Top row, left to right: Jeanne, Nan, Staci, and Judy. Bottom row, left to right: Karen, Jennafer, Mary Ann, and Yours Truly. Missing from photo: Marilyn
...for seven years now, I've hosted a Classics Book Club in my home.
We read classic books from all eras, cultures, and authors. We gather, we discuss (much more than just books), we eat delicious desserts, we drink good wine (well, some of us do), and we laugh.
In December, we share a potluck meal together, we do a blind book exchange, and we discuss the books we'd like to read the following year. We don't read a book for December, but tackle an epic between the November discussion and our January meeting. Right now we're reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie which we'll discuss on the 21st of this month.
Each year we choose a new list of books. I'm super excited about this year's list:
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskill
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Gabriel's Gift by Hanif Kureishi
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
March by Geraldine Brooks
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, first third
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, second third
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, last third
There are many things that I love about this book club, not the least of which is the great group of women who attend faithfully month after month. They are some of my dearest friends. But this book club gets me reading, keeps me connected to beautiful writing, inspires me through all that there is to learn through literature, and allows me to share it with people who care about good books as much as I do.
If you've ever considered joining a book club, or starting one, I highly recommend it. It's easy to put off reading as we try to keep up with work, our kids, the house, the pets, the yard, and with all the entertainment choices offered on TV and the Internet.
But for me, reading a good book is like drinking an elixir that sends me to another place in space and time, and yet it grounds me in a deeper part of myself that is crucial to my well-being. To discuss it with trusted friends helps me see the story from other perspectives besides my own which usually elevates it beyond my own experience--which is exactly where the magic happens.
Besides, maybe all we really need is a deadline. If you've got to have it read by a certain date and everyone is meeting at your house so it's impossible for you to bail--well now, that's some serious motivation.
For a look at the list of books we've read in the last seven years, click here.
Happy reading--and happy book clubbing, as the case may be!
Sustainability note: I already have North and South as well as Animal, Vegetable, Miracle so you can borrow those to "reuse" if you want, Mom.
Posted by: Nicole | January 02, 2009 at 05:03 PM