Meeting # 5: Fear of Flying; Book #6

Whoops. Dropped the ball on this one. Maybe it was the end of the school year, maybe it was that I didn't read this book. In any case, it was one of our smaller meetings (in attendance: Mike, Meghan, Seshie, Erin, Katie, Jhani....and Evan....kind of), allowing for deeper talk on the book's major topics of sex, psychoanalysis, and...psychos? The protagonist sounded like a crazy woman from this outsider's point of view but those who ventured beyond the first 100 pages found that they did in fact like the book. I believe Mike Wooten even admitted asking himself often, "I mean, is this book about me?!"

We looked up info on the author (she's not Asian!) and analyzed the rumors that this book was part autobiographical. It was clearly an important book in its time as women rarely wrote so openly about their raw sexual urges (or, idiosyncrasies rather?) and their desire slash need slash just-can't-help-myself draws toward having marital affairs.

Other topics included telling the "truth" as a protagonist, the "zipless fuck," and this book's role in previous culture versus current culture.

In conclusion, this book sounds weird, but I may give it a shot someday. Others have no interest in it. Others rather enjoyed it.

IN OTHER NEWS, our lovely host, Michael Wooten chose a book that is most definitely unlike anything we've read so far in this book club (we rule at variety). We are reading Deborah Davis' "Party of the Century," a journalistic account of the best party there ever was: a black and white ball at the Plaza Hotel thrown by none other than the author, Truman Capote.