Sometimes being in a book group can be a lot of pressure – not just the assigned reading aspect, but trying to get a group of people together to meet. A book group can simply be just two people getting together; maybe a coworker that you can go out to lunch with once a month or someone you don’t see very often and it’s a way to make sure you get together.
I had a while where I was struggling to find the time to read. My husband suggested starting a book club for just the two of us…and shockingly his idea worked. I started reading again…and I haven’t stopped. Every other month we trade off on who selects the book, it may be something we’ve been meaning to read or a subject we are interested in. All genres are open and we only allow for one re-read a year. For example, I loved The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis so I’m selecting that for February.
Here were our book selections for October through December:
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
This novel reminded me of so many books and poetry and food just all rolled together. You get yanked into the world behind the scenes at a New York restaurant; I had originally thought this was a memoir just because it felt very real especially in the beginning pages, but as the drama unfolds it becomes more obvious it is a work of fiction. Tess is young and naïve and so ready to prove herself, but doesn’t quite understand how to do so. She rolls herself into the stupid young things one does to find comradery, a sense of place, and love in the wilds of New York.
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
First of all I work at a library so the nerd-ness level was totally my speed; unfortunately it wasn’t my cup of tea. Librarian Irene doesn’t work at just any library she works for The Library, an organization in charge of collecting important works. She is teamed up with a fellow coworker, Kai, to seek a book in an alternate London filled with magic and chaos. While it seemed a bit all over the place at times, maybe as a first in the series things are still being thought out so I’ll give her that, in the long run I was entertained and it made me keep reading.
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
This was one of those books I think I need to read twice…I loved it but I also felt like I had no idea what was happening, until about halfway through things started to click and I felt a part of Area X. Very much a horror novel with nods to H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, but also completely its own deal. Four women, all with specific skills, are sent into the mysterious Area X hoping to discover more than the ten failed missions before them. I’m not giving out spoilers so now you just need to read it. I’m very much looking forward to the movie to see another person’s interpretation and will start devouring the next two books in the series.
Our book selections for January through March; check back for reviews in early April!
- The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis
- The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt
- More
