This has been a very busy week, bookwise. We had our Zoom meeting on Wednesday afternoon. It was a mystery, Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley. I had read it some time last year for another book club and didn't like it. I didn't like it any better this time. But it did serve a positive purpose; or at least I hope it does.
The book's story takes place in 1948 in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Obviously, one of the themes is the racism of the times. That subject got the group talking about today's unrest with immigration, ICE, and the general unhappiness of the current administration. Long story short, I vented with my unhappiness about the current selection of our mysteries. I went on from there and expressed my unhappiness about not reading any nonfiction, like I had at Books and Brews.
As we continued to discuss our dissatisfaction with the current political climate, I suggested that we take a breather from our present lineup of mysteries and instead read a short book on political science, which asks twenty questions of yourself. That's the photo of it above. 129 pages only. "Why don't we read this instead? No need for questions beforehand. No need really for a leader. We'll just discuss each question for a few minutes and then move on to the next."
Surprisingly, we all agreed. So next month, we will delay the original mystery for a month and see how this interjection of political nonfiction works. If nothing else, it will give everyone a sense that we are not alone. But then again, maybe it will lead to better things.
RDG
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