The Book Snobs: March 2012

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

March 2012 Selection

Carol selected Hotel by Arthur Hailey as the March 2012 selection. Hotel is copyrighted 1965 and was a bestseller. This selection is part of our year of choosing a bestseller from the year of the hostess' birth.

From the cover of Hotel by Arthur Hailey:

Conflict and desire, secrets and tumultuous destinies, are part of the fascinating world of the famous St. Gregory, a New Orleans luxury hotel. For five sultry days of a hot Louisiana summer the lives of strangers intimately touch, sizzle, and explode in round-the-clock excitement as the St. Gregory becomes the state for private and public dramas -- and for the stunning, heart stopping climax awaiting them all.

The Book Snobs Gathering

The Snobs gathered at Carol's home on Monday, March 26, 2012 for dinner and discussion.Our hostess served homemade chili with corn souffle and salad.

All The Snobs who were present agreed that Hotel was an enjoyable book. There were a lot a characters with good development of many of them. We the end of this book with quite a bit of enthusiasm. We talked about how each character ended op and how some of their ends seemed justified, but some did not.

Recipes from The Book Snobs

Corn Souffle

(from Kraft Foods)

2 tablespoons butter
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 can (15 1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14.75 ounces) cream-style corn
1 package (8.5 ounces) corn muffin mix
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray.

Microwave butter in medium microwaveable bowl on high for 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in cream cheese. Microwave 15 seconds until cream cheese is softened; stir until cream cheese is completely melted and mix is well blended. Add next 4 ingredients; mix well.

Pour into prepared pan; top with shredded cheddar.

Bake 40 minutes or until golden brown.

VARIATIONS
You may substitute Neufchatel cheese for the cream cheese.
Add 2 sliced green onions to batter before pouring into pan.
Prepare as directed, substituting 1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn with chopped red and green peppers for whole kernel corn.

How Our Club Works

Here are the guidelines that have been agreed upon for our club.

1. You must be invited to join Book Snobs. We have chosen to limit membership to a maximum of 11 members. Prospective new members will be invited to participate as provisional candidates for a period of at least two months.

2. Book Snobs meet the last Monday of each month except December. Dates may be adjusted by consensus.

3. Each Snob must take her turn at hosting. If you can't host when your turn comes up, it's up to you to trade with another Snob.

4. Next month’s hostess should announce her selection at the end of each month’s meeting. She should also send an email announcement of her selection within a few days.

5. The Book Snobs read a wide variety of books. The method of selecting books for each year's reading cycle will be agreed upon in advance by the Snobs. When it's your turn to host you choose the book from the agreed list or genre.

6. The Snobs will not censor their book selections. Any member may elect not to read any selection, but she should not try to influence a hostess to change her selection.

7. Hosting includes providing dinner and adult beverages for the group.

8. The hostess is responsible for finding or creating discussion questions and leading the discussion. Creativity is encouraged. She is also asked to provide some background on the author and/or the book.

9. The hostess should guide the discussion and make an effort to ensure that all members are heard. She is empowered to ask members to stay on topic and to limit side discussions.

10. Each member is expected to read each month's selection. Readers who do not finish any book should decide for themselves whether they will attend discussion. Discussion will not be limited to avoid spoilers.

Rules of Courtesy

1. Snobs are asked to silence their cell phone ringers during discussion. If you must take a phone call, please step out of the room.

2. Children should not be present during discussion. We should not have to limit our discussion to child-appropriate topics. If your children are home, please make sure they stay in another room.

3. All members are asked to limit side discussions and to be courteous by limiting "talking over" other speakers. Members are empowered to raise their hand and/or use a safe word like "chocolate" when needed, to call attention back to the topic.

4. Each Snob is expected to notify the hostess of her attendance plans each month to allow for appropriate food preparation.