Last night I finally got to leave my house. I actually went out… out without my husband… out without my kids. I went to dinner with the ladies of the club. My book club.
About 7 years ago I made the decision that I wanted to be part of a book club. I had two kids and loved to read and Oprah had made the decision to start up her book club again after not doing it for a while. Her website had lists of book clubs all over the country that you could join and I looked up my city to find one that was close to me. There weren’t any listed. I was disappointed… until I realized that if I couldn’t find one, maybe I should be starting one.
I placed a notice on Oprah’s website for a book club in my town and then I waited to see if anybody else would be interested in joining. They were.
I got so many responses I could barely keep them all straight. I scheduled our first meeting in my house and had about 10 people attend. It was fabulous. We chose a book to read and scheduled our next meeting for the following month… at someone else’s house. And so it went for several years… a book a month and a different home each time.
After a few years, it became harder to hold the meetings at our homes. Someone made the suggestion of meeting in the reading room at Barnes & Noble and we did that for a while. Meanwhile, I had my third child and while that kept me pretty busy (and crazed), we still continued to meet.
The names and faces have changed over the years. We went from having about 10 members to our current 6 (5 of which are local gals) and our meeting place changed from the bookstore to having dinner out at a different restaurant each month. We can’t always make it… but we are still going.
Last night I met up with 4 other members at a new restaurant in town. We’re all different, these book women. I have small kids. Another has one teenager. Another has one older child. Another has three kids. Another has three adult children and a grandchild. We are women who would probably never had been friends under other circumstances, but we’ve bonded over our love of reading and books.
We talk about books, about our lives, about our children. We share our lives, our professions, our dreams. Some of us ask for advice. Some of us offer it.
These are women of different backgrounds and ages. We have different experiences to bring to the table. We drank wine and talked and shared and laughed. I love these women. These book women. They are different from me, yet they ARE me. They are different versions of me. I learned a lot from these women… I hope they might learn something from me.
If I can recommend one thing… join a book club. Read something you’ve never thought you’d read. Go to places you’d never think you’d go to. Meet friends you never thought you’d meet.
I'm inspired!
Joining a book club is now on my list of "things I will do to enhance my life".
Thanks, Carolyn!
I wish I could join a book club but it is so hard at this moment to do all the things that I want to do…not enough time in a day. It is fun though since I am sure each member chooses a totally different book, or do you stick with Oprah's picks?
We actually only read Oprah's picks if we all really think we'll like them. To be honest, I haven't liked a whole lot of her picks.
I have a bad habit of not reading what I'm told to read. I read like crazy through high school…except for the ones I had to read for class. My mom, however, loved her book club. It was a great way for her to get out because she too often finds other things to do (chores).
By the way…you should join our #fridayreads group with Twitter. @thebookmaven runs it. You just tweet whatever book you are currently reading. Benefits = finding other great suggestions for books & being entered in drawings for free books or gift cards!
I really need to join a book club asap! I love reading and I love friends-perfect combo!