Why I Broke My Vow to Never Join a Book Club

To regular readers of the My Ideal Reality blog, it's no secret that I am a bibliophile. (Be sure to check out my Project 2014 and More Books! pages).  Despite my love of the written word, I vowed to never join a book club. I've always derived a large amount of satisfaction and comfort from reading in isolation and pondering the book in my head, although I do engage in casual book chat with friends from time to time. The whole book club thing has never appealed to me for reasons I'll keep to myself to avoid sounding like an anti-social book snob.  

But, when two friends asked me to start a book club with them I went for it. Why? Mainly, because I like these two gals. They are both super smart and serious about their books. I met Laura in grad school a few years ago, and I met Laurie last year when her son and my Ruthie became buddies. Laura and Laurie recently met at a church group, discovered they both knew me and pitched the idea of creating a book club. We got together over coffee one morning, selected a book and off we went. One thing I'm going to love about this club - aside from getting to spend some time with some smart women - is that it's super informal. I'm excited to head off on this new adventure of friendship and literature.

Our first book is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It's the first book in the Flavia de Luce mystery series. I'm already about halfway finished. I love it! It's a good old-fashioned whodunnit, not the blood, terror and horror that passes for mystery today. Bradley created a one unique narrator in 11-year-old Flavia and plopped her down into one of the most enthralling and unusual plot lines.  Add to this Bradley's flair for weaving in exquisite detail, and I'm hooked. So hooked, in fact, that I've put my Mark Twain Marathon on hold until I finish. 

And speaking of book clubs, my friend Jennifer Scott just released her second novel for women called, The Accidental Book Club. Check it out today!

Wherever you are, whatever your doing  ... Keep it Real (and grab a book)!