The Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult

Lisa hosted another fun-filled evening with lots (and lots) of loud (very loud) conversation.  Dinner was a soup bar with baked potato soup and a Santa Fe soup.  Neither of which had rotten turnips or sand, which would have followed the theme of the book, but we were delighted nonetheless.  It was also gracious of her to serve the soup in bowls versus off the floor, Auschwitz-style.  Thank you, Lisa!

The evening was filled with lots of vagina talk, partly because of our newest member, Sarah Rybarski, and her job as a labor & delivery nurse.  But don't let that fool you into thinking that's the only reason we talked so much about that.  It seems that the human anatomy is one of our favorite topics of conversation.  Actually, doesn't even have to be human, now that I think of it (might I remind you about many a conversation regarding dogs' anal glands, which for some reason managed to be a favorite topic at several of our monthly meetings).

Part of our anatomy talk included the discovery that there's apparently a hormone cream that can be prescribed by one's pediatrician to dissolve excess skin on a shoddy circumcision.  Who knew!?  This is great news for those of you who have boys with jacked-up junk.  Yay!

It's been said before (again and again and again), but it was brought up once a-freaking-gain about that one fateful evening when Sunday was fah-REAKING out about the number of RSVP's she had for that evening's book club.  In an effort to calm a friend in a state of panic, Lisa and I determined that I would be The One to  address the club and announce that there would be a moratorium on recruiting new members.  Might I remind you, this was three years ago... maybe four??

Apparently there was a vote at said meeting (although I have no memory of this vote and I find that this particular evening's events become more dramatic and, frankly, quite an ugly portrayal of yours truly, each time the story is recounted), and the newbies, as well as those who invited them, were put on the spot and made to feel awkward.

Please allow me this opportunity (one more effing time) to apologize to all of those who were offended and/or made to feel small, unwelcome, or unworthy.  Your discomfort was never my intention and I - from the bottom of my freaking heart - hope that you do not continue to harbor hold this against me.  When you realize that the events of that evening came from my heart and for my deep love for a dear, soon-to-be-divorced friend, surely you can understand the position I found myself in.  Surely you can get over it forgive me and chalk it up to a friend being there for a friend.  After all, it's Sunday's fault you would have done the same thing.

Let's see.... oh!  The book!  The Storyteller was given probably a 3.5 stars by the group.  It was good - well written, probably historically accurate, etc.  But the consensus was that it was a hard read, just because of the subject matter.  That aside, we weren't in love with the fact that Picoult interwove so many stories together.  It was a little much to keep up with.  There was the story of the main character and her love interest, then the story of the grandmother and her experiences in WWII, then there was the story the grandmother was writing, which was very Twilight-y and just bizarre.


A few recommended reads to tide you over until next month's meeting:
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, by Lorna Landvik
Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum

See you next month, girls - Happy Reading!
~Kristan