Oxymorons

I met today with a group of the loveliest ladies. They are a book group here in Smallville, USA, and their group is comprised of many of the leaders of our small town. Several years ago, they worked successfully to bring an Authors' Symposium to our Small College, and it has thrived ever since.

This year, they are hosting an author whose work I love, and hate, at the same time.

I love her work. I love her insights. I love her skill. I love the way she weaves normalcy into the most bizarre situations. I love the way she speaks from the heart of characters who are nothing like her.

I hate the situations she writes about. In one book, an Amish girl gives birth to a baby who is murdered. In another, a father abducts his own child and establishes new identities for himself and the child in another state. When the child is a woman, he is arrested for the abduction and the woman is faced with realizing that her whole life has been a lie. The most recent one I read is about an assistant DA who has specialized in prosecuting child molestation cases. Her world is turned upside down when her own child becomes a victim of this devestating crime.

I hate her books, and I can't put them down.

Now, that's a real....writer.

The local book group (please don't think it's the only one; there are 35 or 40 in Smallville, USA) discussed her work today.

The first order of business at their meeting was, well, their business: old business and new. They discussed and discussed. They couldn't remember how they did this or that, last year. They didn't have last month's minutes to remember what they decided last month. Some couldn't remember what their dues were this year.

Several of them mentioned to me how embarrassed they were at their disorganization.

It "so" totally did not matter. Here's why: in the process, they approved sending money to Pascagoula, MS to re-start a library for the flood-torn high school. They approved sending money to the Christmas Happiness Fund, a local charity that provides Christmas for needy familes. They are doing this for the nth year. (They've done it forever.) They approved sending money to their Symposium, which is really under the auspices of Small College, but they continue to support it.

Then to top it all off, they really discussed the author and her books. Many had been online to research her and her style. They really read. I've been to many other book groups. Most discuss the story. This group, thankyouverymuch, discussed the style. The depth of characters. The voices of the book. The interplay. They contrasted one book to the other.

This is what a book group should be!!! How, how, how, do you make that happen? I guess it's a combination of education, intellect, energy, and a short dose of luck. They've got it going on, and it was such a pleasure to visit.

If any of you from the book group are reading this: Thank You for having me. It was a delight.

PS. Quick addition. I titled today's entry, "Oxymoron," then did not explain why. I was the guest host. (Oxymoron.) Other favorites of mine: jumbo shrimp, military intelligence.