Read Online Point, Click, Love by Molly Shapiro - Free Book Online Page B

replaced by women who had no interest in Austen, Dickens, or even Updike and instead insisted on books that had the stamp of approval of Oprah, Tyra, Ellen, or some other one-named daytime-television talk-show host who could be trusted not to waste their time. These women upgraded the cheddar and Ritz to fontina and water crackers, and the Diet Coke was replaced with merlot. Then there was a brief self-help phase, with books by everyone from the Dalai Lama to Dr. Phil and refreshments that included raw vegetables and herbal tea.
    The latest phase was the confessional memoir, covering everything from drug addiction to incest to domestic violence. This month’s selection was about a stay-at-home mom who couldn’t stand staying at home with her kids so she arranged play dates in order to get wasted with the other moms. Since Katie was hosting, she decided to serve her special artichoke dip along with her favorite mixed drink—frozen melon balls. But when she brought out a tray of martini glasses filled with the chilled, slushy green mixture, the women looked at her with mild confusion. Katie suddenly realized that her refreshments were probably not appropriate for a discussion about alcoholic mommies, but she set the tray down anyway. After a brief, uncomfortable pause, each woman picked up a glass and started guzzling.
    The drinks were downed in roughly fifteen minutes, prompting Katie to go back into the kitchen to whip up another batch.
    “Hey, those are awesome,” said Maxine as she walked into the kitchen. “Can I get another one?”
    Soon after, Claudia came in with Annie following close behind.
    “Us too,” said Claudia.
    “I knew they’d be a hit,” said Katie.
    “But I’m afraid you might be in here blending the whole time,” said Annie.
    “That’s okay,” said Katie. “I don’t feel like talking about this book anyway.”
    “Me neither,” said Maxine.
    “I didn’t even read it,” said Claudia.
    “Me neither,” said Maxine.
    “I read the blurb on the back and I think I got the gist,” said Annie.
    “You guys!” said Katie. “It’s a book club. You have to read the book!”
    “Nuh-uh,” said Claudia, taking a gulp of her drink and chewing on a stray chunk of ice. “I was prepared with lots of comments about this book even though I never read it. I was gonna say that this woman has no business drinking wine while she plays Candy Land with her kids and someone should call Child Protective Services immediately.”
    “Well, if you read the book you’d know it was a little more complicated than that,” said Katie, pulling a piping hot dish of artichoke dip out of the oven. “She’s actually a sympathetic character.”
    “Whatever,” said Claudia, taking a cracker and sticking it into the dip.
    “Isn’t she a blogger?” asked Maxine.
    “Who isn’t a blogger?” said Annie.
    “I’m not and never will be,” said Claudia as she finished the last of her melon ball and grabbed another, which was sitting on the wooden serving tray that Katie got for a wedding present. “Ican’t stand all that spewing. Get an editor, for God’s sake.” Blogging was a sensitive subject for Claudia, who had begun to see her husband as a mini-blogger wannabe, with his incessant unedited Facebook updates.
    “I was thinking about starting a blog,” said Katie warily. “ ‘Dealing with Divorce’.”
    “Catchy,” said Annie.
    “I know,” said Katie. “But then I realized I would actually have to write the damn thing.”
    “How are you dealing with divorce, anyway?” asked Annie. Annie hadn’t known Katie long but was intrigued by this woman whose life had been turned upside down so abruptly and who seemed to have made the transition so effortlessly.
    “Great!” said Maxine, who never missed the opportunity to point out Katie’s heroic reaction to divorce. “She’s amazing. She’s like the poster child for great divorces. You know, you really should write a blog, or a book. Why don’t