DISPATCHES FROM THE HARDBOILED BOOKCLUB : It's One Year Old!

Sam Weller's Bookstore and Slug Magazine celebrated the year anniversary of the Hardboiled Book Club this month! We kicked off things this time last year, with Jess Walter's The Zero (a satire about the aftermath of 9/11). We have covered books by Paul Auster, George Saunders, Douglas Coupland and so many more. When I think back to the mission statement (check it out on facebook, type in Hardboiled (one word) and you can read it) about this club I think we have stayed true to it. In a nutshell the mission was/is : to build on community and engage in spirited discussion (last meeting we even had spirited beverages!). We are so grateful to have been blessed with inspiring smart thoughtful members, who know each other only from the bookclub. Which could be one of the keys to our shared success.

A year ago when I thought about doing a bookclub, hosting/moderating/bullshitting, I had no idea what an incredible experience it would be. We have 3 Chris's in the group, all equally thoughtful, the ladies don't come regularly, which is good or bad, could go either way. I think it's important for a bookclub to be enjoyable for the members. I look at it like we're all shareholders in a collective stock ( in this case--shared experience ) and I don't want to see our shared stock plummet, nor do I think it will.

This month we are reading Steven Millhauser's Dangerous Laughter. Not only will this book kick your ass, but you will thank Millhauser for doing so when you're done with it. The title story is actually more of a cartoon, it's called Opening Cartoon: Cat & Mouse. Think of it as a very elegant episode of Itchy and Scratchy, transcribed by a wizard from a far off land.

Well, in summation, we hope to keep building on community and keep engaging courageous readers. Thanks to everyone who is a part of this.