TuscMoms.com

If it's on the weekend (and Sunday sounds fine to me), could we do it before 3pm? My husband goes to work around that time!

I vote for a weekday night. So much goes on on the weekends with spending time with husbands, kids, etc. ... personally I would find it easier to get a few hours away on a weeknight.

Tuesday or Wednesday works for me, other than overlapping with American Idol (I'm a junkie :-). But, that's what DVRs are for.

I think we could start somewhere public and then as we all get more familiar, maybe move to having it at houses.

The new starbucks could work, or joe muggs at Books a Million, or Panera has a lot of room and tasty snacks.

And if we do it on Tuesday or Weds, it can be reaallly early (so we can all be home by our 8pm bedtimes!). Maybe 4pm or 5pm, or as soon as everyone can get away from work & kids?

I vote for Panera Bread! Or how about Barnes & Noble? Or Mcallisters?

Hmm. I had actually been thinking of it more as an after dinner thing - let the hubbies put babies to bed, and meet around 6:30 or 7. BUT, I'm a nightowl up until midnight or so most nights.

So, I'm for whatever the group consensus is.

So...Wednesday Feb. 27th at 7 pm work?
Right now we can make it the last Wednesday of the month. We can always change it if this doesn't seem to be working out for people.

As for the place....does Barnes & Noble have somewhere where we can all sit? Panera would work. Edelweiss German coffee shop and bakery in Temerson Square has a nice little nook with a couch and chairs. Not sure what time they're open until. I'm not familiar with Books a Million. Is there a cozy place there where we can take over?

That time and date will work for me, in general. But my oldest son's 18th birthday is Feb. 27, so I'll have to miss that first meeting!

And you know, I like Panera bread. But does it have a good area for a group?
Maybe we should check out that german place Kristi mentioned, or maybe some other local joint like Crimson Cafe or something.
There are just too many choices!!!

I agree with Jennifer. Start in a public place and then when we get to know each other we can have at our homes. Could this include discusions on childrens books? I have found some great ones I would like to share. My girl LOVES books and music!!!!! Nights are fine assuming my hubby gets home at a decent time. He works alot!!!!! Sundays are fine as well. I don't always get time to read (hmmm.....wonder why!!! lol)but I love funny books. Erma Bombeck is awesome. Someone please let me know!!

Thanks!

That time and date are fine with me. I love Eidelweiss, but I'm pretty sure they close at 5. Barnes and Noble might not be as conducive to a discussion since people on the chairs and couches are usually reading or working. We could get a long table at Panera. I'm not sure about Books a Million.

This sounds great. I'm also pretty sure that the German Bakery closes at 5. Panera does have a long table. What's the plan? Are we to read a book before the 27th? Or is the first meeting a get to know you and pick the first book?

Maybe everyone should suggest a book at the first meeting (and tell us why it's good and why we should read it) and then we can vote.
A friend of mine says her book group does it that way, and it sounds good to me!

Should we just get going on a book for the first meeting and then at the first meeting we'll come up with a system for the rest?

Or do you guys just want to meet first, get to know one another, and figure it all out then?

Let me know. If we want to start reading right away for Feb's meeting, Angie had a great suggestion - how about a book that was made into a movie this year? For example, Atonement or No Country for Old Men...

Let me know what you guys want to do...and Panera sounds like the best place to have our first meeting. How late is Panera open?

Panera is open until 9 - I just called to double check.

I'm fine with either reading one beforehand, OR waiting til the first meeting to choose one. Let's just go with the consensus I guess.

I'm currently reading book 2 in The Golden Compass series, so I might have to hurry up and finish that one to start our first book!

I'm really looking forward to this.

OK ladies...let me just throw this out there to get us going.
How about we all read "Atonement" by Ian McEwan for the first meeting, which will be Wednesday Feb. 27 at 6:30 pm at Panera?
That will give us enough time for introductions and to talk about the book. Panera closes at 9. Not sure how long we want these meetings to be in the future. But...that'll allow us enough time for #1.
Everybody on board?

ABOUT THE BOOK: (courtesy of Random House):

Ian McEwan’s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives–together with her precocious literary gifts–brings about a crime that will change all their lives. As it follows that crime’s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century, Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark it as a genuine masterpiece.