Nancy hosted a happy group of 9 for our (very short) discussion of The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise. We welcomed new member Susan and had a cornucopia of foodstuffs. Mary Beth made a fabulous asparagus salad with feta cheese and mandarin oranges, and Karen supplied us with a Christmas almond cake for dessert (as well as bruchetta as an appetizer). We had cauliflower soup, taco soup, french bread, dinner rolls, fruit salad, Becky's guacamole, Darla's pickled asparagus, Susan's delicious cheeses. Please forgive me for anyone and anything I've left out, it was all great.
The Yankee swap was much anticipated. Try as I might, I couldn't egg people on to grab other's stuff. It's too much fun to open a present, I think, and it was all nice stuff. Plus Lisa drew #1 and picked something she loved, so we all knew it was fruitless to snatch that gift. We decided that next year we should do a white elephant Yankee swap.
Almost everyone had read at least part of the book and at liked it. We appreciated that parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny. Darla said it reminded her of a fairy tale.
We immediately turned to the discussion of other books and other things, including what to read next. Because there was interest in more than one book, we chose for the next 3 meetings!
Next Meeting
Where: Mary Beth's
When: Thursday, January 20
Next Books
January: Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
February: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
March: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
