Friday, June 26, 2015

My Book Club Meets.

I started our book club over a year ago and through a process of elimination we've created a worthy group of crazy people to make up the surly mob. I'm always there a half hour before to make coffee and hot water for tea and someone in the group brings something to eat that is related to the book we've read. Povitica was introduced to our palates. There was one dissenting vote but other than that the rest of us busied our grubby little fingers and wasted that big serving dish that was full. Okay, since we had our fill of Croatian food and filled our second cups of coffee, we were ready for the onslaught. We all knew Gayle was going to have her say and she would be right no matter what anyone else thought. Linda would add her two cents and not care what Gayle had said. Inez would just talk about anything. Most of us would try and listen to her but when she would start talking about some other book it was time to tune her out. She kept rambling anyway. She didn't need anyone to listen. She was just happy to be talking. Michele listened carefully. twirling her hair into ringlets but just in front on the left side. It didn't go well with the rest of her hairdo but it was her trademark. She would always throw in an Atta Girl or in my case Atta Boy. Sandy not only paid close attention to what everyone said she also crocheted at the same time. Some would take offense and most did just because it was the battle field. In Sandy's defense though she would take off on someone and be right with the conversation. We had a new person this month and I hope she stays. I think Annie's too sweet for this group of blood thirsty mongrels. She was a little more conniving than most of us. She waited with baited breath for the conversation to die down and the heat strokes to prevail so she could pounce with vengeance. She did and wouldn't you know it her strategy worked. Either they were too tired to talk back or she had a great point. I don't think we'll ever know because most of the towels were being thrown in during her dissertation of "The Cellist of Sarajevo". My group of blood thirsty mongrels is a great group. I wouldn't trade them for the world. They make me think and aspire to greater writing. There will be more episodes of the Great Book Club to come in the future. They won't be disappointing. Bob

Friday, June 19, 2015

Review of "The Cellist of Sarajevo"

Hey Everyone, I'm back like a bad penny. Just can't get rid of me. I've been reading a lot in the last year and I'm finally going to start blogging about some of the great books I've read. The latest in my book club has been "The Cellist of Sarajevo" by Steven Galloway. First of all I want to say that the man has put some real work into this novel. Although it is a novel and not the exact truth he gives us an understanding of what it's like when a city is under siege. I'm not sure we could understand the snipers up on the beautiful mountains that once entertained the Olympics but he gives us a great description of what it's like to be shot at. The main theme of the book is about a wonderful cellist by the name of Vedran Smailovic that played Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor for 22 days at the site where 22 friends and neighbors were killed by a mortar blast while waiting in a bread line. There is Arrow that is to protect him with her sniper talents which caused a real adrenaline rush for me. If you've read any of my books you would understand why. Overall I thought it was a good read. Short, sweet and most of the time to the point. I'm not a guy that likes a lot of descriptive stuff clouding what is really going on. This goes a little far at times but I think a lot of people would really like it. In other words it's worth the time. Talk soon, Bob