BOOK CLUBS
Thinking of Joining a Book Club?
Time to learn the rules
Before attending a new book club, it is good to know what kind of event you are interested in. For me, book club is code. Code for girl's night out but with books.
The reason I mention this is because I did not ask the right questions before I attended my first book club meeting. The host was not strumming the same tune. And because I don’t want this to happen to you, I will tell you my tale. See if you can spot my mistakes.
I breastfed my daughter until the milk was squirting out her eye sockets.
That should hold her!
I put on makeup and heels for the first time in eighteen months.
I snagged a bottle of wine from the fridge, got in the car, and remembered to get the book. Where had I left it? What was it called? It didn’t matter, I was headed to “book club” and figured someone would have the book there to remind me.
I arrived at “book club” fashionably late. As I removed my heels, I handed the host the wine with my apologies for being tardy.
Then I surveyed the room.
GASP!
If you suffer from bouts of anxiety you might want to skip the next three paragraphs. Trigger warning!
I noticed that everyone was sitting quietly. There was no chatting because they were all waiting for me.
Bizarre.
They sat in a neat circle in one of those living rooms that had the plastic on the furniture moments before we arrived and everyone was (pause for effect), drinking tea!
I swear to God! In a mug. Not Long-Island-Iced, TEA.
The host asked if I would like tea.
I said, “No thanks. I would like some of that wine you’re holding.”
Having my wine in a tea mug I realized I was being punked. It was the only explanation.
But then they discussed the book while enjoying the non-Long-Island tea. They worked from notes and they had researched author responses to tough life metaphors I’d missed.
I had read the book but had no relationship with it. I barely remembered it by the meeting date. I was getting only a couple of hours of sleep a night. I had to make notes to wear clothes to come to the meeting, not notes on character development. Seriously?
Thank God I had the wine.
Looking back, I like to think that some of the other “book clubbers” were secretly jealous of my escape from the tea. I would have asked for seconds but damn breastfeeding, I stopped at one.
This was definitely a three drink minimum ‘party’.
Would it be wrong to lick my mug?
I kindly told the tea toddling group that “I was finding the pressure of reading a book in six weeks and keeping up with Dora The Explorer to be in conflict.”
Years later, I started my own club with a few friends. We met in a pub, talked briefly about why we liked or didn’t like the book, and sometimes got into a debate about how the book ended. Mostly though, we spent the night being friends without thinking about it. Win-win.
I’m currently reading the following:
- A Slow Fire Burning, Paula Hawkins (audio)
- The Sanitorium, Sarah Pearse (library)
- A Carnival of Snackery, David Sedaris (hardcover)
- A Long Petal of the Sea, Isabel Allende (ebook)
If you care to join me on a short discussion on any of these, I’m pouring. Or, you can see what I have read on Goodreads.
Maybe we’ll need another glass.
Want more of me? I don’t blame you. Join with this link and we both win. Writers get paid when you read and you get unlimited access to everyone!
