Maya started a book club this Fall.   She’s wanted to join one for a couple of years, but the one some of her friends are a part of had no room for new members.   Finally, tired of waiting for a spot to open up, she decided to start one of her own.  We had our first meeting last month.   There were 4 girls and 3 moms and we discussed the book Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer.   The discussion went better than I ever expected, the girls were really animated with lots of opinions and good things to say.   This month we are reading Forgotten by Cat Patrick.   I’m only a few chapters in, but based on what I’ve been hearing from some of the girls, it looks to be another lively discussion.

Book clubs, however, always make me think of George Carlin.   This might seem a bit incongruous unless you’ve ever heard his “Join the Book Club” bit.   The first time I heard it was on the radio one year when my Mom and I were driving back from a vacation in Michigan together.   It was just the two of us in the car – I think my Dad was on his motorcycle – and we were listening to some local station that for whatever reason decided to play this sketch of Carlin’s.   I was driving, and literally had to pull off the highway because I was laughing so hard it was difficult to see.  Thankfully there was a rest area so we pulled in there until we could collect ourselves.   Oh, George Carlin.  We do miss you.

Anyway, I can’t spend much time thinking about book clubs without Carlin’s voice floating through my brain.   Here it is.   Some of the lyrics are ‘colorful’ as was Carlin’s tendency.   (And I recommend just listening to it, at least the first time around.  The photos are almost a distraction….)

http://vimeo.com/28844043