Oly Reads discussion

What say you people, July or shall we wait until August? I know a lot of people take vacays in these months. I'll be out of town the weekend of July 24th, and I have a couple of things going on in August that don't have set dates yet. How about you all? Also, any location preferences?

July is creeping up awfully fast! I'm good with August except that I will be in Minnesota for one of the weekends, the 14-16th. I'm encouraging the remaining people from my other book group to try this one (which I think works well for a number of reasons) so I hope you don't plan it for the weekend I'm gone.

August would be better for me, too. I'll be on vacation in the middle of July, and there are a lot of birthdays to navigate around, too.

August it is. I have two friends visiting from the East coast- I'll try to figure out exactly when they are coming and we can plan around that and Kate's Minnesota adventure and whatever else people have going on.

Looks like August 8th weekend is the only one that won't work for me, which leaves August 1, 22, or 29. Are any of those days bad for anyone else?

I've got a birthday thing on August 1st, so the later two work better for me.

22 and 29 work best for me, too

Let's go for the 22nd. I'll come up with a place and post it as an event (below the discussion threads, above the list of members on the Oly Reads page).

A couple of location possibilities I've been wanting to check out... any opinions?
Dockside Bistro on Columbia St.
http://www.docksidebistro.com/press.html
Red Bike Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant in Lacey
http://www.redbikerestaurant.com/

Other cheaper options- we haven't been to the Fish Bowl yet- I could make reservations for the upstairs room which tends to be a little quieter. If we want a slightly more lowbrow atmosphere, we could go to the Brotherhood, but it's sometimes kind of loud.

I like the Fish Bowl, but any of those places sound fun.

I would like to try both the Dockside Bistro and Red Bike. I like the idea of trying different local joints. One thing I'd like to say about the Dockside, is that it's on the water and it would be nice to go there while it's still summer. My vote is Dockside now, Red Bike later. I love the Fish Bowl but on a Saturday night???? It's very busy and noisy. I will go there, though (under no great duress).

Oh, the Brotherhood. I would like to try that, too, but would rather not go there in the height of the most wonderful season (it's been such a beautiful day today that I'm still feeling it!). I still vote for Dockside for August.

I'm with Kate - good thinking on the August on the dock logic. :) I've never even heard of the place, so I'm eager to try it!

The Dockside it is! I'll give them a call to make reservations and confirm. It looks a little spendy, just to warn y'all...

One of my neighbors and co-workers (Kirsten) used to work there and told me about it. Remember when that place was a little deli-like cafe? Now it's a bar-restaurant. Yeah, it is probably spendy. I'll save up.

no prices listed: http://docksidebistro.com/index.html
If this is too much for some people, can we change our minds? (I'm still good with it but realize it might not be some people's cup-a-tea.) Kelsey, can you give people a few days to say no before making the reservation?

Yes, we've got lots of time.

Bumping this up now that the group pages are set up differently on the main login page... calling all Oly Reads bookgroup peeps, feedback is requested!

Dockside's fine with me, but anyplace is...

Okay, nobody had objected to the Dockside, so I'll call them to confirm and report back.

Oh, and PS- Kristi had this awesome idea to do a paperback book exchange for teens at the library (tomorrow- tell the teens you know!), and I think we should copy her. We could either do that this time, or another time, or...? Do you have enthusiasm for this concept like I do?

I like the idea, Kelsey.

Somehow, I want it to be a theme exchange - like everyone brings SF, or favorites, or summer reads. But that's just a suggestion.

Honestly, I could probably find a few pbks I could part with, but if I own it, that's one less reason to read it soon (no due date). I wouldn't stop the rest of you, but pbk exchanges are not a useful exercise for me. I have many books (arcs and the like) that I've been meaning to read for YEARS waiting on my shelf. I'm a relatively slow reader. Feel free to tempt me, though!

I'm in a non-buying phase with books while we work on our remodel, so I don't have anything to swap. (Actually, anything I had left went to the Oly Library a few weeks ago in a clean-up/purge.)

Is the swap something Kelsey and Jackie were talking about for book group or for something at the library?

No, we were talking in real life and not library life. Just something to think about- we don't have to do it any time in the near future. Maybe in the fall or winter...

August book group is just four days away! See you there- Dockside Bistro, 6pm.

thanks for the reminder. i'm in minnesota but am returning tomorrow. i've already thought of which books to bring

You're a step ahead of me then, Kate!

Okay, August book club report. We met at the Dockside Bistro, which in my opinion was a little too fancy for our crew. The food was pretty good, but it was spendy. I think we should stick with slightly more lowbrow places for our next few meetings- times are tough, and I don't want our book club to bankrupt anyone! Plus, they botched our reservations and we had to sit in the very front of the restaurant by the front doors. Luckily, the group was small. There were six of us this time- Kate, Raina, Bill, Brian, Jackie, and myself. We spent some time talking about breadmaking and other assorted topics, and then eventually got into booksharing. Again, I'm always astounded at the great variety we seem to get going with our various members. Good stuff. Addendum: I got a call from Patty the day after book club- she was concerned that we might kick her out because she was on Orcas Island and didn't make it back on time. Ha ha!

Here's the list...
* Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain (Jackie)
* American Promethius- Kai Bird (Jackie)
* The Vampire Diaries series (The Awakening, The Struggle, etc.)- L.J. Smith (Jackie
* Inlandia: a Literary Journey through California's Inland Empire- ed. Gayle Wattawa (Brian)
* Dream Street- Douglas McCulloh (Brian)
* Anything But Typical- Nora Raleigh Baskin (Bill)
* Life Size Zoo: From Tiny Rodents to Gigantic Elephants...- Kristin Earhart (Raina)
* Syncopated: an Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays- ed. Brendan Burford (Raina)
* Tales from Outer Suburbia- Shaun Tan (Raina)
* Knitted Icons: 25 Celebrity Doll Patterns- Carol Meldrum (Raina? I think?)
* Flygirl- Sherri L. Smith (Raina)
* Rash- Pete Hautman (Raina)
* The Weight of the Sun and Other Stories- Geronimo Tagatac (Kate)
* Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love- Lara Vapnyar (Kate)
* The Half-Life: a Novel- Jonathan Raymond (Kate)
* Apples are from Kazakhstan: the Land that Disappeared- Christopher Robbins (Kate)
* The Girl Who Played With Fire- Stieg Larsson (Kelsey)
* The Yggyssey- Daniel Pinkwater (Kelsey)
* Larklight: a Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space- Philip Reeve (Kelsey)
* Blonde Roots- Bernardine Evaristo (Kelsey)

I've added these all to the Oly Reads bookshelf, too. See you next time!

Just got my latest issue of Bitch Magazine in the mail last night and another of L.J. Smith's vamp series is on their Bitch List this issue! Good job keeping up on the vamp books, J!

Thanks, I try! I'm reading The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Jinks right now. :)

Eeks! Can't wait to hear how it is! I've got it at home at the moment (although I might wait for the apparently stellar TBCD). :)