On the one hand, there’s a Simpsons reference here:
consists mainly of prisoners who club me with books.”
The Simpsons: Twentieth Television Animation and Grace Films.
On the other hand, I’m actually about to start a book club, so it’s topical.
Also, worth noting that Kat and Amara have already been part of a book club. These two scenes aren’t necessarily connected, given that my Daily Writing Exercises exist in a sort of not canon, but also not-not canon conceptual netherspace until I decide otherwise.
Copyright J.B. Norman
“I’m thinking of starting a book club, Katherine,” Amara says, sharing the plaid couch in Darkstone Manor’s living room with Kat — no small feat considering both Kat’s long legs and her tendency to stake her claim to the couch by sprawling herself to cover as much of it as possible.
Kat half-raises her head from the pillow. “Do I have to do anything?” she asks.
“Well, I suppose it would be nice if you joined us, Katherine,” Amara muses, “but, no, Katherine. You don’t have to do anything at this point.”
“Great,” Kat says, burying her face back into her pillow.
“Unless, of course, you have some suggestions about what books to actually read,” Amara offers.
“Pass,” Kat says instantly, face still buried in the pillow.
Amara rolls her eyes. “I suppose there will be snacks, Katherine.”
“Great!” Kat says. “You can have your book club here. That way, I won’t even have to get up off the couch!”
“Book club, huh?” Dunstana asks. “So, like, it’s a book you hit people with? Cool!”
Amara blinks down in confusion.
“Book. Club,” Dunstana repeats. “A club’s, like, a big heavy thing you hit people with.” She raises one hand. “And book’s um, a book.”
She raises her other hand.
“Book Club!” Dunstana says happily, putting her two hands together.
“No, Dunstana,” Amara says. “That is not what a book club is.”
Dunstana blinks up in confusion.
“But what else could it be?”
“Do you know what a book club is, Dunstana?” Amara asks.
“Yeah. But clearly you don’t,” Dunstana protests.
Amara heaves a heavy sigh.
“What do you think, Kat?” Dunstana asks.
“I think you’re not dragging me into this,” Kat mutters, rolling over on her beloved plaid couch and putting her back to Dunstana and Amara.
“It’s a social event where people meet up to discuss the book they’ve been reading,” Amara explains. “They’re really quite common, Dunstana.”
Dunstana blinks up in confusion.
“Social event? You can’t even hit somebody with that,” Dunstana protests.
“It’s the social kind of club, Dunstana. Not the big, heavy thing to smash somebody’s head in,” Amara says.
“You should have just said so, Amara,” Dunstana notes. “Geez, Amara. If you’d just explained it that way, you could have saved us all a whole bunch of confusion.”
“I did say so! I’ve done nothing but say so!” Amara answers. “No one, anywhere, ever has used the phrase ‘Book club’ to mean a book that you club people with!”
Dunstana blinks up in confusion.
“Okay, but, like, have you seen the size of some of the books they have at the University’s Library?” she asks. “They’d be great for hitting people with! It’d be, like, the bad guy’s gonna steal all the orphans and then — WHAM! Book Club him right in the face!”
She frowns.
“But Annie says most of those books are rare and expensive,” she muses. “The Library people probably wouldn’t be too happy if I borrowed one of the books to hit people with.”
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