Oly Reads discussion

Sorry, kind of forgot to revisit this. Is Friday April 30th still good for folks? We can celebrate the 65th anniversary of Hitler's suicide!

Looks fine to me, Agathafrye.

Ought to be ok.

I'm still good with it, but where?

Dunno yet. I wanted to make sure the date still worked first. I'll keep y'all posted.

Still good for me. I seem to remember something else going on that weekend (Ladyfest, maybe?), but since it didn't make it onto the calendar, it couldn't possibly be as important as OlyReads. :)

Ladyfest? Not in Olympia... Artswalk is the weekend before, that's what we discussed earlier.

I'm wondering what people would think of going somewhere like Anthony's or Water Street or Swing, but before 6 so we can hit happy hour? We could plan for 5:30 for those who want to take advantage of happy hour, and then start talking about books at maybe 6:15. I'm also thinking about timing people depending on how big of a group we get next time. Thoughts on either or both of these ideas?

I'm okay with those ideas.

Sounds good to me. I remember both Swing and The Mark fondly as places to meet. Anthony's or Water Street would be fun too!

Just catching up on this - April 30 sounds good! I guess I will be a slight voice of dissent on the location - Anthony's and Water Street and Swing are all pretty expensive places to eat, which can be hard for some people (like me) who don't have a big eating-in-restaurants budget. The Mark is good because I would feel more comfortable just ordering drinks, whereas I think I might feel weird not eating food at Anthony's or Water Street.

Anyway, I guess I prefer cheap, veg-friendly food and a quiet location - I'm drawing a blank on places downtown with enough space for the whole group, though.

That's what I'm struggling with- it's hard to find a place that meets all of our requirements. If it's cheap, it's loud. If it's expensive, it's more likely the place will be able to tuck us away in a quiet area, but then it's expensive. If it's cheap and has a quiet area, it has limited alcohol options. Help!

I'm trying to think of community meeting spaces that are not going to try to be a part of the group (like I would expect the library to do), what about a bookstore or coffee shop, I know, no alcohol! but there's got to be somewhere. If we could find just one or two and stick with them until others showed their places. Swing does have a downstairs room. Probably costs something, though. Come on, this is Olympia. There's got to be spaces for the likes of us.

the last two times I was in El Guanaco (not sure of the spelling, it is the El Salvadorean place next to Traditions), it was pretty empty (including a Friday night), and there is the bar, with tables, where they will serve food, too (inexpensive, veg-friendly), would have to ask them to turn off the tv ...

also, upstairs room at Bamboo

El Guanaco is an interesting idea. I'm really burned out on Thai/Vietnamese food at the moment, but I've been stashing Bamboo in my head for the future.

El Guanaco has occurred to me before, too - not sure why I didn't suggest it. I've never been in the bar, but it is a separate room... LOVE their food.

Okay, El Guanaco it is. I'll post this on the events section...

Don't forget- this Friday the 30th, 6:00, at El Guanaco! Think about when and where you might like to meet next time before then... hope to see you there!

I don't know if I can make it ... I have to set up at the Thurston County Fair on Friday for an educational recycled art display on Saturday morning ... have to see how it goes ... I love the food at El Guanaco (friend plantains and vegetarian papusas, with killer coleslaw), and I also really enjoy this group, so I will try my best!

Come if you can, Ruby- otherwise we'll see you another time!

TOMORROW6PM!!!

Well, it was another great, albeit slightly strangely configured group. I think we had 17 (!!!) people, and our big table got sniped and I was too wishy washy to make them move. Regardless, it was fun as always. We had three newbies- one who lived in Portland (Maura, what was your friend's name again? I'm thinking Amy but doubting myself...), and Zach and Lindsay as well. A few books that didn't show up in Goodreads were discussed... an old school magazine called Fantasy & Science Fiction (Maura's friend brought), a mini-comic by Chelsea Baker called Moira (Meghan), and a little book by Marita Dingus called Waste Not (Ruby). All of the other books can be found on the Oly Reads bookshelf. Thanks everybody for coming out!

Next meeting- when do we want to meet again- a month, month & half, or... ?
Marlys and Maura both offered their houses/houseboat over the summer, so those are possibilities to consider. Marlys lives out by the mushroom farms, and Maura's out Fishtrap Loop way. It might be nice in the summer to do a daytime Oly Reads or a picnic or something... Priest Point has those nice covered areas for rent, as do other parks I'm sure. Let's discuss.

Here is the link to my niece's book blog I talked about the other night -
http://www.constance-reader.com/
And here's a link directly to her eview of The Local News
http://www.constance-reader.com/2009/...

Thanks, Judy! Your niece is pretty great.

cool, I just added Connie to my blog links, and am reading about the Etiquette Grrls thanks to her!

ps
the configuration of the tables was odd, the service was overwhelmed and slow (and apologetic and nice), but the acoustics were good in that room! I enjoyed hearing about everyone's books, and think a time limit worked well! thank you Zach for keeping official time, and thank you, Agatha, for bringing the timer, as well as making reservations, and otherwise organizing this fun, informative, friendly group, you all rock.

looking forward to the NEXT time, love, etc Ruby

(ps and thank you Patty May for lending me the Lynda Barry book, I am making sure I wash my hands before reading ;-)

I counted 18, including John.

I'm up for a month (I miss you guys if we wait too long) - maybe the 21/22 or 28/29?

I like the idea of a house - it's been a while. Don't think we can have booze at parks. ;)

18!!! Holy shamoly. And yes, Zach did an excellent job with the timing. I'm glad it wasn't me. Thanks, Zach!

As for the park idea, I'm a big fan of the alcohol thermos. Maybe that's just me.

Okay, starting a new June/July meeting thread now... please weigh in over there with your collective summer book group visions, all.