Friday, January 09, 2004
Book clubbin'
Tonight we will have our first book club meeting of 2004. It looks like it'll be good one, with everyone there.
This year, I believe, our book club will celebrate its 6th anniversary in April. If you had told me seven years ago that I would start up a book club and organize it for six years running, I would have thought you were crazy. I've never been a joiner, let alone a starter of things. But this was something I wanted to try, at a time in my life where I felt confident of success and was enjoying lots of new things (including my first child).
In fact, the other day I was thinking about this, and I had to laugh -- My husband organizes a hockey "league" (just 2 teams of very casual players) and I organize my book club, and neither of us is really what you'd expect, I think. For one thing, we're not terribly organized!
The book club has changed somewhat over the years; members have come and gone and a core group of 6 remains from what started as 10. We no longer drink wine, much to my chagrin; and food doesn't seem to play as much of a role in our meetings as it used to.
Unlike many other such clubs, we do really talk about the book, after an initial half hour or so of pure socialising. I admire the intelligence and wisdom of the women in this group, and I like the way everyone listens and considers the ideas of others. It's a very open-minded group, and we seem to have achieved a kind of harmony with one another. It's always a good experience going to the meetings. I always learn something new, and even when I don't like the book so much, I learn to appreciate why others might like it.
Even if I didn't get any intellectual stimulation from it, I would still be in the book club. It's a great way to get together regularly with five women I consider friends.
Tonight we will have our first book club meeting of 2004. It looks like it'll be good one, with everyone there.
This year, I believe, our book club will celebrate its 6th anniversary in April. If you had told me seven years ago that I would start up a book club and organize it for six years running, I would have thought you were crazy. I've never been a joiner, let alone a starter of things. But this was something I wanted to try, at a time in my life where I felt confident of success and was enjoying lots of new things (including my first child).
In fact, the other day I was thinking about this, and I had to laugh -- My husband organizes a hockey "league" (just 2 teams of very casual players) and I organize my book club, and neither of us is really what you'd expect, I think. For one thing, we're not terribly organized!
The book club has changed somewhat over the years; members have come and gone and a core group of 6 remains from what started as 10. We no longer drink wine, much to my chagrin; and food doesn't seem to play as much of a role in our meetings as it used to.
Unlike many other such clubs, we do really talk about the book, after an initial half hour or so of pure socialising. I admire the intelligence and wisdom of the women in this group, and I like the way everyone listens and considers the ideas of others. It's a very open-minded group, and we seem to have achieved a kind of harmony with one another. It's always a good experience going to the meetings. I always learn something new, and even when I don't like the book so much, I learn to appreciate why others might like it.
Even if I didn't get any intellectual stimulation from it, I would still be in the book club. It's a great way to get together regularly with five women I consider friends.
# posted by becca : 11:31 AM
