A Bit On Book Clubs

I’ve belonged to more than one.  The first one I joined is now over 50 years old and still going strong.  Alas, that one was in a former life.  I’ve joined more than one down here in the South during the last 20 years.  I’ve also resigned from more than one during the last 20 years.

Now, I’m in what I would call a “very loosely structured” book club.  Yes, we choose a book.   And yes, we, at least for the most part, read the book. We then, at some point during our gathering, get around to discussing the book. We stay quite loose about the whole thing.

We are slowly discovering what we enjoy and are finding that what we enjoy is a respite from all the “stuff” we otherwise read, hear, and live in the every day.  Which is to say, we enjoy books that make us smile, reminisce, and laugh. 

Books hailed as “pithy, challenging and instructive” don’t make the list. Books over 300 pages also get the boot. Plagues, famine, strife and wars do not tickle our fancies. And with that proviso, we understand that we may be taking the name “book club” in vain.  And we offer our apologies for that.  But we are who we are. 

At some point in the next month or so, we’ll meet to discuss “The Maid.”  It’s now number five on the NYT bestseller list is and not, in the truest of terms, a good “book club” book. I’ve already read it and found it to be funny, sweet, readable and relatable.  Why, on earth, would we not want to read it as a group? We couldn’t think of a single reason at all.  A good time is assured.  In our little book club, it just doesn’t get any better than that.

Ladies book club sketch courtesy of pixy.org