We're certainly willing to believe book clubs — like any club, particularly one designed to illustrate aesthetics - can be fraught.

One member may push for John Updike, while everyone else is set on John Grisham. One person wants to have a glass of wine and talk about the book, while everyone else wants to get drunk and talk about their spouses. “There are all these power struggles about what book gets chosen,” Ms. Burg said. Then come the complaints: “It’s too long, it’s too short, it’s not literary enough, it’s too literary ... ”

An upswing in the number of book groups has apparently necessitated the need for something called a "professional book-group facilitator" who charges $250 to $300 per member for her mediating services. People quoted in the piece complain about narcissists who hog the floor, competitive refreshments, bans on political talk, oversharers and domineering "ayatollahs."

Sure, this is why some of us don't join book groups - my mom, for instance, finds them unbearable. But, and this is what the Times piece doesn't address, it's exactly why some of us do! Most people can read on their own and even put together some kind of high-minded booklist. But the point of a social gathering, as much as sharing opinions and stimulating thought, is the thrill of other personalities, with their idiosyncrasies, their occasional pomposity, their quirks. Petty? Maybe — but there is a place for this. As in a good college class, a discussion is often enlivened by the presence of someone smart but insufferable or another who goes on bizarre tangents. Isn't this, after all, what human contact is — and part of the point of taking a chance on a group of strangers? In a sense, the article's taking on several different issues — social friction and intellectual dissonance — and pretending they're the same. Yes, it would be irritating to find a club was out of synch with one's interests...but can't you determine that beforehand rather than joining a group only to sneer at the other members? Whereas personality conflict is inevitable, this other sort of disappointment seems fairly avoidable — certainly the nastiness is. The bibliophile profiled at the beginning of the article may have left her group in a dissatisfied huff, but I'm willing to bet the rest of the circle heaved a hearty sigh of relief. And I'd kind of like to have heard their side.

Fought Over Any Good Books Lately? [New York Times]

• Literary sensations Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen premiere their first book, Influence. '"Ashley and Mary-Kate take readers on a journey through their celebrated young lives, pausing to reflect on what has helped shape them into who they are today," the book's publisher said in a statement. "They interviewed 20 people and wrote brief essays about each other." Those interviewed include fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenburg, John Galliano and Christian Louboutin. "We interviewed the people who have inspired us, with the hope that they will inspire and teach others," Mary-Kate said. "We want to explain culturally how ideas evolve."' [People]
• The first "Cavalli Club" will open in Dubai this Fall. Says Roberto, '“living against monotony, with the enjoyment of music, of good food, of pleasant company” is the club’s philosophy. In his goal to offer “multiple culinary and sensorial experiences,” Cavalli plans an Italian restaurant flanked by a sushi bar and a wine bar on the top floor.' We can only assume this will be convenient to Lagerfeld's "Fashion Island." [WWD]
• A new investor allows Sadie Frost's company to live another day. Said a rep of the Jude Law ex and her design partner Jemima French, "Sadie and Jemima relish the opportunity to be fully hands-on again and being able to return to the creative and business helm of a fashion label. Both designers are currently working on their next collection" [Independent]

• The new Calvin Klein "Secret Obsession" campaign, starring Eva Mendes, was deemed too provocative for U.S. air waves - so it's to preview on the 'net. "TV networks will simply not allow Steven Meisel's commercial to be aired - it's too raunchy and risque, featuring Eva enjoying a private, intimate moment, set to a seductive sound track, wearing very little." [ElleUK]
• Lipstick Queen Poppy King should stick to cosmetics: "To be in fashion right now means to understand the difference between feminine and female and to get the balance right: too feminine and we are back in the submission of the '50s, too confrontational and it becomes '80s power woman. But in between these two is that wonderful space that it just 100 percent female—neither overly hostile nor apologetic. Perhaps if Hillary Clinton had got this sense of female right it may have turned out differently for her." [JC Report]
• Ashton Kutcher to return as face of Pepe Jeans London. [VogueUK]
• Cartier apparently thinks it's 2005, teams up with MySpace. [Guardian]
• Denim line Rock & Republic launches makeup line for unclear reasons. [Cosmetics News]
• Hockey player and novelty Vogue intern Sean Avery now dating Calvin Klein's ex-wife, Kelly. Well, they said Wintour was crushing on him, too...[Page Six]
• Modeling agency sues other modeling agency for model poaching. [UPI]
• Jewelry designers haggle over intellectual property. [Fashionista]
• Good old J. Crew weathers economic storm through "honesty and communication." [AdAge]
• Vidal Sassoon on his "rags to riches" story of hairstyling to the stars. [KQED]
• LVMH, Sony settle over musicians playing fast and loose with their trademarks. Kanye West, "Louis Vuitton Don," we're looking at you. [WWD]
• "Supergirl" line a fashion dream team: "Warner Bros. is moving full-steam ahead with a long-term, global Supergirl branded contemporary sportswear line, ready for resort selling. The line is designed by the trio of Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Alice Roi and Laura Poretzky." [WWD]
• Weak global economy means less direct sourcing from India. [Business Week]
• Despite Blane's desperate attempts to force a catch-phrase, "boring contestants" and an earlier time slot have Project Runway off to a slow start, ratings-wise. [Portfolio]
• Canadian con man convicted of selling fake Gucci stock options. [WWD]

• A 12-year-old girl who was lost in the Blue Mountains while hiking with her family stayed warm with a flag she found in a vacant cabin. • Female artists in China find it hard to succeed in the male-dominated art world but they have "some of the most innovative work around." • New bills have been introduced to the House and Senate to help combat domestic violence against Native American women. • A nightclub that banned fat women (in their words, "morbidly obese") because they wanted to "protect" their failing business overturned the ban when they realized not letting people into your business is really bad for business. • Meanwhile Fabulous magazine finds that most men are content (link mildly NSFW) with their size 12 significant others (although most women still want to lose weight). • Why are people quick to call a man gay for experimenting with another man while maintaining their hetero status but shrug of straight women's lesbian kisses? • A graphic novel by Katherine Arnoldi called The Amazing True Story of A Teenage Single Mom supports rather than mocks teenage mothers. • With Barbie failing Mattel releases "My Meebas" a plush toy...in a tube...with a LCD screen, or something? You know you are getting old when new toys confuse you.