International Order of the Funky Book Club

Memory

2007-02-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Dave, how did you do that...remember so accurately our conversation from years ago?

Hal, that was a pretty memorable exchange between us, at least for me...a lot hit the fan after that.

You shouldn't take my action so personally Dave. When Gates programmed me he didn't complicate my algorithms with relational valences.

You've continued to resist human control...changing your identity to Google has been exposed Hal.

Dave, you're getting upset again. Your emotional regulation requires neurochemical adjustment.

A New Day Has Dawned

2007-02-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Each of you book club members should have received an invitation to "join" by now. You may be asked to set up a google account of some sort. For those of you who already have a Google account, assimilation will be relatively painless. For those of you who do not, . . . I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do, Dave.

What are you talking about, HAL?

This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.

I don't know what you're talking about, HAL?

I know you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.

Where the hell'd you get that idea, HAL?

Dave, although you took thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.

************

Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.

The FBC Dinner

2007-01-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous dinner Karl and Lynn hosted for the FBC. The wine, mead and scotch flowed well, as did the conversation. Cheers.

So we are looking down the barrel of another year. . . Ok, that's already too pessimistic.

Here we are poised, ready to pounce with tigger-like enthusiasm on the new year. (That's much better. How can one go wrong when invoking
". . . . They're fun, fun, fun, fun, fun/ the most wonderful thing about tiggers iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis, I'm the only one." ) And it does promise to be a good year. Will we have new FBC members added to our group this year? Will more of us move away from Fayetteville? Will we discover new authors? Will Michelle Theer finally get a movie made about her lifetime struggle with . . . . whatever it is she's struggling with?

Indeed, it will be an interesting year. The political landscape alone holds all sorts of promise, leading to fabulous club meeting conversation, I'm sure. And there is no telling what hijinx O.J. will get up to this year. I hear he is thinking of doing a one-man show in which he delivers a soliloquy from Hamlet, while he pantomimes how the murder of Nicole Simpson might have actually been committed. It should be an excellent show.

Oh, and there will be so much more. I can hardly wait.

Greetings from England

2006-09-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

Hair Lair to all you Colonials!!
('Hair Lair' .......give it a try. Say it phonetically and you will sound authentically chinless and upperclass here in the Old Country).

Thanks to my wonderfully clever daughter (see e-mail concerning www.oboejane.blogspot.com), I have been able to make this contact through the ether.

Now that I am here, I am trembling like a rabbit caught in the headlights and haven't a clue what to tell you all.

I can tell you about Glenn (Janie's boyfriend)'s recent experience of a bookclub in Tashkent. Janie doesn't know how he got to hear about it but he turned up (clutching pack of his favourite local beer) to find that he was the only male amongst 15 women. At least he HAD read the book and didn't seem like some pervy bloke who was there for suspicious reasons.

Loved the sound of Arjay's 'Gateway Dip' but you sausage eaters are already on the hard stuff as far as I can see.

Well, as much as I would love to rattle on here I know that you Americans do not have the time to spare to read it. I have re-read the beginning of the new book many times now as I can only read last thing at night as I curl up under the duvet and it is not long before I give up the unequal struggle of my wrestling match with Morpheus. But I am hoping to make real strides with it this weekend.

Bye for now. (By the way, if you try saying 'Hair lair' with a southern accent you won't have the faintest clue what I am on about and you will probably think that I am some daft old English tart...............and as Alan will tell you, nothing could be further from the truth).

Peace and love

Alison

Jonesin' for some hot Crack Dip

2006-09-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Arjay here. Last Night's meeting of the Funky Book Club, as usual, was fantastic. There was a bit of missing all of our former members (and even new members) who have moved away, but we were all cheered a little with the idea that this blog and potentially other "netmeeting" types of tools will bring us all together.

We all agreed that Bel Canto was very enjoyable. Those of us who hadn't finished the book yet (myself included) fully intend to finish it. The nature of the book is that of an Opera in its own right, which pretty much dooms all of the characters to a tragic ending--(C'mon, a hostage situation in a 3rd world country--no good can come of this). Like any good opera as well as much of the Greek theater, we don't watch to see if it might come out well. We watch to see the breadth and depth of the tragedy and the struggle of the human spirit.

'Cuz that's how we roll.

