Book Club, a small contingency
But books, well with books I can get lost in someone else’s woes and joys. I have access to new places and new faces.
I’m a bit quirky about truly wonderful books– I get sentimentally sad when I finish one because I’llneverseethecharactersagain! Unless, of course, there’s a sequel. In which case my fingers stay crossed that it’ll be as good as the first.
Do you ever feel that way? Never?
Liars.
Getting lost in a story is magical. And it’s a gift. From the author to rest of us.
I love books that make me smarter and I also love brainless reads– the kind that I can curl up exhaustedly and still get lost within. Sigh. I heart books.
After having each of my babies I took a forced reading hiatus. I adjusted sloooowly to the new rhythm of being a mom. I had quite literally no idea what I was doing which I found utterly exhausting. The hiatus length shortened with each baby. About a year for sweet Kayli, a few months for easy going Chloe. And Brody?
With Brody, it was a different story. I read a 518 page book. In the hospital. Mmmhmm. I heart books.
Last year I met a fabulous group of women through a class. When the class ended, we craved a glue to keep us together. You know, besides facebook, play dates and girls’ weekends. And thus, a book club was born.
And can I just say that throughout this year, amongst many, many other things, I learned about the magic of reading together. I learned how a book can bring us to places that none of us could have imagined. How as a group we can agree on some aspects of a book and whole-heartedly disagree about others. One person’s true-blue-love-best read-of-the-year is another’s worst nightmare, abandoned after only a few chapters. Well, that’s just…glorious. Our Book Club has added a dimension to my reading that I love. I also love the wine. And the food. And skipping out on bedtime once a month (Hi Babe!).
I heart the wine. Or in this case, the sangria.
And the food. In this case, Sara Rice's spicy chocolate cupcakes (Hi Sara!) and Dana's Black Bean Salsa (Hi Dana!). Really, what's *not* to love about Book Club?
Thus far, our book club has read:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
For this month, I’m curling up with Dracula by Bram Stoker.
And our very last pick, thus far, is The Host by Stephenie Meyer.
As Husbands Go By Susan Isaacs
Now as a bonus book (as in not assigned to a month), our little group read, “As Husbands Go” by Susan Isaacs. Why? Because I got it (signed! and to review!) and thought that it would be just that much more interesting to review it together. Two heads are better than one and all that jazz. And it was.
In this murder mystery, Susan Isaacs knocks you off your feet with a BIG question as a wife– what if your husband doesn’t come home one night? What if he’s found in a prostitute’s apartment? Ouch. Now that would hurt more than just a little bit.
Our book club convo went from writing styles to ethics to grief coping to social status to sex to food to religion to Yiddish. Sigh. I heart book club. It makes any and all reads richer. Smarter. Better.
When our Book Club started, we all gathered over chocolate cake and bailey’s and discussed our reading lists. Our must-reads, best reads and ready-to-share reads. And that’s where the list above was born.
I heart book club.
So let’s hear it…What’s on your nightstand right now? What do you wish was there? What do you wish never made it there in the first place?
This is like our very own gasp Book Club. I’m not really sure that my heart could be any happier right about now! Lack of Bailey’s notwithstanding, I’m quite literally at the edge of my seat waiting to hear what’s on your reading list. So fill me up to the brim, people. Aaaaand go!
*This post was inspired by a free copy of As Husbands Go.
Why yes, yes I do heart authors. And books. And authors that sign books. Thanks for asking. *
*The FTC made me do it: Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of the book in the hope that I would mention it on TC Jewfolk. But getting the book for free doesn’t mean that I was obligated to give a glowing review. I wouldn’t recommend anything that I don’t think you’d enjoy. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Blah, blah, blah…
I started “Doing Task-based Teaching” last night. It would probably not interest a lot of your readers to know this though. It is actually quite engaging and inspiring.
I feel bad that every month I plan on going and I have yet to show up to book club! I can’t this month either, but I’ll attempt it again in November. Maybe I better just host one so that I don’t get double booked…
I’m the same way with books. I love them, and when I’m done reading a good book, I feel lik I’ve left the company of a good friend.
you will not regret dracula by bram stoker. the mental images and prose are free flowing. pages turn quickly and i think it is much scarier than the film adaptations.
shabbat shalom,
matt
Books, books and more books! Bring them on, I say! As you know, books are part of my being…like an appendage. Wherever I wander, a book is with me.
I am reading David Grossman’s To the End of the Land, Ken Follet’s Fall of Giants, and The Measure of His Grief, by Lisa Braver Moss.
I journey from one to the other, depending on my mood.
Oooh…Oooh – I like this game! Just finished “Shut Up, I’m Talking And Other Diplomacy Lessons I learned in the Israeli Government” by Gregory Levey. Love his style more than I can say (is it because he writes like I think?). Currently reading Kate Ledger’s “Remedies” but only about 20 pages in. Also going to re-read Meir Shalev’s “A Pigeon and a Boy” (probably this weekend).
