Completely booked.

This week the Neland Church Women's Book Club took on the monumental annual task of creating the list of books we will read for the next 12 months. While planning a year in advance takes away some of the flexibility of choosing something one of us hears about in a few months, it is very helpful with such a large and fluid group to map out a whole year at a time.

The biggest challenge of this is reaching consensus among the 15 or so women who show up. It can get slightly contentious, in a mostly loving sort of way of course, when we all give our opinions about a particular book someone has brought. It's not the best meeting to bring in newcomers--they tend to be scared away by the intensity that comes out when we narrow the list! But the end result is a good one, and here it is (in no particular order and missing one title that I just can't remember--I'll let you know when I get the list emailed to me).

• Take This Bread by Sara Miles
• The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
• Blankets by Craig Thompson (choosing this graphic novel raised some eyebrows--way to be open-minded, ladies!)
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
• Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Eaarth by Bill McKibben
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
• Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
• Coop by Michael Perry (it should come as no surprise to anyone who has read my earlier postings on Michael Perry that this was my suggestion!)

Should prove to be an interesting year! And the list should continue to elicit the diverse opinions that are almost always the hallmark of our book club meetings. Does anyone from Neland remember the complete division over whether Phineas from A Separate Peace was good or evil? Can I get a witness?

Now that the great reading list is accomplished, so on to the horror story: today I walked into the Schuler's Books children's section, only to be confronted by a publisher's display of a new book called The Carrie Diaries. This book gives teen girls the opportunity to get to know Carrie before she became a famous newspaper columnist. That would be Carrie Bradshaw, the protagonist of "Sex and the City." I looked it up on Barnes and Noble's website, and the reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Kirkus Review were very positive, talking about how fun it is to watch the character's observational and writing skills grow throughout the book. But still.

No matter how great the individual book is (and I have it on good authority that it's not all it's cracked up to be), what can possibly be good about introducing teen girls to Carrie Bradshaw??? I am speechless. Well, obviously not, but you get my point. If Candace Bushnell wanted to write for teens, couldn't she at least create a new character? Honestly, I'm against book banning and all that, but maybe in this one case. I'll try to quit now. I think I've made my point.

On a completely different and uncalled for subject, last night we went to see one of the most low-tech, laid back concerts ever: Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer. I've heard about Bela Fleck for years, and he's a great musician. Zakir Hussain plays an Indian drum-style instrument, the tabla (think Indian bongos). He can coax an amazing variety from those drums. Then there's Edgar Meyer on the double bass. He's up there in rolled-up sleeves, a tie and dress pants, looking for all the world like an insurance salesman after a long day. Then he plays a Bach cello suite on his bass. I sound like I think I know what I'm talking about, and I don't. But I do know it was the highlight of the concert for me, and it was just beautiful. Maybe if my son Andrew spends just a few more years in orchestra on his string bass...

Back to the topic at hand, I'd love to hear about other book clubs' reading lists! Or just your opinions on the titles we chose. Let the summer reading begin!