The idea of a book club always appeals to me. What's not to like about being in a comfortable space cozied up to a hot cup of something discussing themes, character traits, and deeper meanings? Plus, the whole process suggests the luxury of spare time--or, at least unscheduled time. Time like that is seductive for many reasons...
This summer (and last summer) I joined a book club of sorts via twitter. While it does not provide the pure club experience above, it does satisfy on some level my desire to explore books in community. This community is facilitated by Jeff Howe of Atlantic Monthly.
So far we've read Margaret Atwood (The Blind Assassin), Haruki Murakami (Kafka On The Shore), and this month's selection is Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips. I am immersed in non-fiction professionally. So, it is good for me to consume novels like these. A different part of my brain engages and I lose myself a bit in story and feelings and tension--some belongs to others and some belongs to me. And, though we are not physically in one place, my fellow readers are very much a community of sorts. I imagine many of us would choose to get together if the opportunity arose.
We read and tweet. Tweet and read. It's the perfect summer indulgence for my otherwise disciplined and crowded schedule.
