Real Friends: Anthony & Randy
Brandon’s Note: In this series, I’m highlighting the aspect of community some members experience after the Club’s conversation. I bring two members together, ask a couple questions and the rest is some of what you read below. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and some cursing.
Brandon:
Who were Randy and Anthony in Spring 2016?
Anthony:
In 2016, I had been married for two years in a 13 year relationship. I was missing the mental development that challenged me in college. I was loving the city and the fullness of experience/cultures/ food one can take advantage of. Book Club was another thing to add to those experiences.
I went to support my friend's idea and his goal. The thought of Book Club intrigued me and my wife. The thought of good conversation and meeting new people in the city, a date night that we would leave continuing the conversation or debate, we decided to give it a try. We made the decision to not talk about the book until and after the book clubs.
Randy:
In 2016, I was in a MFA program, wide-eyed about living in New York, and really coming into my own as an individual. Now this is all at about 29-30 years old. I was reading books at a clip I’d never read before. And the Book Club seemed like this great place to meet new people who loved to read. And I wanted that community.
Brandon:
What were your initial thoughts of each other when you met at Book Club?
Anthony:
I mean, a cool dude that comes into Book Club and is not just talking about the actual material. Yeah, just first instinct, cool guy. We would talk a little bit with Yahdon afterwards and it was just like a cool vibe. That's it.
Randy:
Oh, I know what my first impression of you was. I was like, oh, he's cool. He's quiet. Because I'm quiet normally, so when I'm in a setting with other people, I try to latch on to people who are also quiet or like chill. Even when Anthony would comment on things, or If he says something smart to Yahdon, I knew it was all in fun. And I was like, oh, that's a cool dude.
Brandon:
Do you two remember the first time you two hung out outside of Book Club?
Anthony:
We hung out as one big group several times before, but we really connected... I think it was when we started group watching, what was the show? Little Fires Everywhere. I mean, we were talking obviously before that, but getting each other's jokes and just laughing at each other's shit. It's like ha, this guy's hysterical. You know when you get someone that gets your dark sense of humor and is okay with it? It's like, ah, nice, nice.
Randy:
And that is one thing that we connected on that we didn't know about each other. I didn't know, Ant was big into comics, like superheroes before last year. We didn't find that out until the pandemic started. I don't know when, but it was definitely about Marvel stuff because no one talks about DC.
We also bonded over Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is where we really sharpened our tools as friends and just like talking about fantasy shit. Listen to me when I say, G.O.T. was on path to be one of the greatest TV shows in TV show history. And they ruined it. Season eight. They just threw it in the toilet. I'm sorry, Anthony has heard me talking about this many times.
Brandon:
How has your friendship helped you survive everything that happened in 2020?
Randy:
Because of course we talk about a lot of things, books and all that. I think it's safe to say that a part of being friends with somebody is you admire aspects of their life. So to me, Anthony represents somebody who's got their shit together. I ain't saying he's perfect, but he got his shit together. So, I know he’s a person I can ask about anything. Like recently, Anthony put me on game to his skin care products, and now, I use that. But it's like little stuff like that, man. Being able to connect through those other ways too, helps. We try to better each other.
Anthony:
With Randy, it’s me being able to feel comfortable talking openly and honestly about stuff like that. I'm either questioning or just want to have a laugh sometimes. Like, I don't have any brothers. So relationships with friends like Randy are the closest things I've had to it. Giving me your real opinion on what things I could be doing better, definitely helped me through this pandemic.
And also laugh. Randy and I make each other laugh because we have that stupid sense of humor. And we'll make it into a real conversation about life sometimes.
Randy:
Life is stressful enough. Let's get back to some silly real quick.
Brandon:
Any memories that you had together that standout to you?
Anthony:
I put Randy on to Lululemon pants which obviously, you don't understand until you try them. These pants are like wearing basketball shorts.
Randy:
I wear them everywhere. This goes back to book club because that damn Anthony walked in one day and I was like, "yo, those are nice pants.” And he was like, “yeah, these by Lululemon.” And I'm looking at them. I was like, “you wear those to work?” He was like, “yeah, I just came from work.” This was like two, three years ago. He was like, “Man, this is all I wear now.”
