What day even is it? Is this a real Friday? Am I real?
Between starting to talk about how we are going to make the switch between my now-job and my new-job and having two days off in the middle of the week to focus on writing, this week has been an exercise in transition and exception. But it’s been a good one (I think? I’m pretty sure it’s been OK overall. I’m gonna need people to stop shooting into crowds, though, and I’m gonna need changes to the system that would make these rampant shootings less likely. You know, per usual.). We did get free food at work yesterday, and I have had a lot of cherries (cherries are really good right now), so there’s that.
Also, I’ve been reading some things I really enjoyed. Here are some things you might enjoy, too.
- Breath by James Nestor – This was a fascinating subject. It was a little lighter on the science than I expected, but it was a good read anyway. The author outlined how the way we breathe (as a species) has altered our skeletal structure and may be a big part of the reason so many have respiratory issues. There are also some excellent breathing exercises at the end of the book and even if I’d hated the rest of it, it would have been worth the read for those.
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie – As expected, a solid introduction to the Poirot character. I forgot how much I like her writing. The ending was predictable, so there was room to grow from her first book in this series, and I’m excited to see how it progresses as I read through the series.
- “Don’t ask me if I’m free” – I feel this in my bones. I mean, I wouldn’t leave Mom to fend for herself after surgery just so I could brunch with Beyoncé (or any celebrity, to be clear). But otherwise, yes.
- Rivermouth by Alejandra Oliva – A memoir from an immigration activist about helping people at the border and a masterpiece on sitting in the various tensions of this issue. My favorite parts of the book were the parts in Spanish that she didn’t translate, the effect of which was to illustrate the frustration of navigating in a language in which I understand the overall gist but am not anywhere close to fluent. Highly recommend – 4.5 stars.
- This essay on book club fails is a wild ride (well, a book-nerdy wild ride, which admittedly is probably closer to a somewhat spirited saunter for most people). I feel like the writer makes some valid points but also has some expectations that exemplify the rigidity that is often responsible for sending a well-intentioned book club into an early grave. Book clubs, like all social endeavors, have to be able to breathe a little. Yes, the discussion is better if people show up and have read the book. But if you want to build a lasting book club, people have to be able to miss or not finish the book occasionally without it being considered a failure, especially the first few years you are meeting (and I would argue even after that). At my book club that has been meeting the longest, we get excited if most of us have even started the book, and if only a couple of us have finished it, we still talk about other books and enjoy each other’s company (and omg the food – Brenda and our book club can put out quite a spread). And I get the frustration of going to the trouble to make something a priority and putting in the effort to plan one’s own work/life schedule around it only to have the time changed at the last minute. I second that emotion hard. But even if you do have a regular time when the book club meets every month…sometimes things come up. If the host or most of the members can’t make the regularly scheduled time, it makes sense to be flexible. Talking about books is always ultimately worth whatever effort it takes to make it happen.
I’m happy the weekend is almost here. I’m spending most of Saturday reading and cleaning and hanging with some people I haven’t seen in a while that night. On Sunday, I get to book club with Follow the Reader, so that will be fun. I hope you have a good weekend, too!
M. Suzanne Terry 
Yah, every time the thought of joining a bookclub pops into my head, I think about how many books get tossed aside by me until I start reading one that sticks. What if I can’t get into any of the books selected by the book club? And I would definitely need a SET date and time, like the 2nd Tuesday of every month or whatever it was.
I think I would be ok with people showing up who haven’t read the book (since I would probably be one of them for the above mentioned reason) as long as people were respectful of the few people who DID read the book and want to have an actual discussion about it. The people who didn’t read it either need to sit quietly and listen or go into their own room to do their socializing. And then everyone could get together for food and more socializing. OR!!! What if the people who READ the book meet 1/2 hour earlier than the rest of the people?????
Or can I just get a plate of food to go and go back home, put on my jammies and read on my own?
I think it’s important to know what your own personal wants are before choosing a group and to talk about boundaries early. I’ve quit book clubs before because the way they were run made them more frustrating than fun for me, but that doesn’t mean they were wrong. We weren’t just a good fit. Now if I’m going to join a book club, I know to attend a meeting to observe and ask questions about expectations before I even commit to reading a book with them. Any group that has a timed schedule for discussion (e.g., half an hour for a certain type of discussion or breaking off into separate, smaller groups for social vs. book talk) is probably going to be a little high maintenance and micromanage-y for my taste. Although my silent book club works well this way as most of the time is just spent sitting and reading silently, so even this is not necesarily a dealbreaker for me.
Those are all very good points and I agree whole heartedly. I like the idea of attending a meeting to observe and ask questions before committing to reading a book with them.