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One for the Books...

slogan
Adventurer C
Book Club.jpgA little over a year ago, a fellow Southwest Employee started a book club.  Colleen Campbell, our Book Club Founder, has the daunting day job of Manager of Financial Control here at Southwest.  As you can imagine, her responsibilities are quite different from my duties as a Culture Chick!  Although our jobs may be worlds apart, we both enjoy reading and have assembled an incredibly fun and successful group.  Some of our "members" use our book club as a great excuse to get together with a fun bunch of women and drink wine; others take our book selections quite seriously and always read the selection of the month.  Having people with both viewpoints allows us to have some terrific book discussions without taking ourselves too seriously.  Since starting our club last October, we've also added a couple of other Southwest Employees to the group:  Julie North is a Senior Benefits Design Analyst for SWA; and Karie O'Keefe is our Manager of Emergency Response.  We've all invited friends outside of SWA to join, as well, and we now have two teachers (kindergarten and third grade); a dentist; a nurse; an event planner; an assitant controller; and a corporate trainer. Book Club night is one of my favorite social nights each month.  What a neat group of diverse, smart, and funny women we've brought together!  One of my favorite things about my book club (besides the company, of course) is the fact that we sometimes pick books that I never would have chosen myself.  We've tackled everything from Blindness to Little Earthquakes, and just about everything in between.  Right now, we're reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  It might take us a while, but we're a determined bunch, and our plan is to finish it before Colleen's wedding on May 19. (If we don't hit that goal, our secondary deadline is to complete the book before the movie (starring Angelina Jolie) is released!  Some of the other titles we've read over the past year include:  Breakfast at Tiffany's; Blink; The Kite Runner; My Sister's Keeper; Julie & Julia; I Know This Much Is True; The Memory Keeper's Daughter; Freakonomics; The Time Traveler's Wife; and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (just to name a few!). I love having a fun group of people with whom to discuss books; and I especially love having a good excuse to go to dinner and have a glass of wine with some of my favorite gals!
26 Comments
blusk
Aviator C
Shelly, Since you read the book, just what do dogs do in the nighttime? Blog Boy
Jeramy_Brian1
Adventurer B
Wine is good but beer is much better. My favorite is guiness from the tap or widmer bros hefewizen with a lime wedge in it. I love those beers. 😎
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
They eat candy corn of course! Address service requested. Ding! boy Joe friedmann
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Shelley!!! I am SO proud of you! You never told me you knew how to read! Wow, that is awesome! By the way, although I haven't read it, I've always thought the book "Freakonomics" was about the financial impact on the world economy made by people who hoard enormous quantities of candy corn. Can you verify that? External Blog Boy 🙂
Leah4
Frequent Flyer B
That sounds like fun! I LUV to read. When I was in second, fourth, fifth, & maybe sixth (I forgot if I did it in sixth grade), I was in Junior Great Books. We, of course, read different stories & had discussions while eating lunch; I don't remember how many times a week we met, but it was fun! 🙂
slogan
Adventurer C
Yes, Joe and Kim...in fact, if I remember correctly, every single book we've ever read has had some tie-in with candy corn. What a strange coincidence! You guys crack me up. 😃
Francisco_Delga1
Adventurer A
Great topic... I cannot stress the importance of reading. When i was younger before i could go out and play, i had to finish my homework, do my chores around the house, and read. Now days so many young kids are focused on TV and video games. So here is to candy corn and reading!!! Right now I am reading 1776.. great book on the revolutionary war.... USS BLOG BOY
Jeramy_Brian1
Adventurer B
I like to read any book by Dean Koontz. He has got to be the best suspense writer in the world. Whenever I start reading one of his books I can't put it down. Tom Clancy is another one of my favorite authors.
pcerda
Adventurer B
We here at PRC were just discussing the merits of "The Consultant's Adopted Son" found in the PRC "library." It's a medical romance paperback, because we all know how romantic medicine is. Overheard: "Your shinsplints are quite attractive." "That boil on the side of your neck makes me love you even more." "Your bunions make your feet SO much lovelier." Jedi Blog Master
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Ummm, JBM, You guys out west really need to switch to decaf. EBB 🙂
blusk
Aviator C
JBM, EBB, and Shelley The ultimate book for your group would be a eco/medico/snack food/romance novel. Let's call it Crimson's Anatomy--Episode Six, The Jedi Doctor. A handsome young doctor, Cliff Granite, attends to an beautiful economist, Mony Golightly, who is from the freakonomics school. She is presenting shinsplints, boils, and bunyons. Dr. Granite discovers the healing powers of candy corn, Miss Golightly falls in love with him, and they both honeymoon on the SS Minow, all the while drinking mimosas and munching on toasted candy corn and caviar. Blog Boy
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
URGENT MESSAGE to Shelley, Lacey, Sunny and ALL the Culture Chicks: Drop what you are doing and request IMMEDIATE help for Blog Boy. He is having one of his "episodes" again. Inform the paramedics to administer copious quantities of Dr Pepper and large mouthfuls of candy corn to try to stabilize him. For his sake, please remove all sharp objects from his reach until he has recovered. Signed, An Anonymous Concerned Friend
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
I was thinking of first to die, second chance, third degree or fourth of July by James Patterson. There is a womens group in these stories ;-) Some assembly required Ding! Boy Joe
Jenny3
Explorer C
I love reading and look forward to the day I can stop reading TEXT books! Yet, here are a few of my favorite books: Where the Red Fern Grows (the first book I cried reading) I Remeber....Memories of Growing Up (Kevin Kammeraad) - pretty much a 15 min. read but his memories jog mine...it is a happy read. Whirlwind (thicker than a phone book but great) DaVinci Code (read it in two days...kids lived on cookies and ice cream because I never left the couch...couldn't put the book down) The Legend of Sleeping Bear (love reading this to my kids) Just finished Twelve Extraordinary Women of the Bible - and while I had issues with some of the chapters - it made for a great discussion book for our women's small group through church.... AND - nearly EVERY Calvin & Hobbes book - I've got them all and love each and every cartoon. Not a real impressive list - but I've been enrolled in a graduate program for nearly five years....textbooks are pretty much it... Wonderful way to get together, bond and enjoy time - it has a purpose but book club is mostly an excuse....enjoy!
