Tasting emotions and reading across borders

We’re kicking this off a little late, but nevertheless, the second great experiment of this blog will begin!

For class this week we had to read a unique and rather odd book called The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.  And I have to admit, I liked it but I also found it very condescending.  The basic plot line was interesting; our narrator, a little girl named Rose, can taste emotions in food.  She can taste how the person who made the food is feeling, almost like an act of mind-reading.  It causes a lot of problems, because who wants to taste the stress their mother is feeling about paying the bills, or the disassociation of a father, but the overall idea is so intriguing.  Obviously there’s a lot more that goes on, but trying to describe it would be pointless.  It would just sound like a bunch of garbled nonsense, although I think a few of you would really enjoy it.

Although the author seemed like she was trying too hard, there was an underlying message of how modern society is losing it’s ability to connect.  We spend so much time on facebook, twitter, and texting with one another that we forget what it’s like to have a real conversation.  Now, I’m not one to bemoan modern technology.  I text an unhealthy amount, I have a love-hate relationship with facebook, and I skype with friends who live far away, but I understand the idea of missing connections.  We should be using the technology to make interacting even more in-depth, but instead we use it to build a barrier of what we want our projected life to be.

A few months ago I started toying with the idea of starting a book club that would work through a variety of mediums in order to keep in touch, literary-wise, with my friend who is currently living and working in France (Check out her blog here!) and my friends who are currently spread too far apart to meet for a traditional book club.  Out of that idea, the International Reading Club was born.

The idea is simple; we all read a book.  Then, on a specified ‘read-by’ date, we will open up discussion on a website called LibraryThing.com (thanks, Brittany Cooper).  The rules and regulations are posted in our group, but you will need to create an account with the website to access certain features.  Trust me, it’s a great website, so you shouldn’t feel exasperated at this extra step.  The link for our reading group is here:International Reading Club

Our book for this month is One Day and anyone and everyone is welcome to participate.  The ‘read-by’ date is December 12^th, which gives you just under a month to finish, and some extra time after the Thanksgiving holiday.  Really, you have until the end of the month, because we won’t pick another book until after Christmas, but you don’t want to be too far behind.

What I’m hoping we can accomplish with this idea is to bring people together regardless of location.  Obviously you can hold a discussion on the topic boards, commenting and responding, but I’m idealistic; perhaps from this experiment will come people exchanging skype accounts and email addresses, or even finding you want to talk further with a person you don’t even know.  I have friends from all different parts of my life, and to bring you all together in this way is something I find really exciting.  Pass this along to anyone you think might be interested in participating, because reading a book shouldn’t be all you do.  Engaging with literature through social connections is the best way to make sure we never lose sight of what is important.  We can use technology to strengthen the bonds between people, but it will only work if people are willing to try.

If I can’t sit down in a room with my favorite people and have a book discussion, then I am willing to try it out in a chatroom or through a discussion board.  And we’ll just have to see how it goes.