We started a book club...
A few months ago my brother-in-laws girlfriend, now fiance, mentioned to me that she was interested in starting a book club. We will call her Em for short. I jumped at the idea because for years I have wondered how to start and maintain an actual book club. It seemed to me that it would impossible to find more than one person who would be willing to regularly partake in book club. I find that people may say they enjoy reading as a hobby, but rarely do they actually do it with regularity.
She also sought out a few other people, but soon it was clear that our circle was small. It took some time, but we finally got four of us together. There were a few others who were "interested", but it was quickly clear that it was more of just a general curiosity than actual commitment.
And with June fast approaching, our first book club meeting began. After our first meeting, one of our members was clearly going to be too busy to actually read and join regularly. The first book was selected and we set out to read. Outlander was a great first choice because it ended up testing our commitment to reading. Over six hundred pages is NO joke. By the end of the month, we were just three who read. It was clear that we needed more dedicated people to join and commit. I thought about other people in my life/friend circle, and soon we replaced that person with two new members.
July came quick. At our 'meeting' we chatted about our first book, the three of us, and our two new members listened on with interest. We quickly became friends and chatted about things going on in each of our personal lives. We talked about our relationships, work, school, and other ups/downs. It turns out that girls really do need each other and need time to talk about more than just books.
The rules are simple. Each month we take a turn hosting (snacks and a list of book choices to pick from is what the host provides). Next we pick a day and time to meet up. Soon everyone quickly understood how things would function and we were good to go. Em had gone first, so now it was my turn to present the potential reads. We went through my list, picked our next read, and soon we were all off reading the July book, Two Can Keep a Secret.
August rolled around and now we seem to have developed somewhat of an actual friendship between all of us, extending beyond our mutual enjoyment of books. It seems like we are all looking forward to spending time with each other. Em now being engaged has a whole new topic for us to share interest in as she begins to wedding plan. New jobs, relationships, work, school, weddings, family life... They are all topics on the table and in the backdrop we have our books and discussions about characters, films, shows etc.
It has been something so enjoyable, and again I didn't realize how refreshing it is to have these kinds of female relationships and time to talk and share. Good conversation can be hard to come by and finding it right in my living room with four other awesome women is just what I needed.
I am finding it that these women seem to feel the same. It is clear that there might be some girls in your life too that could benefit from good conversation. Don't be afraid to reach out and offer something where you set up a regular day/time. It doesn't even have to be a book club, although I love it that ours is one.
In today's culture, it is clear that we live in a swarm of jokes about isolation, preferring cancelled plans, enjoying being alone with our TVs. We preach that interaction is tiresome and overrated. I call bullshit though. What we really long for is friendship, conversation, and the ability to share. There is an intense feeling you get of pure satisfaction after having a real conversation with people where you share and listen to their problems, free from judgement. You feel heard and like there is an outlet when something else comes up. In our modern day, I think we should all make more of an effort to create things like book club or whatever else you'd like to do or call it.
She also sought out a few other people, but soon it was clear that our circle was small. It took some time, but we finally got four of us together. There were a few others who were "interested", but it was quickly clear that it was more of just a general curiosity than actual commitment.
And with June fast approaching, our first book club meeting began. After our first meeting, one of our members was clearly going to be too busy to actually read and join regularly. The first book was selected and we set out to read. Outlander was a great first choice because it ended up testing our commitment to reading. Over six hundred pages is NO joke. By the end of the month, we were just three who read. It was clear that we needed more dedicated people to join and commit. I thought about other people in my life/friend circle, and soon we replaced that person with two new members.
July came quick. At our 'meeting' we chatted about our first book, the three of us, and our two new members listened on with interest. We quickly became friends and chatted about things going on in each of our personal lives. We talked about our relationships, work, school, and other ups/downs. It turns out that girls really do need each other and need time to talk about more than just books.
The rules are simple. Each month we take a turn hosting (snacks and a list of book choices to pick from is what the host provides). Next we pick a day and time to meet up. Soon everyone quickly understood how things would function and we were good to go. Em had gone first, so now it was my turn to present the potential reads. We went through my list, picked our next read, and soon we were all off reading the July book, Two Can Keep a Secret.
August rolled around and now we seem to have developed somewhat of an actual friendship between all of us, extending beyond our mutual enjoyment of books. It seems like we are all looking forward to spending time with each other. Em now being engaged has a whole new topic for us to share interest in as she begins to wedding plan. New jobs, relationships, work, school, weddings, family life... They are all topics on the table and in the backdrop we have our books and discussions about characters, films, shows etc.
It has been something so enjoyable, and again I didn't realize how refreshing it is to have these kinds of female relationships and time to talk and share. Good conversation can be hard to come by and finding it right in my living room with four other awesome women is just what I needed.
I am finding it that these women seem to feel the same. It is clear that there might be some girls in your life too that could benefit from good conversation. Don't be afraid to reach out and offer something where you set up a regular day/time. It doesn't even have to be a book club, although I love it that ours is one.
In today's culture, it is clear that we live in a swarm of jokes about isolation, preferring cancelled plans, enjoying being alone with our TVs. We preach that interaction is tiresome and overrated. I call bullshit though. What we really long for is friendship, conversation, and the ability to share. There is an intense feeling you get of pure satisfaction after having a real conversation with people where you share and listen to their problems, free from judgement. You feel heard and like there is an outlet when something else comes up. In our modern day, I think we should all make more of an effort to create things like book club or whatever else you'd like to do or call it.
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