Thursday, January 12, 2017

You are cordially invited ...


The Think Write Thursday topic for today is an interesting one; plan a dinner party, inviting three people, living or dead. I've sent engraved invitations to three authors that I would honestly love to meet: E.B. White, Nathan Hill, and Bill Bryson. There are many authors I am interested in meeting, but because I'm currently reading a wonderful biography of E.B. White, Bill Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling, and Nathan Hill's book, The Nix, was one of my favorites of 2016, I can't wait until they arrive this evening. 

I've asked each of them to bring one of their books in hopes that they will read a bit to us. Bill Bryson has a marvelous voice, and I'm sure that Nathan Hill and E.B. White will also read eloquently. I'm envisioning an evening of questions, answers, and lively discussion. How did Nathan (I'm already calling my guests by their first names!) deal with the struggles of writing The Nix for over a decade? How does success feel now and what's next? Tell me about video games, please! I'm going to ask Bill about his intense curiosity and how he continues to enjoy the preposterousness of life instead of becoming a grumpy curmudgeon. And I'm just going to ask Andy (that's what E.B. White's friends called him) how he kept his love of the world around him while living on a farm and butchering pigs and thank him for caring so greatly about how he wrote things.

The menu has presented some difficulties, but I eventually decided on a simple venison stew in the crockpot, made with venison I butchered and carrots that I grew. I have this (possibly misguided) idea that Andy will appreciate this, and Nathan and Bill probably won't object. I'm also going to serve homemade bread, beer (something English for Bill?), wine, coffee, and tea. Dessert will be pie, one blueberry and one apple, something Andy mentioned in his poignant essay, "Once More to the Lake".


I'm hoping that none of my guests are bored, by me or each other, but since we are all a bit older (except for that youngster Nathan, who is only 41), I can't imagine that it will be a terribly late evening. However long we end up sitting around the table, I do hope the evening is full of literary discussion, laughter, companionship, and maybe even friendship.

(Oh, how I wish that this could be a reality!)

Read other Think ... Write ... Thursday! posts here, and sign up for Carole and Kat's great idea here.

7 comments:

  1. This is a great take on this week's topic. I think your dinner party will be a huge success!

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  2. Oh! I love this! Excellent choices - I did not even think of a book dinner! You are so clever!

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  3. Oh, I want an invitation for sure. What a pleasure it would be to meet these three! And the stew and pie sound fabulous as well.

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  4. Oh! I want to come! I want to come! :-)

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  5. I will be right there! You are going to impress your guests and have a fabulous evening of conversation about the world, large and small, and the joys of reading (and eating!)!

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  6. That sounds like such a fun evening! Excellent choices!

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  7. I think your party will be a huge success... I can just see Bill or Nathan's next book "dedicated with love and humor to my dear friend Bonny" :-)

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