Is this the Gatsby residence?

I had one of the most fun, intellectually stimulating evenings last night. Some friends and I committed to starting a book club. I have always loved reading and discussing books so I was on board from day one. We decided to go back to the classics (and high school) and jump out of the gate with the classic American novel The Great Gatsby. Major major props go out to Katie W. and Katie S. for putting on a most sophisticated affair. We enjoyed 20's era music, discussion questions about the book, a trivia quiz and a place setting Martha Stewart would be jealous of compliments of K squared. Everyone brought some type of appetizer item to share and we sat, ate, and drank all while thoughtfully and passionately discussing the complicated world of Sir Jay Gatsby. We also made a plan to go see the new adaptation of the movie when it comes out in May to compare and contrast...and admittedly for some of us to swoon over how handsome Leonardo DiCaprio is in a tux.

When I was assigned to read Gatsby in my sophomore year of high school I did not so I was coming at this completely blind and I cannot believe it took him this long to enjoy this book. It is a simple read but really captures the intricacies of relationships and worldly status. Jay Gatsby is the mysterious millionaire with the huge mansion who throws all the parties that become the talk of the town. You want to be at a Gatsby party, yet many of his guests have never met him and he rarely joins his own parties. He throws them for one reason only, to recapture the attention of the love of his life whom he's been pining for over five years, Daisy Buchannan. As Daisy, her husband, Gatsby, and Nick all collide we see the very human nature of love and longing while also getting a glimpse into the very fragile balance that is keeping up appearances and keeping a life together.

The story is told through out narrator Nick Carraway who is a neighbor of Gatsby that befriends the mild recluse. We see Nick struggle, just as any readers do, to define Gatsby and decide whether he is a good man who should be pitied or a devious man who has only the slightest grip on rational thinking. Gatsby's end is one that will leave you troubled and undecided on many fronts. I find the genius of this simple tale to be the constant thoughts that I attribute to the story long after I had finished it. I think that is why this book has proven the test of time and is still very much required reading even long after its publishing date. Well done Mr. Fitzgerald.


After our discussion and trivia quiz, which not to brag but I won!, everyone put a suggestion for the next book into a hat and we drew a winner. Apparently I was on a lucky streak last night because my suggestion was picked. The book for the month of February is Home by Toni Morrison. I had been wanting to read some of the Nobel Peace Prize winners work for quite some time but never got around to it. I chose Home specifically because it was voted the Best American Fiction Novel of the last 25 years by the New York Times. I know nothing about the plot at all but I figured if the book was deemed the best for such an auspicious category there must be something to it. I am looking very much forward to another hopefully good read and another great time of discussion with some great people!