Waltzing the Cat

Hostess: Erin (me)

Book: Waltzing the Cat by Pam Houston

Food: Lemon Risotto with Asparagus, hummus, pita, baguette, brie en croute, brownies, cheese and crackers

Wine of the Night: Fetzer Merlot

Month: February

My step mom Shellie introduced me to this book and author years ago, and I fell in love with Houston's writing from the minute I opened the book. I couldn't wait to hear what my friends thought of it as well.

Lucy O'Rourke is a fearless figure, traveling about hither and yon, camera in hand, navigating rapid rivers. I read this and think, what a great life, I would love to be a traveling photographer, going on adventures and experiencing new cultures. The only thing that seems to trip her up are her relationships with men. We go from one relationship to the next with Lucy, wondering what is around every turn ~ and we learn she has some excess baggage from her childhood too.

This book is a series of short stories, all about Lucy. We all seemed to have our favorites ~ Chrissy enjoyed the title story, I liked Three Lessons in Amazonian Biology, Jennifer's favorite was Then You Get Up and Have Breakfast...we all seemed to enjoy different stories. When it came to Lucy's relationships, we seemed to root for either Erik Sorenson, the alcoholic, or Marcus, who seems like he will be the one, but is not. We all thought Carter was a joke, and couldn't believe Lucy was even with him! For a while, it seemed like we were talking about the relationships of someone we knew. The book had its emotional ups and downs, aside from Lucy's man troubles - I know quite a few of us said we cried when we read about Lucy's mother, I was sick inside waiting for Ellie the dog to get better, and hoping that she would.

All in all, this book seemed to have a bit of everything for all of us, and we are a group of women with very distinct and different personalities, with interests in common. And, this is the third book I have chosen that features water as a theme and literary device. I am going to have to investigate that further, I think.

Next month is Mary ~ she has chosen A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines. It should be a thought provoking read, and I am looking forward to it!

Way of the Peaceful Warrior..by Dan Millman

December 2009:

The book: Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman

Place: Jill's house

Refreshments: Peppermint Martinis, roasted red pepper and goat cheese pie thing, spinach pie, shrimp, crab dip, little cheescakes, and of course wine. Yum to all.

This was Jill's pick, and the first book we have read like this in book club. It was a different kind of read for us, but it sparked alot of discussion.

If you have never read this book, in a few sentences or less, it is about one man's journey to enlightenment, and a better way of life. He meets this strange guru/mentor/hallucination named Socrates, who teaches him how to become more in touch with his natural self and life lessons , such as living and experiencing the moment for what it is, that there are no ordinary moments, and that there are no accidents. My favorite line/quote is "Only the supremely wise and the ignorant do not alter."

We all had many questions for each other- is this just Dan's journey, or would this path work for us too? Was Socrates merely the result of a brain touched by the hallucinogenic drugs of the 1960s, or was he really a spiritual ambassador? And really, how did he jump onto the building like that? Alyssa asked if it was possible to really just live in the moment, without a plan for the future or thinking ahead. I am not sure anyone really answered her or not; I do believe it is possible to live entirely in the present, but I don't think it is necessarily responsible or wise. This makes me think of the story of the grasshopper and the ant. The grasshopper plays all summer long, and does not prepare for winter, while the ant works hard, storing food for the long cold months to come. When winter finally does arrive, the grasshopper begins to starve to death, and asks the ant for a handout. The ant slams the door in his face, leaving the grasshopper to die.

I think this is a little uncharitable of the ant personally- sure, the grasshopper should have worked instead of singing and dancing and making fun of the ant, but the ant still could have shown pity to the grasshopper. Maybe this is because Billy and I often compare ourselves to the grasshopper; we like to enjoy ourselves and live for today. Our New Year's Resolution this year actually is to plan at least a little for our future, to become more antlike and less grasshopperesque.

So, my opinion on that question is obviously still up in the air.

My opinion on the book is that you should read it- if not for the writing style, which was not all that great, read it for the message and to see for yourself what you think. It is a spiritual book, that is supposed to change lives. None of really felt our lives were changed by reading the book, but we were glad we read it.

We are reading Stealing Buddha's Dinner for January- this sounds like another very interesting book, and I can't wait to start reading it.