On Clubbin’… Book Clubbin’

One of the things I’ve been missing most about childhood is play-dates. Oh, to be young again and have someone planning out your days for you, making sure you get to all your appointments, eat all your meals, and hang out with your friends. Now that we all have jobs and girlfriends or boyfriends or non-binary friends and pets and sometimes even KIDS, it can be super hard to keep up with everyone in your life. That’s why sports leagues were so important to me pre-pandemic and golf was so important to me during the pandemic: they were opportunities to carve out a few hours a week to hang out with my friends, to put work and life behind you, and just play. Well, now, I have another activity to add to this growing pile of ways to hang out: Book Club!

I know, I know…a club where we read and discuss books is an incredibly novel idea (get it?) and no one has ever thought of this before and we’re innovators. But seriously, it’s great! I’ve been a voracious reader ever since catching mono in high school and tearing through all seven books of Steven King’s “Dark Tower” series in a month, but as an adult it can be hard to find the time or motivation to read. After a long day of work, (especially if you’re anything like me and you have to read [often horrible scripts] for work) the idea of picking up a book, really paying attention, and churning through a few chapters can be daunting…even if you love the book. Sometimes after work all you want to do is turn the tv on, scroll through Twitter or Instagram or TikTok and not pay attention to a single thing that passes before your eyes.

When you’re in a book club however, there are people who are excited to talk about the book you’re reading and if you don’t read it, then guess what: you’re not going to be able to talk about that incredible twist (and sometimes the twist is that nobody read the book, but that’s an essay for another day). The communal aspect of reading something really fun and interesting, and knowing you’ll be able to talk about all your feelings about that one character or that one scene is so rewarding.

Another wonderful aspect of book club for us, and I’m sure many others, is that we trade off hosting and when we host, we make dinner for our little book club. It’s a great opportunity to try a new recipe…and then order a pizza when I burn it beyond recognition… but again, it’s all about the communal aspect.

We’re currently on our third book, Olga Tokarczuk’s “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead”, after reading William Gibson’s “Neuromancer” and Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot”, and I’m looking forward to many more pulpy delicious books in the future.

So, what about you? Are you in a book club, do you love it or hate it? Any future book recommendations for our little book club?