Zeno's Bar & Grill

I had my book club on Monday night, where we discussed Memoirs of a Geisha (and as usual there was only WHITE wine served, not a drop of RED. Why? Are they afraid we’ll get so excited about a point we’re making and spill all over the carpet?) There were only five of us, instead of the usual nine or ten, and I think it made for a better exchange of ideas, though I still don’t think anyone would be spilling the Merlot. Granted, this is only my third time, so there isn’t too much to compare it to, but it was the liveliest discussion we’ve had.


We also had fun talking about mothering stuff. We all admitted to having on occasion put our little ones to sleep on their tummies, because they fussed on their backs. This really seems to be a new thing. There was an article in the NY Times that I kept meaning to write a blog about, but never got to. I also learned a new term for over-protective parents, who are called “helicopter moms” because they are always hovering. Hmmm. And most disturbing of all, a new product to make breast feeding more, um, discreet. The name is the best part, and I swear I am not making this up, “Hooter Hiders”. ‘nuf said. Stop the presses! As I was looking for the link I discovered the company has changed its name to Bebe au Lait. I guess the French makes for a classier product. I’m sure Susan from our book would agree.

Now for those of you who are dying to know about what our book club had to say about Memoirs of a Geisha, continue reading this paragraph. If you haven’t read it or seen the movie you might want to stop here because there are SPOILERS. Our first point was whether geishas should be considered prostitutes. We came to the conclusion that they were really more like slaves. We also discussed whether Sayuri would have been happier had Mr. Tanaka not sold her and she remained in her fishing village. Also, I proposed an alternate ending to the book that I thought would have been more romantic and less Hollywood. I was disappointed that Sayuri did not grow during the book and wanted her to realize that her crush on The Chairman was silly and that Nobu was her true love. Nobu would then tell Sayuri that he didn't want to be her danna. Sayuri would be crushed until he asked her to marry him. Violins and Fade.

--Kelly