Book Pressure
I love reading. And, I like all sorts of stuff which makes it easy to find something to read.
Until it's time for me to host book club and pick something for the group. Then, I have no clue what to choose.
The pressure is incredible. You really don't want to be the one who picks a bad book. We don't forget and we don't let the book chooser forget. Just ask Anna about how many times we've thrown The Mystic Masseur back at her. And, I can't even count how many times I've slammed that stupid telepathic gorilla from Ishmael.
I volunteered at the beginning of this month to host the January book club and promised to send out my book selection ASAP. I completely forgot for a week or so then put it on my mental to-do list every day once I remembered. I think it was fear that kept me from actually following through and picking one, though.
Jen sent a polite email today saying, in effect, "Did I miss the email about our next book?" I immediately confessed that she did not miss it because it was never sent and said I would choose and send the email out today.
A promise that I remembered around 10 PM tonight. Doh! I went to Amazon and checked their best sellers. Some of them looked promising but, when I checked the library stock, there was a long wait on them. Besides picking a good book, you have to pick one that can be read for free.
I then went to the New York Times best selling list. An appearance on that list is not always indicative of greatness. Sometimes, hype and awards get people interested even if the book isn't actually that good.
I did find something that I think (I hope!) everyone will enjoy: At Home by Bill Bryson. He's a great writer and the book had really good reviews. There were also a bunch of copies available at the library. That put it in the "Sold!" category for me.
Now, I just hope it doesn't suck.
Until it's time for me to host book club and pick something for the group. Then, I have no clue what to choose.
The pressure is incredible. You really don't want to be the one who picks a bad book. We don't forget and we don't let the book chooser forget. Just ask Anna about how many times we've thrown The Mystic Masseur back at her. And, I can't even count how many times I've slammed that stupid telepathic gorilla from Ishmael.
I volunteered at the beginning of this month to host the January book club and promised to send out my book selection ASAP. I completely forgot for a week or so then put it on my mental to-do list every day once I remembered. I think it was fear that kept me from actually following through and picking one, though.
Jen sent a polite email today saying, in effect, "Did I miss the email about our next book?" I immediately confessed that she did not miss it because it was never sent and said I would choose and send the email out today.
A promise that I remembered around 10 PM tonight. Doh! I went to Amazon and checked their best sellers. Some of them looked promising but, when I checked the library stock, there was a long wait on them. Besides picking a good book, you have to pick one that can be read for free.
I then went to the New York Times best selling list. An appearance on that list is not always indicative of greatness. Sometimes, hype and awards get people interested even if the book isn't actually that good.
I did find something that I think (I hope!) everyone will enjoy: At Home by Bill Bryson. He's a great writer and the book had really good reviews. There were also a bunch of copies available at the library. That put it in the "Sold!" category for me.
Now, I just hope it doesn't suck.
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