M. Suzanne Terry

My first book club of the month meets on the first Tuesday, so tonight is our meeting for October. We’re discussing Lisa Wingate’s The Book of Lost Friends, which I am enjoying. If you like historical fiction, particularly regarding the post-Civil War era and the plight of enslaved people during/after/seeking emancipation, give it a read.

This was the first book club I joined. It kinda set the standard for how laidback I like a book club to be. The person who hosts it is a friend from grad school, and pre-pandemic, we met at her house. We’d each bring food to share. Sometimes there was a theme, but mostly it was a motley potluck of whatever sounded good to us. There are a couple of great bakers in the group, and the host kept an emergency cake in the freezer, so there was always at least one dessert. The other common offering for meetings was plenty of wine. We have met online since March or April of 2020, and while I miss the delicious food spread, I love that we can include members who have moved away through Zoom. Also, there is still wine; it’s just in our own houses.

I appreciate that we don’t have to finish the book to be welcome. In fact, when the reminder went out a day or two ago, someone automatically replied, “I have 140 pages to go!” I also have not finished it yet, and the meeting is at 7:00 p.m. (I can do it! I think!). The unofficial rule on spoilers seems to be that we will try not to give too many details away if someone who hasn’t finished is intent on doing so and doesn’t want to know what happened, but that’s not usually the case (for the record – I personally don’t mind spoilers. They don’t take away from my enjoyment of a book, show, movie, etc., at all). We always talk about the book a little bit, but unless it was super juicy and we all finished it, the actual book discussion is usually short.

The best part of this group is getting to know and staying in touch with these amazing women. We keep up with what’s going on in each other’s families/lives. We share advice when it’s wanted and take each others’ sides in rants about work, difficult family members, and bad customer service. We give each other book recommendations and take bets on which of us will/won’t like next month’s selection. Also the host has a little free library on her porch and will pull books that she thinks we’ll enjoy to put aside for us.

I love having these book friends in my life.

I’m writing about books all month – click here to see the master list!