I completely agree that books are amazing. And there’s nothing I love more than reading *paper* after a day of staring at a screen. Oh wait there is – the Books section in the Sunday New York Times. It’s like book club that I can go to in my pajamas.
I’m a reader too … and I’m loving your book club list — I’ve read 5 of them. Very eclectic choices; I like that in a book club.
I wish I was in a book club now. I was in one ages ago and it was horrible. A very pretentious group of people who were all about impressing each other. To spite them, when it was my turn to pick a book, I picked “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe.” They could barely pick it up without sneering. I ended up quitting not too long after that.
You’ve inspired me to look for a book club around me … one more suited to my tastes. Or perhaps I’ll fly out to yours each month! : )
Reading this reminded me of that film The Jane Austen Book Club”–at least I think that was the name of it….
Wat a GREAT idea! To get together and share some food and your thoughts about whatever book it is you are all reading…It is nice in so very many ways.
Right now I seem to have put books aside—-I was on a John Grisham kick—it is GREAT escape reading and he writes so well, but I stopped in the middle of one of his books and haven’t gone back yet—That was three months ago…..
The last book I read that was so exciting to me I did a post about it was “Patti Lupone, A Memoir”…..I realize this might not be for everyone but it sure inspired me–It is moving and funny and if you love ‘The Theatre’—It Is A FABULOUS, FABULOUS Read!
Oooh, thank you. Some new inspiration. I am a terror for reading non-fiction and not relaxing enough to get into a fiction book so this will give me impetus. I love your writing so I’m sure to love your recommendations! Thanks!
Oh thank you for the new books! I really loved “The Weight of Silence” recently. It is a very captivating book, and I felt like the characters were well developed.
I could literally write about this topic for ages. Here are some recent reads that really rocked my world.
1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack
2. Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon
3. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (he’s a new discovery … I just love him!)
4. Columbine by Dave Cullen
5. The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
6. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
7. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
8. At Home: A History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
9. In the Woods by Tana French
And I’m currently reading ROOM by Emma Donoghue and it is amazing.
Of course, I could list tons more but I’ll restrain myself right now.
ahhh, I love books too! I don’t get as much time to read since I am usually blogging and now knitting. Maybe I’ll get good enough at knitting to knit and read. Do people do that? I need to find another book club. Our little book club fell apart. It didn’t help that the two main organizers stopped being friends. Don’t ya just hate when that happens! A good group of women is a gift. Cheers, Cori
Books? Love, love, love them! One of my favorite things to do is to go to a bookstore, have coffee and just hang out and browse. Just being around books does something to my soul. Unfortunately, however, I seem to have developed ADD when it comes to reading: I will start a book and then start another before I finish the first one. It’s crazy. The last book I read was light reading yet very touching, which I needed, and it is called “Huck” – about the healing power of a little dog and how he brought a whole town together in a time of crisis. This was a wonderful post Galit and thank you for the reading list – I’m going to check them out!
Recommended favorites for book club setting or simply a good read!!
1.Reading Lolita In Tehran – Azar Nafisi
2.The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
3. Sophie’s Choice – William Styron
4.War – Sebastian Junger
5.Redwall- Brian Jacques
6.From Beirut to Jerusalem – Thomas Friedman
I wish I were a bit closer so I could be part of your book club – we share similar tastes! I loved “The Help” and “Snow Flower” but I have to admit that “Three Cups of Tea” just didn’t do it for me.
Check out “The Glass Castle” which will always remain one of my favorite books…and I read A LOT!
Best thing about reviewing books; you are *supposed* to read them.
Just read Sonya Huber’s Cover Me (a memoir about health insurance). Wonderful.
“After having each of my babies I took a forced reading hiatus.”
Interesting. I had the opposite experience. One of the many things I loved about breastfeeding was that it gave me a built-in excuse to curl up in a comfortable chair with the baby (several times a day!) and read and read and read… 🙂
Save the date for 12/14 when Jenna Blum will discuss THOSE WHO SAVE US for an evening at the Sabes JCC sponsored by Minneapolis Jewish Federation. A great opportunity for book clubs to have a night out!
seeing all the great suggestions makes me want to hit the library. i am lucky to have found this site and the friendly new people.
cheers from ohio
cindy’s From Beirut to Jerusalem – Thomas Friedman has been booked from my library. love his work. heavy, but thorough
I am reading The Invisible Bridge and it’s quite good.
Also reading Pillars of the Earth on my Kindle and enjoying that one too. I never really took a reading hiatus for my kids, but the 3rd was the first one that I could nurse one-handed from the beginning 🙂 We’ll see what happens with #4. Thank goodness for the Kindle!
