We met at my (Louis Hemmi’s) Westchase home on the 19^th of November, 2013 to discuss Drew’s selection “Waterloo” by Karen Olsson.  Regrettably, Barbara B was not able to attend due to business obligations.

I finally figured out how to serve hot food without stressing out over the tiny kitchen that I have. For appetizers I had 50 fresh boiled shrimp and sharp cheddar cheese and crackers. I had the dinner catered by Jenny’s Chinese on Walnut Bend (713/783-9440) who delivered the food at 7:30 Pm. Shrimp in lobster sauce and Cashew Chicken, chicken fried rice, boneless and traditional pork ribs, spicy chicken wings,  crab puffs, eggrolls, etc. with wine and Voss Norwegian water, all combined to make sure each member was satisfied.

In our discussion of Waterloo, I think it’s fair to say it was no one’s favorite selection. Drew sagely observed that it was a faithful representation of an Austin that no longer exists, but more as it was in the seventies. Drew said that when you talk about Austin, that people often respond with a longing for how it was in whatever decade that they became familiar with the capital city, whether it was the sixties, seventies, eighties, etc.

I did not get a sense that any of the characters were deserving of remembering or being sympathetic with. I personally thought that the story would have been much better if it had had a clear plot, rather than just a jumble of people and their own small stories, but that’s just me.

At the end of the evening, we each drew a name of a member for whom to buy a gift for our next meeting, to be held at John R's house on December 17^th. I passed out the new book, “Gone with the Night” by Beryl Markham. I’m pretty excited about this first selection on the topic of “The Sky.” 

Beryl Markham was born to a British family that emigrated  to British East Africa (Kenya). Her family owned and operated a large farm and bred race horses. Fame came to her for being not only a pioneer aviator - but especially  first woman to cross the Atlantic, from East to West. Her love of horses and of Africa are two  defining characteristics of Beryl Markham.

I hope everyone enjoys it!

=-Louis-=

                               Click here for: Amazon's information about "West with the Night"

When we met at Drew's to discuss Gail Collins' book As Goes Texas we were pleasantly surprised that the evening's fare included grilled rib eye steaks! Drew adds such a rich culinary dimension to our meetings.

We did feel that As Goes Texas was a bit condescending, and the comments about how ugly Houston is were not really warranted. Very little of the book related anything positive about Texas, and our abysmal educational system, poverty rate, and the fact that we are dead last in the nation in providing medical care don't really give us any bragging rights.

We do however have good highways in general, which is about the best thing we can be proud of. Texas is a great place to live as long as you aren't poor, undereducated, or sick. Saudi princes fly here for treatment at the medical center, but a few blocks away, rheumy old black men sleep on sidewalks.

Drew selected the new book, Waterloo by Karen Olsson. Part of the Amazon.com blurb about it - "Bittersweet and biting, elegiac and sharply observed, Waterloo is a portrait of a generation in search of itself--and a love letter to the slackers, rockers, hustlers, hacks, and hangers-on who populate Austin, Texas--from a formidable new intelligence in American fiction."

We will meet at the home of the webmaster on 19 November, 2013, though I don't think I'll be having rib eyes - probably go for Chinese since Sally Jo's Barbecue is now a T-Mobile store. Since I have to work that day, we'll not be cooking my world-famous Arroz Con Pollo.

Our NEW TOPIC is "the Sky." I will select and distribute the traditional book to John R and Sylvia S, while the rest of the crew will download their digital editions.

Thanks for looking
Louis Hemmi
www.HoustonBookClub.com
www.Hemmi.us
www.SacredCodes.com