25th November 2005, Friday - we have our first bookclub meeting. That was last Friday.
The book to kick off the Book Club was Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones.
In the earlier stages of the email discussions, I recall throwing the title in as a possibility. It was brought up verbally as a potential book to read, but not my choice. I simply put it in writing. Yet somehow in the haze of it all, people have come to assume it was my pick. D'uh.
Did I mention I failed to read the book? It was sold out when I went looking for it. And I just never made the effort to check if it came back in stock.
So the day came, and I thought I'd just skip the book club. Then I recalled sending out the invitation earlier to some friends who expressed interest. It occurred to me that my friends might not know the other Book Club members. Since Ms F is going to be late, I thought I ought to be there. As a familiar face at least.
Well, I did show up eventually, albeit sorely sleep-deprived. Decided to swing it without having read the book, relying on having watched the Miyazaki anime as a guide. I listened and it was fun. WW and JN are fun readers. Good people to have in Book Clubs.
It was an evening of light discussion, with occasion laughs. And dubious revelation of one of my ex-classmate having had a crush on Noddy in her primary school days.
Group dynamics is always important in social gatherings. I think the bomb arrived in the evening when YSY came in late.
Turns out JN knows YSY.
I recall "Saving Face," with that quote: "One billion Chinese people, two degrees of separation."
I don't hate YSY. I reserve my hatred for people who have actually acted maliciously towards me - with intent. Like Purple Cow. But YSY unnerves me with the vibes she gives out. It's not just the bitterness in her comments from time to time. There is a rancour within her. It's like some deep-seated resentment that festered into something scary.
It isn't about like or dislike with YSY. It's about being unsettled. YSY's vibes makes me want to avoid her. And I usually do.
Anyway, the next Book Club meeting may be better. Or worse. But Note To Self: Pump up on Caffeine before attendance.
And maybe read the book. ;p
2 comments:
so it was u who sort of vaguely suggested howl's moving castle? i thought it was ms f, since she sounded like she had read it already.
anyways, since friday, jn and i have found even more layers to howl. and i realised i missed another small but important romantic detail.
let's talk about the book when u finally read it! (wah, i sound scarily enthus even to me...)
I thought it was ms f too - and I am merely the messager: someone mentioned it, I just typed it up in an email.
goodness knows how things goes around. for instance, dora and ms f both thought you recommended different books, even though they read the same emails.
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