Way before Oprah made it popular, my wonderful friend Karen and I decided to share our love of reading with our other girlfriends and start a book club. It was November, 1993 and Karen hosted a luncheon, our very first meeting at her house and invited one of her friends, Diane, who had been in a book club before moving here, to lead that very first meeting. The book we shared and discussed was "The Kitchen Gods Wife" by Amy Tan. It was a magical luncheon. I owe so much gratitude to Karen for hosting that first meeting that my heart swells with joy for her friendship and love. Because over the past 17 years, many, many books have been shared by our club and with each book our friendships have grown and I cherish each and every girlfriend and meeting for making my life richer from being with these women and sharing of their love of reading these books together.
Nina and I are the only original members of the book club buddies that met that on that first day. However, many other girlfriends have joined us and wonderful discussions of books have transpired at each meeting since then. With this blog I hope to record some of those memorable times and keep track of the books we will share in the future.
Please feel free to share your memories of past book club meetings, share your reading lists with each other, share your recommendations and referrals for new books or the great old classics. Please share, share, share!
So great of you to start this blog, Joyce--were you wanting others to contribute? I think you have to invite us to become members by e-mailing us individually. In any case, this is a wonderful idea and I look forward to sharing our passion for books in this new format!
ReplyDeleteLiz
thanks so much Joyce---this has given me a chance to see how our book club has changed my life.
ReplyDeleteyou asked us to remember our first favorite book.
when I was a kid I didn't read. looking back I am sure that I have been dyslexic--My teachers always wrote on my report card " Karen tries very hard...BUT" - I always had to read things 3 and 4 times to get it--
it amazes me that I mad it through Northwestern.
So as a kid I never read anything that was not required. except my Bible.
My Bible came "alive " to me when I was about 14. those teen years I couldn't get enough of it---I had it with me wherever I went.
but really it was the only thing I read (to this day it is my dear and faithful friend)
when I home schooled my kids we read childrens books and I realized what I had missed. so I started working my way through many of the childrens classics. It was shortly after that that we started the book club. It taught me the habit of always having a book to read---I read books that I would never have picked out on my own and opened my mind to new places and ideas. Even though I don't come to book club any more----I am now a READER!!! I have been reading books on theology, leadership books, and biographies in the last years---and I have grown to love southern author fiction that I pick up in HH.
thank you dear friends for teaching me to love to read
Karen