The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

If you had told 20-year-old-me that a book on social gatherings was in my future, I would've raised a skeptical eyebrow; if you'd told me that 55-year-old me would already know and practice much of that advice, I might've laughed nervously while backing away slowly, looking for nearby assistance. How little we know of who we are to become.

This is a lovely book, entirely human-centered. Parker focuses entirely on connection and meaning: she eschews the shallow bullshit of which-paper-stock and what-font engraved invitations, concentrating purely on planning, preparation, communication. Understanding purpose. Paying attention to the reason behind a gathering — whether it be a book club or a meeting between heads of state — and to the needs of the people involved. She lays out ground rules and guidelines for helping you understand the event beforehand, then make it a success. Recommended reading even if you don't often entertain world leaders.

My usual quibble: poor editing. Parker is fond of pronouns; many of her sentences include ambiguous antecedents, forcing the reader to halt and back up. Caveat lector.

P.S. should you decide to time-travel to 1985 to double-check my assertion above, would you mind passing along a stock tip to 20-year-old me? “Buy low; sell high.” would be perfect.