Book Club (aka an excuse to party on a weeknight)

November 23, 2012

by Sheila

We meet once a month for book club.  There are eight of us, and we rotate hosting at each member’s home.  The person who is hosting that month is also the person who selects the book for that month.  We are open to reading just about anything that will likely provide good discussion.  Although with this group, good discussion is the standard, book or no book! It was the book, A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg that got us thinking we could do this crazy thing called blogging.  Her book is a coolection of stories and recipes that started out as a blog, and evolved into an enjoyable book. 

The other requirement of book club is that the host has to feed us and serve us wine.  Sometimes this is just heavy appetizers, and occasionally an elaborate meal (we always look forward to December at Heather’s – but no pressure).  Frequently the food has some nod to the book. For example, we made stir fry at Kathy’s when we read Shanghai Girls.  We cooked outside in the fire at my house when we read A Walk in the Woods, and we recently ate a yummy bird (I suspect chicken) and rice casserole at Ann’s after reading Unbroken. Oh, and she really went to town perparing only recipes from Molly's aforementioned book when we read A Homemade Life.  Delish!

Some of you may be thinking this sounds like a lot to do, but you only go to the trouble and expense once a year and the rest of the time you just show up and enjoy.  We take the summer off since everyone’s travel schedules get pretty hectic, and instead schedule days to “float”, which is code for having happy hour poolside. Hmm, do we see a pattern here?

We meet early “on a school night” (lots of teachers in this group) and spend the first hour snacking, having a glass of wine and getting caught up on each other’s lives.  After that we begin our discussion of the book.  The host also makes up the questions and leads the discussion. We have occasionally asked each member to come up with a question to discuss, as some of the books we select are not “typical” book club selections with questions readily available online.  Regardless, the discussion is enlightening.  Some of these women I have known for over 20 years, and I am still sometimes surprised at the differences in perspective and perception when discussing books.  This is one of the best reasons to belong to a book club.  Well, that and an excuse to get together with girlfriends and drink wine on a school night, of course. 

For last month’s meeting the host, Tami, was returning home late from Hawaii.  Jet lagged and sick, we knew she would be over-taxing herself to pull it together, so others jumped in and picked up the slack.  Edie instantly invited us to her house (and made a yummy chili which we ate outside on the patio - thanks Edie).  Ann brought dessert and I picked up a few snacks and wine to bring over. We missed Tami, but enjoyed the discussion and camaraderie that only good girlfriends can provide. This is something we all look forward to each month and I highly recommend, expanding your understanding of the world and your circle of friends. Until next month….Cheers!