How my book group went....
Aug. 3rd, 2009 09:28 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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queensthief-We had twelve people, ages fifteen to forty-five. When we discussed, inevitably, possible ages for Gen in Thief, the fifteen year-old female said, "Sweet!" When we discussed possible ages for Gen in King, the older (not old, mind you, just older) women all insisted, "Oh, twenty at least. Probably twenty-one. That's a much nicer number." Heh.
-All the men really liked the books. One said to me, "Why didn't we do this book for our first book group? This would have been a great choice!" (we did Pride & Prejudice and Austenland and he actually read both of them, but he obviously enjoyed The Queen's Thief books more)
-One conversation went like so:
Neighbor: How long ago did you read these books?
Me: About a year ago.
Neighbor: A year ago, huh?
Me: Um...yeah.
Neighbor: AND YOU HAVEN'T MENTIONED THEM BEFORE?!!
Other neighbor: YOU'VE BEEN HOLDING OUT ON US!
Me: *rolling my eyes because I HAVE mentioned them on numerous occasions*
-The same neighbor is trying to create her own Gift, which she thinks she can do using polymer clay. She's been scouring the internet for just the right stone to put in the middle.
-At least three people have ordered their own sets of the books.
-Two people have mentioned the books are all they talk about to each other now.
-We're doing King of Attolia for our August book group, even though half of the people managed to read it by the time July book group rolled around. "We're going to talk about it anyway so we may as well."
-Several of the females have decided not to wait for the August book group to discuss King because we'd like to talk about Gen
-There are now more people committed to the next Utah Thiefcon in September! Woohoo! (More info on that later, Utahns)
-As a final note, we tried to have a Mediterranean theme for the refreshments. I found an easy recipe in a Mediterranean cookbook for carmelized apple tart with aniseed. Rustic, but tasty.
I do realize I haven't told about all the things we discussed, but it's so hard to recreate a lively discussion after the fact. It was wonderful, though, and I love my book group even more now!
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Date: 8/4/09 03:27 pm (UTC)I'm very interested in that, too. I read the books to my husband over Christmas break and he loved them, but then he also loved Anne of Green Gables so I didn't know if his love for Queen's Thief was just because he has primo taste in books or because they're appealing to males as well as females.
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Date: 8/4/09 04:44 am (UTC)also that tart looks AMAZING is that the one you made because HOLY CRAP AMAZING.
it sounds like you guys had a good time! yay!
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Date: 8/4/09 03:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 06:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 05:04 am (UTC)So glad your meeting went so well!
And good job, spreading the Gen love. (It is our duty, after all.)
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Date: 8/4/09 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 06:49 am (UTC)I'm not surprised to hear the men enjoyed it - I suspect book groups (on and off line) are so female dominated that we just don't hear from any men reading the books as much.
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Date: 8/4/09 03:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 07:38 am (UTC)I'm so glad your book group liked the books--maybe if we convert enough peoples in the area we can convince Megan that she really owes it to us to come around to OUR neck of the woods :D. *hopeful*
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Date: 8/4/09 03:35 pm (UTC)Part of me wants to put up advertising at the library (since there's always a long wait at the library for the books and that means there must be more fans out there--yes, I'm nerdy enough to check once a week), but I think I'll just stick to LJ and RL friends.
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Date: 8/4/09 10:32 am (UTC)That must have been fun.
*wants a bookgroup*
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Date: 8/4/09 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 12:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/4/09 02:26 pm (UTC)is also interested in men reactions to the books as well.
Thanks for the follow up!
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Date: 8/4/09 03:41 pm (UTC)Welcome!
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Date: 8/4/09 04:32 pm (UTC)I was just wondering the other day if QT appeals to males. I'm glad to see that it does. How old are the guys in your group?
Thanks for the run-down. Your group sounds great. :D
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Date: 8/4/09 05:43 pm (UTC)The guys in my group are in their late twenties to early forties.
You're welcome!
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Date: 8/5/09 01:00 am (UTC)Anyway, sounds like a blast!
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Date: 8/7/09 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 8/7/09 01:33 pm (UTC)Caramelized Apple Tart with Aniseed
PATE BRISE WITH ANISEED:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup extra-light olive oil or other mild vegetable oil such as canola (I used canola and next time I will use only 1/4 cup of oil)
1&1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp aniseed lightly crushed
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 tablespoons ice water
FILLING:
9 tablespoons sugar
4 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into very thin slices (I used Gala apples)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Make the pate brisee: In food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, oil, sugar, aniseeds, and salt; pulse a few times until combined. With the motor running, add water through the feed tube and process until the dough almost forms a ball. (I actually just used a pastry cutter and didn't need the water, it was already sufficiently moist)
With lightly floured fingers, gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a thick, even disk; cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425. Lightly oil a 12 inch pizza pan or large baking sheet without sides; set aside.
On a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the pate brisee to a 12-inch circle. (I just used cooking parchment to roll it out on and then lifted the paper and crust onto my baking sheet). Place dough on prepared pan and prick lightly with a fork in several places.
Sprinkle dough with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Leaving a one-inch border of dough, arrange the apple slices in overlapping concentric circles, working from the outside edge to the center of the tart. With a fork, blend the oil with 4 tablespoons of the sugar. With your fingers, distribute the sugar mixture evenly over the apples. Fold the dough border over the apples to form a rustic edge on the tart.
Bake the tart in the middle of the oven for 10 mintues. Remove from the oven and sprinkle more sugar evenly over the top. Return to lower third of the oven and bake for 10 to 15 mintues, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and preheat the oven to broil.
Sprinkle the tart with the more sugar and broil on the middle rack until the tops of the apples are nicely browned and caramelized, turning the pan frequently to promote even browning, 2 to 3 mintues. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Date: 8/9/09 03:52 pm (UTC)~mwt
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Date: 8/9/09 11:40 pm (UTC)Yes, she does know, and it caused her some anxiety. In the end, though, since she didn't have a visual representation of what it really looks like to copy and since she wanted something instantly recognizable to other fans, she copied the yo-yo (what a hilarious description). She made it smaller, though, as the yo-yo obviously would not fit into Gen's braid. It turned out really well, but she'd love to make a more accurate one if you have any suggestions.
I wish you could have seen my friend's face when I told her you had written me a message. She held up the book, pointed to your name, and looked at me as if to say, "You mean that Megan Whalen Turner?" I laughed pretty hard.