Did you remember to thank the host of last night's
book club with a short but fawning email? It's not too late to walk that fine line between sycophancy and
flattery. Either works perfectly.
Book club hosts labor harder than even they would like to admit. It wasn't Samantha Stephens who conjured up that blackberry cobbler or found the summer's "it" wine, Domaines Ott. It was your host who also scoured the library and the Internet for those perfectly culled discussion topics and presented them to the group in a light but literary tone. And though she raced home from work, your host did not simply stop by Trader Joe's the way you did, flipping the lids open and calling it a club.
Even if she did, your host would have found the one thing TJ had for that week only, rustled it up in some creative and naturalistic way with fresh bunches of herbs, and presented it on that Rookwood pottery she spotted first at the yard sale and bought for pennies.
She does all of this for you.
So when it's your turn to be the guest, think about the real reasons your club got together in the first place, consider your host and your entire book club, and take a look back ? even before you start looking forward to next month's club.
A Postmortem Checklist:
- Do keep the book club spirit alive and send a delightful wrap-up of the evening's events, especially if you were the one who kicked back and just enjoyed the festivities. Keep your rhapsodizing to no more than three sentences.
- Do keep the discussion going for the next day or two, but only if you have an incandescent new thought. Rehashing is a sucker's game, though new links may be considered fresh evidence. And recanting your former position can be highly amusing, especially if you make your latest case in a pithy and fun mea culpa.
- Don't even think about ranting re: who did what to whom last night. Fly above it or move on.
- And don't leave a txt or a voicemail msg about them either. These offenders are really not all that interesting, are they? Becky Sharp, Nick Carraway, Janie Crawford, Mrs. Bennet, Emma Bovary interesting? Didn't think so.
- Do send around the promised recipe, book recommendations or doctor in a timely fashion. You have one week.
- Do make a quick decision about the next book if it is your call. You have 48 hours from the minute you screeched away from the last club to your clear, informative email about the next one.