Tuesday, January 04, 2011

her fearful symmetry



I'm starting the new year with a new book club.
The last book club I was in, was a result of this blog.
Twelve other bloggers met each month to discuss different books.
While I enjoyed the diverse selection of books and people, I found I couldn't always commit to the book each month.
And to be totally honest there were some months (okay many months) that the book held absolutely no interest for me.
There are so many other great reads out there that I started to feel discouraged about having to read ones I didn't really want to.
But I felt obligated, so I always read them- like them or not.
Eventually I dropped out of the book club, after much debate I might add.
I felt like if I couldn't commit to reading the book of choice each month I should make room for someone who really wanted to be a part of it.
(there was an online waiting list of people wanting to join the bookclub)
But like I said, I really enjoyed the mix of women (and one man) and found it interesting going to various parts of the city for our meetings.
I occasionally check in on line to see what they are reading and if it's one I feel like picking up I do so.

I really enjoyed being part of a book club and have been kind of missing being a part of one ever since.
Not only does it encourage you to read books you might not necessarily pick up on your own, but I love hearing what others thought about the book.
Not to mention it's a great way to get out of the house on a weeknight (especially in the middle of winter.)
As luck should have it, my local book store has a monthly book club and tonight I decided to check it out.
I love this book shop, the staff is so friendly and so well versed on so many topics.
They are very passionate yet completely unpretentious about book suggestions.
I don't think they have ever steered me in the wrong direction.
Every single book I've purchased from there was a winner.
So it comes as no surprise that my first meeting was a positive one.
It was informative and interesting.
We read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Neiffenegger.
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.
There was some very interesting discussion about it and overall everyone really enjoyed it.
Even though I only gave it a seven out of ten- I thought it was extremely well written and the characters were well developed but the ending kind of knocked off a few points for me.
Not that it was a bad ending, but once I finished, I was just kind of meh...but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
However the majority of the group rated it nine out of ten and in some cases 10 out of 10.
So like I said, worth picking up.
It's nice to meet with other women from the neighbourhood as well.
Bonus I can walk there in five minutes.
The best thing is that if I don't feel like reading the book each month there's absolutely no commitment.
But to be honest I'm already in the middle of the book for next month and loving it so far.
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute in case you were wondering.
The list for the rest of the year looks fantastic as well.
So it is unlikely that I'll want to skip any meetings, because after-all....

"To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting." ~Edmund Burke

2 comments:

Lynn said...

And...a big giant DITTO over here. I've been in two different book clubs in the past and the same thing happened - although I valued the variety and the social aspect, eventually it started to feel like homework and I grew resentful that I was reading things I didn't like, while a pile of titles I wanted to read grew on my bedside table.

I love this idea of a bookstore book club. I'm going to look into it...if I can untangle myself from my current club :).

kurrabikid said...

I always like to know what you're enjoying, because I think your tastes may well be very similar to mine (BTW have you read February, by a Canadian writer whose name escapes me now - awesomely good). I am about to dive into a book called Private Life by Jane Smiley, but have now added Alice (an Aussie classic I've not yet read) to my list.