Welcome back Buzz Book Club readers! How are you enjoying Sloane Crosely's I Was Told There'd Be Cake so far? I find her voice to be highly relatable, and I'm definitely guilty of snorting with laughter while reading her book in public. She's already given us a lot to talk about in this first section, that's for sure.

Here's a recap of how the Book Club goes if you're new: Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in July). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few questions to prompt discussion in the comments section.

Of course, you are always welcome to read beyond the weekly chapters, but please don't spoil anything in the comments! After the jump you'll find some questions that struck me as I read this section.

The next assignment: Read the stories "The Good People of This Dimension," "Bastard out of Westchester," "The Beauty of Strangers," "F**k You, Columbus," and "One-Night Bounce." We'll chat about this second section next Friday, July 11.

To discuss the first section of I Was Told There'd Be Cake in which we read the first four stories in the book ("The Pony Problem," "Christmas in July," "The Ursula Cookie," and "Bring-Your-Machete-to-Work Day.") read more!

  1. For readers of a certain age, Crosley's stories are undoubtedly relatable. I had several moments where I actually cried out "I did that!" One of mine was in "Bring-Your-Machete-to-Work Day," when Crosley admitted to putting people she disliked on her Oregon Trail wagon and then overloading it on purpose so they'd struggle (I know, for shame). What were some of yours?
  2. On a similar note, I found Crosley's experience with her first boss to be funny, sad — and familiar. Was your experience in your first job after college anything like hers?
  3. And again on the topic of relating to the material: Do you think her work is funnier because you can relate (or if you can't relate, do you not find her writing very funny/enjoyable)? David Sedaris does memoir/humor writing well in that many of his experiences are worlds away from my own, but I still find myself howling with laughter. I wonder if this is the same thing for readers who don't relate to Crosley's experiences.
  4. Some of Crosley's stories ("Christmas in July") are sprawling, taking on lots of different topics — fire, religion, neighborhood playdates, lice. Others ("The Ursula Cookie") have a tighter focus on a single person or experience. Do you have a preference so far?
  5. I liked the line in "The Pony Problem" where Crosley admitted that her pony obsession was a manufactured quirk: "What am I asking when I ask for a pony but to be taken for more unique than I probably am?" As a reader, it made me wonder what other things Crosley must have done to construct a persona that gets her into all the wacky situations she writes about. At a time when James Frey and even David Sedaris have been taken to task for making things up in their memoirs, how honest do you expect Crosley to be?
  6. Just for fun: What's your equivalent of Crosley's pony collection, the thing you'd be embarrassed to have someone discover in your apartment? Mine would probably be a framed picture of me with my face Photoshopped near Harrison Ford's shoulder so it looks like we’re gazing out at the sunset together.
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