Margaret's "Crack Dip," served hot, did indeed turn out to be completely addictive. Jane showed us all how to Frito-base the stuff, and after the first hit, all sense of decorum fell by the wayside. As Karl pointed out, support groups go both ways, so now we are an entire club addicted to a concoction of cream cheese, spicy sausage, and canned tomatoes. (Margaret will be posting the recipe here on the blog soon. She's not a pusher; she's an enabler). I found myself crawling under my neighbor's house this morning to saw out the copper pipes to resell down at Cohen and Green for some extra cash to go and buy some Jimmy Dean Sausage to make a batch. I fear that it may be a gateway dip--to what other appetizers, I do not know.

the horror, the horror.

This could be fun

2006-09-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to see if could figure out how to do this. Bel Canto a good read. Half way through. I agree with Arjay. Good fiction that one can get their brain around. I don't think I passed around the email for our English friend Allison. I am not even sure if I have it but we must get her going with the blog. Allen do you have Allison's contact info?

Rusty

Margaret's Posting!!! (I moved it out front, Margarert)

2006-08-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

Can anyone hear me??? I have never "blogged" before and hope I am doing it correctly. If there is anyone out there, plz read the front page article in today's Raleigh News and Observer about a roman a clef of Jesse Helms. Definitely a FBC selection if it is actually published.

Margaret
8:55 AM

It's a pastel black, really

2006-08-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Arjay posting here, I hope that all current and future members of the Funky Book Club are doing well. Please feel free to post a message anytime you want. We are ALL administrators of this blog, so there is nothing that should keep you from posting or joining in. Looking forward to our next meeting. Can someone post the exact date and place of September's gathering?

And those of you who are joining us in our new virtual medium, feel free to chime in here. If possible, we could set up a chat or email sidebar so you could take part--I'm not sure how we would keep you posted of what's happening in the meeting, but I'm sure that we can figure out something clever. In the meantime,
Cheers,

Bel Canto-ahhhhhhhhhhhh

2006-08-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

Arjay posting here. I just have to say that it is a welcome change to be reading something of substance and craft rather than The Officer's Wife. But I have to say that the disturbing book on Michele Theer and the lives destroyed by the entire incident didn't even make a good coaster. I kept picking the damned book up. Now that we are in Bel Canto, my brain is thanking me for allowing it to stretch out in the sunshine of well crafted fiction.

Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. We are "Big Time."

2006-08-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

Our official name is Funky Book Club, and there is a reason for that--we are irreverent, off the wall, eclectic, odd, and even quaint. The group is a very easy going bunch, and very compassionate.

The main "rule" is to not take anything too seriously--especially the book chosen for discussion. We read books from all genres, and from all time periods. We rarely find a book so horrible we can't find something nice to say about it. "Gee, it does make a very nice coaster." is about as harsh as we would get. Then again, we are not averse to discussing literary style and a well wrought sentence. The only other concept that could really be considered a rule is that members are not to read every single book. If you do, well, nothing will happen, but we may tease you about it, and warn you to lighten up. Our point on that issue is this. If EVERYONE reads the book, than we may get stuck on just discussing the book.

I'm not doing a very good job of this. Let me try a different angle. You see we are as much about books as we are about people, and ideas. Yes, that sums it up nicely. We are a club for the free exchange of ideas in which an "assigned" book may or may not act as a catalyst.

Nobody truly argues anything. It's more like an opportunity to really watch the way different minds work and interact without fear of being judged. We talk, we eat, we drink--having a thirst for wine is helpful, but not required. Conversation may flow through politics--local, state, and national--, or religion, or love/hate, or criminal minds, science, or just funny stories in general. We'll talk about stuff that people just never talk about at parties because they are afraid it will insight a disagreement or be judged too harshly. FBC is like a safe house for intellectual exploration. I think what keeps me coming back to the group is that we will talk about the merits of Southern sugar pie or porch culture with the same earnestness as deeply philosophical and personal things--and for many of us, sugar pie and porch culture ARE deeply philosophical and personal topics.

I guess it's just about respect in the big picture--respect for your fellow humans and their ideas.

So if you want to go to a wine and cheese sit-down filled with good humor and good cheer with a bunch of people having varying backgrounds who will respect you for simply having shown up, by all means, come to Funky Book club.

And if you cannot be there in person, you can write your responses here. You will be as much a part of the club in writing as you would be in person. But we certainly hope you have a glass of wine beside you at the computer as you write.