Sue
Interesting...I am intrigued by this book. Thank you for actually suggesting something! What say you, BOOK CLUB?
Missie Sue
I dig it!
Jodi Hebel
I'm in. (Which is what I meant when I "Liked" this earlier, but figured I should probably use my words, ha.)
Missie Sue
Missie Sue
Ha! I figured as much, but thank you for using your words! I'm in too! Anyone else? Hilary VanDyke David Mericle Matt Lucas Matt Wagner Tony Veneziano Kate Veneziano
Jodi Hebel
I'm in too! Anyone else? Hilary VanDyke David Mericle Matt Lucas Matt Wagner Tony Veneziano Kate VenezianoJodi Hebel
Went to the library today. Large print edition, lol...living in a retirement village over here. But hey, this plan just made the leap from theoretical to actual. So much follow through.
Missie Sue
Missie Sue
Sweet! No squinting for you! lol I ordered mine last night, should be here tomorrow or Thursday. Follow through! Woot!!
Missie Sue
January 8, 2018
Hey, Book Clubbers! I meant to post sooner, but the holidays got the best of me. I wanted to address the way that we choose our books. Since Carli suggested Lincoln in the Bardo, and her first name just happens to be first alphabetically, why not just continue to do the choosing from now on ALPHABETICALLY BY FIRST NAME? So, when it is your time, give us your FIRST CHOICE of book, or PASS if you aren't going to be able to participate at the time and would like to move on to the next member this time around. Should be simple enough, right? So, then...according to my records and the roster I can see on this page, our choosing would go as follows:
1 - Carli Dinsmore - Lincoln in the Bardo Nov/Dec 2017
2 - David Mericle - Jan/Feb 2018
3 - Hilary VanDyke
4 - Jodi Hebel
5 - Joseph Hoover
6 - Joshua Carr
7 - Kate Veneziano
8 - Matt Lucas
9 - Matt Wagner
10 - Missie Sue
11 - Patrick Condon
12 - Tony Veneziano
13 - Travis McCoy
Please correct me if I am wrong, this group shows me 15 members, myself being one and my Musing Through account is in here, so that leaves 13 others? Is that right? I don't know who the other person is, I thought Patrick Condon was in this group but it's telling me he isn't, so, help me get a total member count so we know who all is in.
ALSO! David Mericle gets to pick this time around and has chosen SWEET THURSDAY by JOHN STEINBECK and we will do this one JANUARY 15 - FEBRUARY?. I'll make an event, for that, but for the rest of this week, then, those of us who read LINCOLN IN THE BARDO can finish up our DISCUSSION QUESTIONS! Input appreciated. Read on!!
[This way of deciding ended up not working, as we soon learned that people didn't really enjoy choosing selections, so much.]
Missie Sue
March 20, 2018
You guys...I'm so sorry I haven't posted; I seriously meant to post 3 weeks ago? Wtf? It has been brought to my attention that it is hard to read a book chosen by someone else, and I must agree because I can't seem to focus. If anyone wants to still catch up (as I do) we are basically reading both Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, now. Apparently I subconsciously don't want to be told what to read either because I have misplaced BOTH of my books. When I find my books I will bust them out ASAP. All of February I couldn't stop an OCD session I was having with Spotify, so hopefully I can get reading as that wanes. March can be for catch up, and as far into April as we take...because THEN we will have a meeting, discuss both books and our next selection. ALSO as incentive (for me and whoever cares) I got the film Cannery Row starring the once great Nick Nolte and once heard of Debra Winger. It's like a blending of both books, so, could be fun? SO...March/April -Steinbeck Catchup...Mid April Sometime - Meeting/Movie Night?? Thank you for your patience! lol
[We were still painstakingly trying to work out HOW to best choose selections and make this work, bless our hearts. LOL]
Missie Sue
May 22, 2018
1 in 4 American's hasn't read a book in the past year? So, even at our snail pace this year we are still ahead of 25% of the population? Not bad! But it's not good, either.
[After this, we slowly moved through selections alphabetically, but when we stalled we finally decided on simply spinning the wheel of Book Club fates and randomly choosing from our Livin' Leads list of OG suggestions. It's been a more decisive way to lead, and we made steadier progress once we finally figured out how to manage a book club. And to think, it all started with some used copies of Siddhartha and a few bowls of chili...]
I know this is pretty late notice, but in light of me postponing the walk-a-thon, would anybody be interested in a quick "first meeting" of the book club this evening? I can maybe have the baby down by 7 or so, and we are going to throw on a pot of chili. Joey just left for Lowe's and to get chili supplies. I think we should have a few drinks and gather on this day, anyway. How's about it?