Anthony:
All I wear.
Randy:
Fast forward to the pandemic. I've been saving my pennies and investing and all that, and I got some money. I'm about to go get me three pairs. They’re expensive, but I don't care if they aren't on sale. I bought three pairs. Got to take one back to get the sensor taken off. So I was like, Ant, meet me in Park Slope. I'm going to Lululemon, if you free. So we met at Lululemon. And Anthony, I'll let you take it from there.
Anthony:
So we met at Lululemon. And then we just walked to Prospect Park (Brooklyn, NY). And they were playing live music upfront. We just stood there and listened and talked while the music was playing. It was really nice. It was just a beautiful day and just chilling. Because we live on opposite sides of the park, so it was like we had to go through.
Brandon:
Individual favorite books from Book Club?
Randy:
Oh, okay. Let's start with a favorite book from Book Club. So I'll go first. I'm going to say A Lucky Man. That mainly has to do with the conversation that came out of A Lucky Man. That was a fun night. You don't often see a room full of vulnerable brothers and sisters just talking. The conversation was great. And that book was phenomenal. It really was phenomenal.
Anthony:
I would also agree, like A Lucky Man is a good pick. I loved Mira Jacob's book, Good Talk also because of the conversation in the room. I feel like every book that I love has more weight on it because of the conversation. Like even Scaachi (Koul)'s book, which I don't even remember the name of (One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter), but I remember the conversation.
The conversations have a lot to do with why they're my favorite book or good books to me of the book club. Like, the YA book, Boy In The Black Suit. I enjoyed that conversation a lot more than I enjoyed the book, but I always remember it because of the conversation. Like when I look at the book on my bookshelf, I remember the conversation rather than the book.
Randy:
And that's something that I'm glad you pointed out. There are quite a few books from Book Club when I look at them on the bookshelf or in my pile, I'm like, that conversation was dope. It's like, yeah, the book is great, or the book is okay, but the conversation, you remember all those things.
Anthony:
Actually, I got two more. One, would be Warmth of Other Suns and Homegoing.
Those two I read before Book Club read them both with my grandfather. He sends me books and we basically have the same kind of conversation Book Club does. But when I was younger, he used to send me books and I would have to write at least a 10 page report for him over the summer. So obviously that's transitioned to conversation because I ain't writing no papers.
I love learning more history and I loved Homegoing more than anything else. Homegoing sticks out because it's to me, the brief history you get of let's say your aunt and uncles that you just meet for what, once or twice a year for family stuff. Big family stuff that you only get a brief snippet of their lives. And then you'd have to let go of it even if you wanted to hear more or learn more. So I like Homegoing. Because I love those stories, but most of them I would say I wanted more of, but that's not how life is. You don't get the whole picture of everything.
Brandon:
Favorite book club moments?
Randy:
I'll say Olio when Tyehimba (Jess) came up and broke down Olio for us.
Anthony:
I would say after Dapper Dan’s meeting. So right after Dapper Dan, Yahdon was hyped because he just did that. And everybody was dressed to the nines so we were just taking pictures. It was just a fun night after that. A lot of people had already left and whoever was there were pretty much the regulars. I think there's a picture of me with Naana’s cape. It was just a good moment, we were just laughing. Everybody's just joking around. It was just the regulars, just being, having fun with each other and just enjoying the moment of that. It was just a really cool end to the club’s (4 year) anniversary.
Brandon:
What made Literaryswag Book Club stand out to you as an experience that makes you keep coming back?
Randy:
It’s just that community where you just don't know where Book Club is going to take you. You just don't know. You show up. You hope for good conversation. You know you're going to see your people there and all that comradery and just fellowship. In a way, when I moved to New York, I was like I want to be able to build community and that's a part of it. That's dope.
Anthony:
It was definitely the conversations that made me keep coming back. Being able to talk to people honestly about books I would have never read without pretty much this direction. Being able to have a conversation about topics that I'm not secure about honestly, openly and being truthful. Even being called out on my shit or learning something new outside of the book, just about other people's interpretations about it. Because their lifestyles, the way they grew up that I don't know or don't understand. And being brought in and I guess...I love it.
