End of a chapter

This is the not the final chapter of our Between the Covers, just the end of this particular one. The few of us who attended Carol's meeting to discuss "Lowboy" agreed that this is a good time to suspend our book club. We threw around the idea of turning it into a film club, where we meet to see an independent or classic movie and then go out for drinks to discuss it. If you'd like to participate in a film club, let us know.

Carol also asked us to tell each other about noteworthy books we've read. So, if you couldn't put down a book, let us know about it. Either e-mail the group or post a comment on our blog. (If you need another invitation to write on the blog, let me know and I'll send you one.) With that in mind, Carol and Cathy recommended one of our book nominees, Colum McCann's "Let the Great World Spin." Cathy also said that she enjoyed Bonnie Jo Campbell's brutal "American Salvage." And Carol recommended another one of her choices, "I Am Not Sidney Poitier."

As for our last book, "Lowboy," everyone at our meeting -- Carol, Cathy, Francine, Tracy and I -- thought it was well-written, compelling book. Carol said she thought the author, John Wray, gave "an authentic portrayal of a schizophrenic without being condescending." Francine especially enjoyed reading the book, which takes place mainly under New York City, while she rode on the subway. All of us wanted to see the abandoned City Hall stop Wray so beautifully wrote about. So, if you haven't read "Lowboy," we encourage you to do so. Wray has been compared to other writers we've read, including Joseph O'Neill, Jonathan Lethem and Junot Diaz.

I want to thank everyone for participating in "Between the Covers" over these last few years. All of our meetings are memorable as much for their lively conversations as for their delicious fare. While I will miss them, I am grateful that we were able to get together to discuss books. We read more than 20 books, including:

• Snow
• Unaccustomed Earth
• Housekeeping
• Special Topics in Calamity Physics
• The Sea
• Zeitoun
• Lowboy
• Never Let Me Go
• Netherland
• Wind-up Bird Chronicles
• By the Lake
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Fear of Flying
• White Teeth
• The History of Love
• The Time Traveler's Wife
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
• Misfortune
• Persepolis

In closing, I wanted to let everyone know that a theatrical adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" begins on Masterpiece Theater this Sunday. If you're interested in meeting to discuss "Emma," let us know. Maybe we could meet for a couple of hours in a cozy bar.