Book club 1, book club 2

I love my book clubs! I am lucky enough to be in TWO book clubs. My kids call them the Fun Book Club and the Serious Book Club. That does mostly describe the books we read, but I have fun with each group of ladies. And no, no men allowed.

And you know what? It's not just about the books. Yes, we read books and we discuss them. That is important. It is great to have some incentive to stretch your mind, to try something you might not read on your own, and to know that you will have someone to talk with about what you just read, what you liked, what you hated, what you learned, how it made you feel. Again, that is important.

But the book is just where it STARTS. After that, we really start to talk. As we are discussing the book, we talk about what's going on in our lives. When we read Tom Sawyer and A Little Princess we got to talk about our childhood and about raising children. When we read The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, even though I *hated* the book, we had a great discussion about marriage, communication, and intimacy. And with both To Kill a Mockingbird and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, we've talked about racism and how society has changed. When we're done with the book, we get to catch up with what's going on in our friends' lives, what they are struggling with and what successes they've had lately. We got to rejoice with Trish and Deanne about gorgeous new babies, admire Jodi's new house, and say goodbye to Jamee as she moved across the ocean. (I'm still mad about that, BTW!)

Book club is almost my entire social life. I haven't made it to church much lately, due to my own health problems and my kids'. I had to quit my job. I don't see my family as much as I'd like. So book club is where I get my social butterfly fed. Sometimes I haven't liked the book, or haven't finished it, but again, it's not just about the book. It's about feeding the soul.