I have to say that I am so enjoying the local book club a couple of friends and I started this past January. Just two nights ago, our group gathered for another meeting to review our latest selection. And such a lively, thought-provoking discussion it was.  We were happy as well to welcome a new member to our fold.  Delighted to have you aboard, Kathy!

To become a member of our little group, the only real requirements are a pure love of reading and a willingness to share your opinions. But that is where most of our similarities end. What a diverse group of individuals we are! From a teacher, to a couple of retired nurses; from a minister’s wife, to a self-proclaimed atheist; a homemaker/blogger (yours truly), a designer, and even some artists, we are a varied lot. Some are originally from the area, but most of us aren’t.
Naturally, people being what they are, we often begin with the book in question, but soon veer off on tangents, taking the discussion to unexpected areas where voicing your two cents worth is welcome on any number of topics. When we have come together, we have shared thoughts and positions on racism, the medical profession, capital punishment, mental illness, greed, and crime, just to name a few.

Our provincial library has been a god-send in facilitating our passion:  it has made available a long list of “book club kits” that we borrow from each month. All titles are either award-winning, well-reviewed, or both, and provide much variety of topics and tastes. Seldom does everyone love the book currently being discussed, but that often generates the most dynamic debates!

Here is what we have read and reviewed so far:

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham

Coming up on our foreseeable agenda is:
Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant (a fellow Newfoundlander)
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Of course, a happy by-product of Book Club is making new and interesting friends, and in my opinion, friends so interesting that  they are usually reading other books, sometimes more than one at a time, in between our club picks.

Book worms, unite!  Happy reading, everyone!

Related articles

• How to Start a Book Club (thiscircleofquiet.wordpress.com)
• Happiness Is…a Good Book. So, a New Feature! A Book Club! (psychologytoday.com)