Going Nowhere In Particular: Three Men and 28,800 Bath Toys Take to Sea

A NOTE ON LOCATION: Lux doesn't have the clearest sign, so just letting everyone know that it is located in the same area as Pane Bianco and Slippery Pig Bicycles. If you are heading south on Central you will see a big billboard at the address (last I checked it was a Geico ad). That's the place. There is limited parking out front and more parking in the back. We will try to sit in the back room. When you enter the cafe, go to the back, then turn right and go through a little hallway. You'll see a room with a giant TV. To the right of that there is a nice, much quieter back room. Hope to see you all there!

NEW LOCATION! LUX COFFEE BAR! In April, we'll be reading two humorous, yet thought provoking books about journeys with no particular destination: Three Men in a Boat by, Jerome K. Jerome and Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by, Donovan Hohn.

Three Men in a Boat By, Jerome K. Jerome.

If I said I was going to recommend to you the funniest novel ever written, I imagine you'd come over all suspicious. After all, what would I know about making you laugh?

I too ignored Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat when my husband pressed it into my hands insisting it was hilarious. I had more important things on my mind, like lunch.

Over the following weeks, he would approach, asking whether I had got to the bit about the cheeses. There are only so many times a wife can hear that question. So, wishing to keep a grip on sanity, I read it.

There comes a moment in every marriage, often after decades, when a husband is finally right. This was his moment.

The plot, like the novel, is decidedly small. Three Victorian gentlemen, and a dog, go on a boating trip on the Thames. Er ... that's it. But it is their misfortunes along the way, as well as the gloriously random anecdotes and modern humor, that make this book a comedy classic: It hasn't been out of print since 1889.

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/05/141239721/victorian-humor-at-its-silliest-cheesiest-best

Moby Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them By, Donovan Hohn

A Whiting Writers Award-winning journalist recounts his investigation at the side of unexpected companions into the mysterious loss of thousands of bath toys in the ocean, a whimsical journey that pulled him into the worlds of shipping conglomerates, Arctic researchers, maverick sailors and Chinese toy-factory workers.

http://www.npr.org/books/titles/137902893/moby-duck-the-true-story-of-28-800-bath-toys-lost-at-sea-and-of-the-beachcombers

Reminder: We usually choose 2-3 books per month. You're welcome at our meeting whether you read all or none of the books. We read fiction, nonfiction, and plays, and usually try to cover 1 piece of classic literature monthly. We read books reviewed or mentioned on NPR, and try to mirror NPR's tone at our meetings: thoughtful, polite discussion & commentary, with no arguing or posturing, and no sacred cows or unmentioned elephants in the room.?

Attendance fee is $1, paid in cash at the meeting. This helps defray the monthly charge that Meetup.com applies to the group Organizer.