September ‘26 Sunday Funday Book Club Follow Up
Hey y’all,
Thanks again to Stay Green Brewing in Farmingdale for opening up early.
Pairings
Mildly Cathartic Dark Mild and Hibiscus Tea (N/A)
Our next Sunday Funday Book Club meetup is October 25 at 10-noon at TBA. We are reading Black Hole by Charles Burns.
Side hustle read and listen: “Adolescence” by Sharon Olds
Side hustle watch: The Plague (2025)
Wrap-up of your discussion of Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt
The vignettes are an interesting way to write a novel. Dying baby deer is very sad. Death / Travis has rules or may not have rules but the novel never says that. Some of us liked the beginning but not the middle and end. Some of us thought it was a slow beginning with a great ending. Some of us kept reading thinking it might eventually become a novel and it never did. Some of us (me, correctly) didn’t really like most of it. It does have some truly beautiful writing in some places.
The Brave Little Toaster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR20smVKoMg
Medical Advice NOT By Medical Professionals So Do Not Listen To This Advice:
Meningitis comes from moldy bread.
Hamsters can die from meningitis. Hamsters should get autopsies.
Viral meningitis is the better kind of meningitis. It comes from other viruses that range from not that bad to pretty bad.
Bacterial meningitis needs antibiotics right away. Signs include a rash and neck pain. You get it from sharing straws.
Mono also comes from sharing straws.
Do not share straws.
Everyone should write a will.
Quote of the Discussion
“Is he the regional guy for death?”
Game of the Month:
We played Let’s! Get! Devastated!
The answers were songs, movies, or books/literature that are devastating. See how well you do with these:
1) And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know…..
2) Two boys and a bee sting
3) Bees and a mood ring
Here's your soundtrack, compliments of the aforementioned devastating game, complete with “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” along with other songs that are over five minutes long because devastating songs are long.
Reading Recs
Shameless plug: You can pre-order Women In Space!, my forthcoming collection out in January. Pre-orders come with stickers. If you don’t want it shipped, I’ll refund you the shipping. We will not read this at book club because it’s poetry, but you can read it on your own.
Preorder here: https://buymeacoffee.com/christinamrau/e/558323
Also:
Sex and the City (written in vignettes)
The Stand
Watching Recs
The Stand (miniseries)
The Thorn Birds (miniseries)
Roots (miniseries)
Quantum Leap
A League of Their Own
If These Walls Could Talk 1 and 2
The Seventh Seal
Interested in Book of the Month Club? Use Shelby's link to check it out.
Interested in buying book club books from Bookstore.org to support independent bookstores? Use my book club shelf.
Other places where you can find me:
I’ll be at Walt Whitman Birthplace 9/24 for Tactile Poetry.
For those of you not interested in poetry, go to Threes to play fun trivia with Bob and Nikki.
Sukha Backyard Book Club is reading Saltwater Buddha for September 26th’s meetup. Details on the studio website.
I’m hosting a writing retreat with Stefanie Maura at Cedarmere 10/17.
Walk 2 End Alzheimer’s is 10/18.
Reiki and Write is 10/22 back at Walt Whitman Birthplace.
Our Future Meetups
Everything is here.
Short version:
Oct 25: Black Hole
November 22: Lady Tremaine
December 13: Dungeon Crawler Carl
January is Watch N Read Book Club Crossover. Date TBA. My suggestion: A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell. Thoughts?
February’s date is TBA but we are celebrating Milkfarm February that meeting.
Future readings may include Pineapple Street; Leave The World Behind; Disorientation; The Way To Rainy Mountain; Honey Girl; Trash Lands; Darius The Great Is Not Okay; Noor. Thoughts?
If you have book suggestions, please send them my way, including suggestions for January’s watched a movie based on a book. Of course, you can share this email and/or the links. Surely, invite whomever you wish to book club. No one needs to finish the book (clearly!). Hope to see you at our future book meetups. Bring your appetite for snacks, sips, and conversation.