The Last Picture Show

Book: The Last Picture Show, by Larry McMurtry
Date: December 18, 2006
Location: The Border Cafe (more on that below)
Who was there: everyone but Anne (she had to work)
Who finished the book: EVERYONE!

What people thought: It seems that everyone enjoyed the book, although we were somewhat scandalized by the, um, farm animal scene. No one believed that these things actually happen in real life, but since McMurtry grew up in rural Texas and based this book on his hometown, perhaps we should give him the benefit of the doubt. We were amused by McMurtry's matter-of-fact tone when he described this scene (and I think others). Donna did not like McMurtry's depiction of women, specifically Jacy, who she did not find believeable. However, we did like how the characters of Lois and Genevieve were written. We wished we could have found out more about Genevieve's husband and home life.

Lessons learned:

1. Everyone read the book, which makes me think I should assign more "classic trash." I think that's going to be my misson from now on. Although I don't think this book truly qualifies as "trash."

2. Do not lie to the host at the Border Cafe. They will threaten to make you move if your whole party is not in attendance. Fortunatly, the parking gods were kind to Manda so we didn't have to move and were able to eat the very tempting chips.

3. I should not have a margarita if I am going to try to post complete and/or accurate minutes later.

-Paula