Book Club

A bit more than a year ago I joined a book club. I have always enjoyed reading and writing, but had never been in a book club. In fact, I didn't really know anything about a book club other than that you read books. Duh.

Well, my sister-in-law was in this book club and she said they needed a couple more members if I would like to join. So, I checked it out and I liked all the ladies that were in it. It is an all-women, all-classics club called the Blue Dot Book Club. For the life of me, I can never remember why in the world it is called that, in spite of being told at least twice, perhaps even three times. If I don't feel too stupid to ask again maybe I'll post it later.

At the beginning of the year each member picks a book for the year and we discuss which month the books will be read in. Each month we read a book and discuss it on the last Tuesday night of the month. The person that has picked the book for that month brings a dessert to share. We start out each meeting with any club business or changes for the next month and then we have a short time where we all share our highs and lows from our lives since we last met. The bulk of the remaining time is usually spent discussing the book and then we break for dessert. After we have eaten, the person who has chosen the book for the next time around will read their author's info.

Depending on the book, the discussions can be very thought-provoking. For instance, last month's book, In Cold Blood, brought up a few issues: the death penalty, insanity pleas, the relationship between the author and one of the murderers, and a few others. The Good Earth was another of my favorites. It is about a fictional Chinese man's life story written by a woman whose parents were missionaries in China. The cultural differences were astounding, as were the things they held as valuable. That book yielded a good discussion as well, as did a book we read about the life of Vincent Van Gogh (though I don't remember at the moment what it is called).

I'm glad I'm in it, for the simple fact that I get some guaranteed adult discussion once in a while. Not to mention I end up reading a lot of books that I might not have read if I wasn't in it. But sometimes I just go for the chocolate. I mean, who can blame me for that?