blusk
Aviator C
Jenny I so miss Calvin and Hobbes, and I have a lot of the books. That strip, Bloom County, and Doonesbury are my alltime favorites. Of course, Doonesbury is still active, and Opus appears on Sundays, but I used to laugh outloud at Calvin and his adventures with Hobbes. Blog Boy
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Blog Boy, I didn't realize you were a Berke Breathed fan! As you may or may not know, Berke got his start as an adult cartoonist (he probably drew stuff before he was 18, but I'm referring to the time he 'became' a cartoonist) drawing a strip for the student newspaper at UT-Austin. He was there on campus at the same time as me, and I loved reading his strip, "Academia Waltz" in The Daily Texan. He poked fun at various things about life at UT that we could all relate to, and the character 'Steve Dallas' was an amalgamation of all of the frat boys that he knew on campus. Opus and several other folks in Berke's world were a part of those early UT days, and obviously, Opus has lived on for 30+ years now. Maybe if you can get me a bag of those honey roasted candy corn plane crackers in an easy-open package, I'll let you borrow a copy of my Academia Waltz book that Berke published while we were at UT, but you've gotta promise to not get peanut crumbs between the pages. Kim P. S. Eat your heart out, Jeramy... I'll bet you wish Opus had originated on the Unspectacular Student College campus! 🙂
blusk
Aviator C
External Blog Boy, That would be great to see the Academia Waltz book. However, in Jeramy's defense--not that he needs it. While Berkeley Breathed is a well-known literatry figure, USC can claim George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Blog Boy
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Bah! No one like the Far side? 😞 Or Peanuts? Kind of unusual how Charles Schultz died the same day as his last strip ran in the paper. Remove yellow tab before opening window Ding! boy Joe
FriendofBlogBoy
Frequent Flyer B
Joe, Well, if we're gonna get onto the subject of favorite comics, I would DEFINITELY put Peanuts at the top of my list, and my top five would also include The Far Side, Dilbert, B. C. and Blondie. How's that for an eclectic mix? By the way, if it tells you anything about me, I always save the comics for last when reading the paper. I like ending things on a high note! Kim, warbling a high C... 🙂
blusk
Aviator C
Ding Boy Without Charles Schultz, the world is much poorer and drearier. Peanuts is still the first thing I read in the Sunday paper. My favorites are his strips from the early sixties. It's amazing the beauty of thought that can come from a pen and paper. Before I became Blog Boy my office nickname was Charlie Brown. Good Grief, Blog Boy
pcerda
Adventurer B
For me, it's been The Boondocks ever since it came out. Bloom County was great, Dilbert MIGHT be my all time favorite, Far Side was creative (and made great calendars), but for my upbringing and part of my generation it HAS to be The Boondocks.
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Blog boy, who was your office Lucy? Did you "fall" for the football trick every time? Zooming through the air on my sopwith camel Ding! Boy Joe
blusk
Aviator C
Ding Blog Boy Tricia was my office Lucy, and yeah, I am a sucker for the football trick! Charlie Brown Blog Boy
joe-mdw-plane-d
Frequent Flyer C
Hmm, a Tricia Lusk? Ding! boy Joe-Manager of Customer Communication and Corporate Editor 😜
blusk
Aviator C
Ding boy! The real Mrs. Blog Boy might have something to say about that. Blog Boy
Marion_P__Murra
Explorer C
Dear Southwest Airlines: Thank you for a wonderful flight to Tampa Florida, from Buffalo, Ny. March 21 to March 28th. Although I didn't have my ID photo to return to Buffalo Airport (it was in my suitcase) The Security men were courteous, and had to know who I was. It was quite an experience for me. I had to go from point A to point B in a wheel chair. The Security were very thorough in their investigation of me. The "air blast was a surprise!!!. The exam of my "carry-on let me know, they had to do their job. Fortunately I was cleared for my return trip to the Buffalo, NY area. At my age of 83 years, I have to say all your employers, no matter where I was at both airports were extremely considerate. I have learned my lesson, make sure I have all my credentials in order. It would have saved everyone valuable time.At any rate, Southwest Airlines is my priority for travel. Thank you all. Mrs. Marion P. Murray-Nw2i Ham Radio Operator-Teacher of Morse Code-Tech-Commercial License exams. Volunteer exams for new Operators. Again, Thank you Southwest Airlines for getting me home safe. I sure made a "boo boo but you saved the day. God Bless. Mrs. Murray testing.