The 1st VHOB Book Club - A Big Success

Last night was our 1st ever VHOB Book Club meeting.  We read The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas.  Everybody liked it.  Out of 4, our average rating was 3.46, and nobody gave it less than a 3.0.  That's pretty darn good.

Here's how it went down:  Our meeting was scheduled to start at 6:30.  As is customary, some people came early, some on time, and some a few minutes late.  And what did we do when everybody got there?  We did what anybody would do in the same situation.  We ate and drank.  We had wine, water (no religious inference is meant here), hummus and pita chips, fancy candy, and home-made brownies by Joni (with melted Reese's on top!) that were pure evil.

Then we had our discussion.  We started by going around the room and getting an opinion of the book from each member, along with a rating.  Then we started flinging questions back and forth around the group.  It was, to say the least, very lively.  I think that everybody contributed and nobody dominated.  It was an extremely in sync (not 'nsync) group.

Right at 7:15, Michael came.  After we sent him to the buffet table, we attacked!  Just kidding.  We spent an hour asking him questions.  His answers were very illuminating.  He told us how he came up with the idea for the book.  It was actually very serendipitous. Fun story.  Then he told his thought process that went into the writing of the book.  It took Michael 7 years to write Oracle!  And after all that time, the book was bought by a publisher in a bidding war within one week.  Neat, huh?  We met with Michael for an hour and then, even though we were still going strong, had to cut it off so that Michael could sign books.  We didn't get out of there until about 9:00.  It was a great night.

Next up?  The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis.  We will be meeting on Tuesday night, February 18.  Be there.  Or not.  And remember - if you can't/don't want to be a part of the book club, I would still highly recommend that you read Amy's book.  It's excellent.  And if you don't want to be a member of the club, and you don't want to read the book, you can still come see Amy at 7:15.  So many options.