It all started in 2005 with "The Time Traveler's Wife." That was my pick, and we hosted the group at our house, adding leaves to the old oak table in the spacious dining room of our 1870s Victorian house.

Had I known this would grow into a decade-long (and still going) culinary and literary feast, I would have begun logging the menus and contributions immediately. But I didn't. Nonetheless, by June 2006, it had become clear that delicious food was an integral part of our group's gatherings. By then we had read "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell; and "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" by Jeannette Winterston
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If you've read, or heard about these books, you will realize immediately what an eclectic group this is. Our first selection featured the fantastical story of a naked man traveling back and forth in time; the third one was a coming-of-age story of a young girl raised by a religious zealot, discovering her own truths, among which was her love for another woman. "Blink," by sometime pundit and New Yorker staff writer Gladwell, presents a psychological theory about first impressions. All generated lively discussion, including objections to the way Henry, the time-traveling librarian, somehow loses all his clothes when he is spirited from one decade to another; horror at the abuse young Jeannette suffers, admiration for her courage; and discussion of the tensions between faith and tolerance the novel addresses.

If "Blink" is right, you've long since decided whether this blog is for you; I hope it is. In my next post, I'll introduce the members of our group, and some of the food that has fed us.