Seriously, I heard that question posed tonight. Referring to a tattoo.

And I wasn’t with high schoolers. I was with moms. At possibly my favorite place- BOOK CLUB.

Jive me if you wish, but I have found a little slice of heaven in this book club. I know many think it is uncool, but it is NOT. It is good. In the words of a Bedingfield (I don’t know which to attribute this to, so I attribute it to the household), book club is “rich and good”. You have to shake your head from side to side and squint your eyes a little when you say that phrase. It is like you recognize the amazement that something could be both good and rich.

Let me just give you a quick rundown of our topics. (FYI- I just accidentally typed “rubdown” and I can not control my laughter enough to continue to blog.)

Ok, recovered. But that was a hardy laugh, I’ll tell you what.

Here were some, but not all, of our topics (in no particular order):
-Donald Miller
-the war in Iraq
-Gabriel’s desserts ( the cannoli were so good)
-Iran
-the drama of putting insulation in your house
-Jewish culture
-genuine belief systems
-the aquarium
-Lyle Lovett concerts and fights breaking out there (involving one of our own members- such an amazing story)
-God’s hand
-henna tattoos
-peppermint mocha creamer for coffee (great with cannoli)
-dogs
-terrorism and it’s influence on our everyday life
-American culture
-urban culture
-Liberia
-academic society
-Arby’s and a “crew chief”
-southern society
-PBS miniseries

Oh yeah, and the two books we read- “Girl Meets God” by Lauren Winner and “Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi.

I love that it is okay to ask questions, to think outside the regular lines we draw for ourselves, to disagree on purpose and meaning, and to laugh. And I don’t list these topics in order to brag about our amazing brains (though I could do that too). I list them to show you the pleasure of a group of women sitting together from 7:30-11:15pm and having intellectual conversation about the world inside and outside of the books we read.

The ultimate compliment one day, when I know I’ve made it as an author, will be to write a book worthy of the book club.

I just love it. I have nothing witty or amazing to say here now that I’m done. The end.