Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Coffee, dinner, and coffee again

Roti bun: my favorite (source)

Yesterday, I met a few members of my book club, Flips Flipping Pages, for dinner and coffee. We were supposed to meet up at 7 pm, but since it was a week day, I figured that many of us would be arriving late (myself one of them). So, I arrived at 7.30 and there was Honey, reading Rebecca, which was a good sign.

One by one, the Flippers started to arrive and, pretty soon, we were all having the wonderful coffee and those deliciously sinful coffee buns. Of course, since I thought that my Bikram Yoga sessions would burn all the calories I was consuming, I even helped myself to two soft-boiled eggs and those toasts with lots of butter and coconut jam.

It just occurred to me though that all of us keep blogs -- me, Honey, Blooey, Gege, Mitch, and Marie. But, even though we write about the books we've read, we have differing tastes. Honey is the biggest Jane Austen fan I've met, always encouraging me to finish Pride and Prejudice. Blooey loves YA and picture books. Gege also writes about restaurants she's gone to and is the "go to" person for new food haunts. Mitch loves urban fantasy. And Marie is still raving about Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time.

There's something about books that brings people together, despite our clashing reading preferences. I'm forever stuck on page 42 of P&P. I seldom touch picture books. I don't understand urban fantasy. And, while I majored in science in college, I think Hawking's book is so inaccessible. Nevertheless, we had a fascinating discussion about books and other subjects that I wouldn't even dare mention in this blog.

Since we were in a coffee shop and we haven't had dinner yet, we decided to get more grub from the Indian restaurant next door. And after that, another round of coffee and more juicy talk at a Starbucks. Before we knew it, a barista informed us that they'd be closing soon since it was past 12 midnight.

I got home at 1 and woke up at 3.30 am. (I always wake up at 3.30 even on weekends; 4 when I'm feeling sick or a little indulgent.) Nevertheless, despite the lack of sleeping hours, I felt blissful spending most of last night talking about books and being among fellow bibliophiles.

19 comments:

fantaghiro23 said...

Agreed, Peter! That's why I was willing to travel from QC to Makati--I knew I'd have a great time with fellow book lovers.

And finish Pride and Prejudice already!:P

Peter S. said...

Hello, Honey! Promise, I will! Especially now that I'm going to the book discussion.

Anonymous said...

Meeting up with Flippers is always the bright spot in my week :)

LJTradcat said...

So I'm not the only one telling you to get P+P finished... ;-)
Honey, it is always a pleasure to meet another Austenite - enchanted to make your acquaintance!

LoF said...

can you give us a name or address for this Indian restaurant? lol.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

WOW..sounds like a fun night, even with the sleep deprivation...LOL

Peter S. said...

@sumthinblue: It is indeed!

@Cynewyn: Thank you for giving me the encouragement to finish P&P, too! Hopefully I'll be able to finish it soon.

@line of flight: It's New Bombay at the Columns in Buendia.

@Diane: It really was!

Ceri said...

That sounds like such a great meet-up, Peter. :) And you've managed to introduce me to a bunch of people whose sites I'd never visited before. Thanks :D

Mel u said...

I noticed yesterday there will be a new Starbucks right next to the new shopwise on Commonwealth Avenue and inside the shopwise complex a Books for Less Store is also being set up-

Peter S. said...

@Ceri: You're very much welcome! These people have great blogs!

@mel u: I can't wait for these stores to open.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Peter! You guys had fun! Wondering how you were able to talk books with all of you having different reading tastes. Hope to meet you guys one of these days. :)

Unknown said...

Hello, Jo! We can't wait for the time that you can join us!

czar tigno said...

Buti na lang hindi ako nagpunta. Nerds! Get a life! =P

Unknown said...

Czar, it was estrogen overload! We definitely need to recruit more guys into FFP.

Charlie said...

Peter, you're posting faster than I can read them! Either that, or I read too many blogs.

I don't know what happens on page 42 of P&P that stops your reading, so why not hide the page numbers with your finger? Personally, I zipped right through P&P because I really liked it.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a wonderful group of readers and a great night. Sometimes I don't go to bed until 3am :) That is the only way I would ever be awake at that time.

Unknown said...

@Charlie: A wonderful suggestion! I'll let you know how that goes.

@stacybuckeye: It was. About the 3 am thing, it's probably my biological clock. I've always been a lark.

Miss F said...

hey schedule the next ones at Quezon City naman esp. near Ateneo since Peter, Fanta and I are based in the area. ^^

good food and good conversation plus lots of tea or coffee- lie is good!!!!

Unknown said...

Hi, Fredda! Sure! QC is a good option since a lot of Flippers are from that area.