Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ain't no party like a late to the party, amiright? Yes, no, maybe? Hey, that could be a book title! Hell, it probably is!

So, I finally read Eat, Pray, Love. Fifteen years after publication, but so what? (People still read Moby Dick and that came out in the 1800s and is boring AF.) I fully admit I only picked it up for a zoom book club (which proceeded to be cancelled the day of the meeting, which is just one of the reasons why you rarely catch me messing with book clubs anymore).

I actually gave this a whirl shortly after it came out and quickly lost interest. The reason why escapes me, but maybe it was early on when our protagonist fell to the bathroom floor and began to pray. At that point I probably wondered if the "pray" part of the title was more key than I first imagined, and if this was going to be heavily religious, which isn't my bag, baby. I may have wondered that back then because I wondered this time around, too. Only this time I plunged onward because it was for a soon-to-be nonexistent book club meeting that I wanted to attend so I don't become a full-on hermit. 

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up My Brilliant Friend a few years ago, read a chapter or two, then dropped it again. It just didn't spark my interest.

Cut to last year when I decided to watch season one of the HBO series based on the book. It was dark, grim, hard for me to watch at times. But the friendship between the two girls was mesmerizing, and I hung in there. By the time I'd finished binging the series, I was in love.

I still didn't go back to the book, though. The memory of bored disinterest kept me away. Season two aired, and again I was enthralled. Finally, I recently decided to pick the book up again on the chance I'd merely tried it at the wrong time, when the mood wasn't right, when the muse of all printed things was pointing another direction at the moment. And this time, I loved the story, the writing. Everything.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Someone recommended Things Fall Apart several years ago, adding that they often assigned it to lit students. This seemed like a good enough reason to add it to my own Goodreads list, as it struck a chord with reading habits of my younger days.

In my late teens and 20s, I based many personal reading choices on titles considered classics that were often studied in classrooms. My high school, for whatever reason, never assigned novels. Once in a while they'd pass out mimeographed sheets, and we'd read Romeo and Juliet (probably just a portion of it?) or some other piece short enough to copy for the whole class, but they never handed out a pile of books for us to read and discuss. Maybe they couldn't afford 20 or 30 copies of each book they might've assigned, I just don't know.

Best Books of 2019 So Far

The year's more than half gone, and looking back I've read a lot of great books in 2019 (and a few duds, to be honest, but I'll focus on the awesome titles). Some of these are new releases, some a bit older, but all made the Top Ten list of books I read and loved recently. All of these would make great book club selections as well!

Manage when library ebook loans arrive using OverDrive & Libby

Ever get a notice the ebook you put on hold at the library is available, but the timing isn't ideal to start a new book for some reason? Or it's just a bad time to start that particular book? I used to run up against that digital wall all the time.

Maybe it was bad timing because I had another book (or two) in play already, or I wasn't in the mood for that book at that moment, or it was for a book club and I preferred to read it closer to the meeting date. The last one is a biggie echoed by several others I've been in book clubs with over the years. Many people (myself included) prefer to read the book within a couple weeks before their group's discussion so it's fresh in their minds.

Summer Reading Guide 2019

As summer approaches and temperatures rise, the days stretch into evening and the bibliophile's heart turns to thoughts of what to read next. I've compiled a list of ten books I'm excited about this summer, and I think they'll be perfect whether your reading spot of choice is a sunny beach or a cozy couch.

10 picks for a book club reading list you can't resist

Maybe some of you could resist my list if you really tried, but why deprive yourself of delectable reading material just to spite my love of rhyme? Hang with me; the payoff is in the pages.

One of the hardest parts of any book club is selecting novels all the members will love every single month. While you're about as likely to find that as a unicorn, what you can find are wonderful books that most members will enjoy and the disenchanted few will at least be able to appreciate for some aspects (like gorgeous writing) and find topics to mull over.

I think of book club choices in terms of heavy and light. Alternating between the two strikes a balance to meet members' differing tastes and lets you temper that beautiful yet complex book one month with a breezier read the next. My heavy choices aren't really *that* heavy (War and Peace didn't even come close to making my list), but they weigh more in both effort and impact than light options. That doesn't mean they're suffocating or boring, but it does mean they should be masterfully written and leave you feeling like the time invested to read them was well spent.

Book club burnout: It's OK to ditch a dud

Whenever I cast about for ways to meet new people, I start eyeing local book groups. It’s theoretically a happy blend of reading (love it) and making new friends (hopefully).

It’s hard to find that magic combo book group where the time, place, and reading material perfectly align. So I settle for coming close – if the time and place work, I’ll sign on even if a few of the book choices don’t intrigue me, as long we’re swimming in the same general literary pool. After all, a benefit of book clubs is discovering some gem I never would’ve picked up if left to my own devices, so I’m willing to roll the dice a little.

Playing the odds, I decided to try two book groups after moving to a new city a few years ago, and wound up sticking with both for a long time. One meets at the library and is presided over by a librarian; it’s fairly focused and doesn’t stray too far from the topic at hand. The second is more relaxed – it meets at a cozy coffee shop, and the informal discussion meanders away from the book before long. I like both vibes, the one of seriously discussing the book, and the other of casually having coffee with the girls.