Thank you for the list of books your book club has read! I’ve got some good new reading ahead of me. 🙂
I’ve never joined a book club but have always wanted to find one. Maybe I just haven’t found the right group of people to do it with, but I hope to one day! I’m so with you on curling up a good book (or e-reader, ha!). Right now, I’m reading The Corrections. So far, it’s incredible! Next on my list, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series.
-Aimee
Back when I lived on my hilltop overlooking Jerusalem I belong to a book club. Yes, I did tell people I was going for the books, but in reality, it was for the food and the yenta-time. Okay, I love to read, and I actually can do it on my own, but there is something about bookclub that is so much fun!
As for that feeling of I’llneverseethecharactersagain, it doesn’t have to be that way. I meet Eliza Bennet at least twice a year, and have been sharing a towel with Arthur Dent every two years or so. If I can, so can you.
BTW, I also read a 500+ page book in the hospital after giving birth to my third. All the new moms with their magazines and me with my Queen of the Damned (who in their right mind reads vampire books just after having a baby? Me!).
I am part book. I am positive if you analysed my DNA, there would be some extra chromosome that I share with books….
OK. So that’s impossible, but I think you know what I mean!
This is the girl that used to read the backs and fronts of cereal packets at the breakfast table – and annoy the heck out of my Mum for doing so, when I was growing up!
Just finished ‘Suite Francaise’ by Irene Nemirovsky. You know what got to me most? The Appendix including transalations of letters from Irene herself, her husband, her publishers, friends etc, where we see her life unfold to its eventual demise in 1942. I knew she had died at Auschwitz, but reading that correspondence made it all the more personal.
Sounds like so much fun. I should read more but I’m too addicted to my technology! lol Maybe a book club would motivate me to read more often.
I heart sangria too 🙂 I missed book club so much when we changed shuls. We’re starting a new one but it’s not a sangria crowd sadly. Yours looks like it absolutely rocks 🙂
Hey! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I browsed a bit and read about your puppy – Congratulations! I’m a dog person who FINALLY last year was in a position to get the dog I ALWAYS wanted. So Huzzah to anyone newly in the dog camp!
Books -I’ve been the driving force for a neighborhood bookgroup for several years. Some of my favorites that I haven’t seen listed in your other comments:
1. These is My Words by Nancy Turner
2. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
3. Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
4. The Miracles of Santa Fico by Dennis L. Smith
5. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
6. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
7. The Endurance by Caroline Alexander
8. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
… just to name a few.
So break out that library card and start reading!
Oh. I love books, too! And Book Clubs. The best. Can I just tell you, G, that this is a super duper fun coincidence that this was your blog topic last week? BECAUSE… Last Weds. I went to the library on our way out of town for four days of cabin, quiet and cozy fires, AND I brought my list I’ve been compiling of recommendations. I got Candy Girl- read the whole thing in less than 24 hours. (What a trip!- LOVED it.) And I also got Forever Lily. Half way through almost. Great, too. Thanks for the titles, friend!!
Great post. I’m a slow and picky reader. I read lines and pages over and over and digest and keep what I’ve read. it’s serious, not a distraction. Books I like stay with me. But if I’m not buying in at a certain point I bug out. And what gets me in a strong, honest voice, and a compelling story that speaks to me. The last book I ate up was the bio of Al Jaffee. Now I’m kind of dating Marlo Thomas’ new book. Wonderful for me – nostalgic, loving, cerebral, funny, light, deep – beautiful, and in a nice voice, and depicting a world I can never hear enough about – especially when it’s cleaned up the Marlo does.
The on book on your list that I ate up was Water For Elephants. It wasn’t super sophisticated writing. Butit was written in a voice that worked for me,opened a new and interesting world to me, and kept pulling me closer to hear the story.
That is the best disclaimer I’ve seen yet! 🙂
This is a sign, for the third time in two weeks I’ve come across someone’s suggestion to read the book “The Help”.
Long, long, long ago I used to love reading. Then life got busy with pregnancy books and baby. Now it is toddler and blogs. I need to get back to the basics again and read a book that takes me away. I am hoping to join a book club one day when we’re all settled in and not moving every year.
I wish for a book club wish wish wish. I have read most of those books on your list ( yes orthodox Jews can be hip to good reading) and I wish i had someone to discuss them with . Such fun!
i love to read too but you seem to be REALLY REALLY into it. which is such a wonderful thing! and book clubs are awesome! i was part of one once and it was a great experience. kind of like hanging out with your friends but then you guys talk, dissect, and argue about a mutual book.. when my life settles down a bit, i would love to start one where i live. your sangria looks awesome..i make it for dinner parties each time without fail. so easy but elegant and a crowd pleaser. thanks for sharing!
My favorite thing is when I’m at work and a box of books from Amazon arrives. Usually by the time they do I’ve forgotten they were coming to begin with.
I get completely lost in pages. I love the way words on a page can create these big pictures and concrete characters.
Mmmmmm books. Off to Amazon I go!