I have finished the book! Out of all of the books that we've read I would most like to see this one turned into a movie. No you pervs, not because it would then be porn. The ending was really quite shocking to me. The entire book (minus the first two and a half chapters) was really good and really enjoyable, but the ending moved it up from a fun book to read to a really good book that I would recommend to someone. Good picking Jenny!

Book club meeting is this Friday...keep reading! You must finish the book in order to get in!

I'm about half way through the book and I really do like it. I share many of the same thoughts as Sarah (except that there could be more sex). It is actually a really good book. It also seems a little more like literature than the books that we have been reading. Not that I don't love the books that we've been reading b/c for the most part I do. So far I really dislike the main character and all of the girls that he meets. That's the plus about porn. You don't get attached enough to them to care that they're having meaningless sex with woman after woman. That's what you expect. When I'm reading about someone's life I get a little more drawn in, and I'm a little disgusted when they have affair after affair.

When I first started this book I thought uh oh, this is like porn.... absurd plots that lead poorly written characters into funky situation where everyone must take off their clothes and screw to survive. Now that I am a little further along into the book I have found that the characters dont suck (hehehehe) and that the plot is actually kind of interesting.

I still blush while reading it most of the time but I am enjoying it so far. ( in a completly literary sense of the word enjoyment)

So...Is anyone ever going to post besides me - because there is a lot of pink going on folks?!?

I am almost finished.

I am really enjoying the book (not like that, the book isn't even close to being sticky)! Like I said before, I don't know that I will become an habitual reader of erotic literature, but I think that Jeanette and I did a good job in picking this book. We picked it for many reasons and we did good.

We picked The Carnal Prayer Mat because...

A. We wanted to host an Asian inspired book club meeting.
B. We just randomly searched for Asian Literature and this came up.
C. It is banned in China.
D. We couldn't find anything else.
E. Penis transplant.
F. Banned in China.
G. Must be dirty!

I started reading last night...and it is....well...dirty! I had no idea that erotic literature actually meant erotic.

Here is the dictionaries description of the word erotic:

1. Of or concerning sexual love and desire; amatory.
2. Tending to arouse sexual desire.
3. Dominated by sexual love or desire.

I read about 60 pages and I am going to keep reading - not just because I am a perv...but because I like the characters...and I cannot not finish. I have never read erotic literature before (I am such a prude) and I am not sure that I will jump at the opportunity to read another. It's not that I don't like the book, but it is just a little weird...and very dirty!

This book is also a lot "heavier" than the books that we have read in the past. There are so many big words and complex language usages that I am not use to from our traditional book style. I am really enjoying the characters and excited to see how their journey ends.

So we had our book club meeting about a week ago at Elizabeth's. She way overdid herself by preparing a cheese fondue, a beautiful salad and then a chocolate dessert fondue. It was really really good. I don't think we spent more than 10 minutes on Skinny Bitching, but that isn't very unusual. Everyone pretty much liked the book, except for Jeanette. Ashley, of course, didn't finish and Sarah really disappointed by not finishing either. I guess I can cut Sarah some slack since this is the first strike and she has a new job and lots of responsibilities and all that bunk.

We decided that we are going to read another of Lorna Landvik's books and set up a phone chat with her through Readers Circle. I have emailed them, but still have not heard a response yet. We are going to read The Tall Pine Polka by Lorna Landvik, but probably not until October.

In the meantime, Jeanette and I are hosting again. The meeting is on September 1st and we went with something a little different. We will be reading The Carnal Prayer Mat byYu Li. Here is a quick description:

"Our lives would be so filled with toil and worry as to leave no room for pleasure, had not the Sage who separated Heaven from Earth created in us the desire for sexual intercourse to alleviate our toil and worry and save us from despair." So begins this seminal exploration of the erotic heart of Asia. Penned in seventeenth century China, Li Yu's The Carnal Prayer Mat is recognized as a hallmark of erotic literature. But since the birth of the People's Republic in 1949 the novel has been banned in its country of origin. But you can read it complete and unabridged. The story centers upon Scholar Vesperus, a handsome orphan and student of Zen. Before taking his monastic vows, Vesperus embarks on a career of licentiousness, wherein he gains "enlightenment on the carnal prayer mat." His adventures as a "hero of the boudoir, a champion of sex" take both comic and calamitous turns, making The Carnal Prayer Mat a true ancestor of Fanny Hill, Lady Chatterly's Lover, and other bellwether novels of erotica.