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.