Man, you know what I haven't talked about in a while? How hard it was to move across the country. (Geez Jen, SHUT UP already. People move; you are not a pioneer nor are you Fievel with some sort of terrible sob story.) Anyway, as much better as living on the left coast has gotten (who knew spending three hours a day in my car alone was making me miserable and eliminating that commute and putting my office much closer to things that people actually do would make me much happier?), when I first got out here it was rough. And I was lonely and alone and regretting my decision to move because I could not and would not look ahead to a time when it would be better. This is a story about a book club.
A couple months after moving here, I finally got acquainted with some of my co-workers; there was a meeting or a birthday cake or something? And one of them, Jasmin, had sent me a friend request on facebook. I gladly accepted. Some time later, she threw up a post that said, "I want to start a book club, who's in?" I left a comment that I was, indeed, in and then failed to follow through with doing what I needed to do to actually participate (I think it was something super challenging like "give me your email address"). The next month, when she made another post about how fun book club was, I shot her a note that said, "D'oh, I'm super not on top of things, can I pretty please be part of your book club?" With that, I was in.
Book club was one of the first things that made California feel like "a place that I live" instead of "a place I currently am". It was a regularly occurring activity that was on my calendar that allowed me to interact with people and feel like a part of something. Plus, I've always just really wanted to be a part of a book club! Now, while I could say a lot more things about how book club had an impact on my California existence (and how intimidating it is to be in book club with a bunch of former literature majors), there's a specific story I'd like to tell... the story of Book Club-aoke.
The process for choosing each month's book is fairly democratic; everyone brings a suggestion, describes the book to the group and then we all vote. Several months in, when we had a small group in attendance, I lamented that my book suggestion had never been chosen. So, we made a collective decision that the next month's book would be my pick - Rob Sheffield's 'Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke' and that the next month's meeting would be a super special BONUS book club with book club followed by an outing to the nearby karaoke bar.
Rob Sheffield is a guy I'm a big fan of. His book 'Love is a Mixtape' is one of only six or so physical books that made the trip across the country; I love it that much. I adored 'Turn Around Bright Eyes' because it accurately reflects what it means to really love music. Sheffield is a guy who I can so strongly identify with - memories don't exist without an accompanying soundtrack and songs, lyrics, and choruses curl up and make a home in the soul. He's a guy who has made a career out of how much he loves music. I'm a girl who regularly word vomits all over the internet about how Ewan J Currie's inflection on a line of music "took up root in my consciousness and wouldn't let go' or how I've developed a Pavlovian response to Sara Bareilles' voice. I think the way this book was written; the music is the framework in which the stories fit.
The piece if it that slayed me, though, was a story about his final performance at Rock & Roll Fantasy camp. Not being a musician, he was assigned tambourine duty - which he took very seriously. He goes on to say,
Anyway, after I gushed about how much I loved the book, we headed to karaoke - The Mint on Market. And oh man, it was fun. It was so very fun. Let's count down my five favorite moments, shall we?
5. Some vaguely drunk business man (there with a large group - in town for a conference maybe?) going up to sing the 'Elephant Love Medley' from Moulin Rouge and the KJ taking the duet portions and both of them being amazing.
4. Audrey, spitting rhymes on City High's 'What Would You Do' and getting flustered when some racially sensitive words showed up. "I totally forgot that was in there!"
3. The bartenders returning Jasmin's wallet and keys - with nobody sure how she lost either of them.
2. Sean, DESTROYING, Kelly Clarkson's 'Miss Independent'. No, seriously.
1. And then this happened:
So, thank you, Rob Sheffield, for writing such an incredible book, inspiring such an epic night, and for giving me one of my most exciting Twitter moments.
And thank you, book club, for making San Francisco a much less lonely place.
*Sheffield, Rob. "Rock & Roll Fantasy." Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2013. Print. Page 111.
A couple months after moving here, I finally got acquainted with some of my co-workers; there was a meeting or a birthday cake or something? And one of them, Jasmin, had sent me a friend request on facebook. I gladly accepted. Some time later, she threw up a post that said, "I want to start a book club, who's in?" I left a comment that I was, indeed, in and then failed to follow through with doing what I needed to do to actually participate (I think it was something super challenging like "give me your email address"). The next month, when she made another post about how fun book club was, I shot her a note that said, "D'oh, I'm super not on top of things, can I pretty please be part of your book club?" With that, I was in.
Book club was one of the first things that made California feel like "a place that I live" instead of "a place I currently am". It was a regularly occurring activity that was on my calendar that allowed me to interact with people and feel like a part of something. Plus, I've always just really wanted to be a part of a book club! Now, while I could say a lot more things about how book club had an impact on my California existence (and how intimidating it is to be in book club with a bunch of former literature majors), there's a specific story I'd like to tell... the story of Book Club-aoke.
The process for choosing each month's book is fairly democratic; everyone brings a suggestion, describes the book to the group and then we all vote. Several months in, when we had a small group in attendance, I lamented that my book suggestion had never been chosen. So, we made a collective decision that the next month's book would be my pick - Rob Sheffield's 'Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke' and that the next month's meeting would be a super special BONUS book club with book club followed by an outing to the nearby karaoke bar.
Rob Sheffield is a guy I'm a big fan of. His book 'Love is a Mixtape' is one of only six or so physical books that made the trip across the country; I love it that much. I adored 'Turn Around Bright Eyes' because it accurately reflects what it means to really love music. Sheffield is a guy who I can so strongly identify with - memories don't exist without an accompanying soundtrack and songs, lyrics, and choruses curl up and make a home in the soul. He's a guy who has made a career out of how much he loves music. I'm a girl who regularly word vomits all over the internet about how Ewan J Currie's inflection on a line of music "took up root in my consciousness and wouldn't let go' or how I've developed a Pavlovian response to Sara Bareilles' voice. I think the way this book was written; the music is the framework in which the stories fit.
The piece if it that slayed me, though, was a story about his final performance at Rock & Roll Fantasy camp. Not being a musician, he was assigned tambourine duty - which he took very seriously. He goes on to say,
"I want to be inside the music. But does anybody really get all the way in? Does loving music as intensely as I do mean that I am really and truly part of the music, even though I can't play it? Or am I still on the outside?" *Can you be a part of the thing just by loving the thing? I, too, desperately want to be part of the thing. I'm not sure that I am but I like to think that capturing all this emotion and intensity I have around it gets me closer. (As I pointed out to book club, there was not an opportunity for me to be objective about this book. I feel it was written for a target audience of me.)
Anyway, after I gushed about how much I loved the book, we headed to karaoke - The Mint on Market. And oh man, it was fun. It was so very fun. Let's count down my five favorite moments, shall we?
5. Some vaguely drunk business man (there with a large group - in town for a conference maybe?) going up to sing the 'Elephant Love Medley' from Moulin Rouge and the KJ taking the duet portions and both of them being amazing.
4. Audrey, spitting rhymes on City High's 'What Would You Do' and getting flustered when some racially sensitive words showed up. "I totally forgot that was in there!"
3. The bartenders returning Jasmin's wallet and keys - with nobody sure how she lost either of them.
2. Sean, DESTROYING, Kelly Clarkson's 'Miss Independent'. No, seriously.
1. And then this happened:
(Rob Sheffield favorited my tweet!!)
So, thank you, Rob Sheffield, for writing such an incredible book, inspiring such an epic night, and for giving me one of my most exciting Twitter moments.
And thank you, book club, for making San Francisco a much less lonely place.
*Sheffield, Rob. "Rock & Roll Fantasy." Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2013. Print. Page 111.
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