book talk

The book group was larger last week, thanks to COVID-19 and Zoom. From my point of view, KW's sister E had especially interesting things to say. I did not agree very often with the two most effusive readers in the group. They do a lot of projecting, psychologically and emotionally. But that's not really the issue, since I'm sure I do a fair amount of projecting. The issue is that their sensibilities are different from mine. They tend to focus exclusively on the characters -- as opposed to genre, plot, narratorial devices, or narrative tone. And they talk about the characters as if they were patients in (need of) therapy.  

However, the conversation helped me figure out what I thought, as conversations so often do. Even though I often miss details until others point them out, I like to think of myself as the Hercule Poirot of book talk--picking away at clues that others have ignored. That's probably because I've been listening to Phoebe Reads a Mystery, and lately Phoebe has been reading an Agatha Christie mystery featuring Hercule Poirot. I usually have to listen to each chapter (or pair of chapters) more than once, because I fall asleep or get distracted by whatever I'm cooking or baking. This repetitive listening has a strangely calming effect.