More than just a book club!

Have you made any New Year Resolutions yet? I have a few ideas for the coming year, slightly hesitant in making any plans too big or too adventurous during these uncertain times, but still trying to focus on what can be done, not on what can’t.

If you have ever had a Resolution that has been broken within a few weeks, you are not alone, I have had many – cutting out chocolate, meat, alcohol and other various aspirations I think on the 31st December that sound like a good idea!  But one idea that didn’t seem too far reaching or unachievable was three years ago, almost to the day, when I wrote a very simple Facebook post saying ‘I’m hoping to read a book a month in 2018 – where to start?! Can anyone recommend a good read?’  From this post I was given a number of book recommendations and a couple of people mentioned that they also wanted to do this and the idea formed to create a Book Club, followed by a flurry of several other people asking to join!  So within the space of a day Book Club was formed, with a group of lovely ladies. ​

​We were all in the same boat, having never been to a Book Club before and unsure what the set up should be.  Having asked around a few experienced Book Clubbers and looking online, we decided to meet on a monthly basis (some Clubs just meet termly) and each month a member of the Club would host, so that it would not be too burdensome on any one person.  The host provided wine and dessert and a list of around 5-6 books they would like to read.  The group would vote on one book and we would then read for the coming month.  I soon found that other people’s tastes in books were very different to mine and this led to a totally new library of books growing on my bookshelf!
 
January 2018 started with the first meeting and the very important task of naming the Club was decided unanimously as Prosecco and Paperback (P&P)!  It was here that book number 1 was chosen and we were off to a good start – A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman.  We all loved this book and rated it highly and the following month read another brilliant read, Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – we were off to a good start!
 
I read books I would never have considered reading, pushing comfort zones, boundaries and challenging my own reading rut that I had found myself in.  Many times the Club was very divided in opinion about a book (we each rated the book out of 10 and then produced an average score for each read) and this was so interesting to hear other people’s opinions of how they interpreted a story, or found various characters.
 
After a few months we were in the swing of it and everyone was loving the social interaction, always allowing time for chatting, sharing and catching up at the start of each meeting. 

​Over the course of the three years we have welcomed new comers, seen the dynamics change and embraced the richness that each person brings to the group.  We have also seen a number of personal changes take place in each other's lives, including new babies, jobs, house moves and more, but through each month have enjoyed the updates and deepening of friendships.

​We had to really adapt in March of this year with the lock down, but it didn’t hold us back when we met via Zoom (which in itself was a learning curve!), still thankful to have some sort of ‘normal’ to cling to and knowing that support was always there.

So next month it is back to me again to choose the book for the group to read (the ‘host’ tends to choose 1-3 books now and decides on the night which one to go for), back on Zoom again, but I know that even when there are many uncertain things happening around us, the friends at P&P are always there to bring a smile to my face, challenge me and encourage me to get my nose into a book each month, to slip into a world of words that will transport me to new and exciting places.  

So if you are contemplating a New Years Resolution this coming January may I challenge you to start reading (if you are anything like me, I had not read a book in years since having children!), or better still, start a Book Club - you won't regret it!  You don't need many people, you don't need to make it a chore, you don't need to meet as often as we do, but having a group of ladies (or gents!) that meet up every single month is really pretty special!
 
If you would like to know the books we have read and the ratings (out of 10) we gave each book, please see below:
2018:
A man called Ove - 9
Eleanor Oliphant - 6
Lady Chatterleys lover - 2
The little big things - 7.5
Predictably irrational - 5
The hypnotists love story - 7
The long forgotten - 9
The sister - 7.5
The wife between us - 8.5

2019:
The cows - 4
This is going to hurt - 9
Nine perfect strangers - 7.5
Becoming Michelle Obama - ?
All my friends are superheroes - 6
Dear Mrs bird - 6
Little fires everywhere - 8.5
The hunting party - 8
Vox - 6
Summer of impossible things - 7
The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - 7
The man who didn’t call - 9
Olive Kitteridge - 5

​2020:
My sister the serial killer - 7
Ask again yes - 7
The family upstairs - 8
The binding - 6
The silent patient - 9.5
The dry - 8
Sometimes I lie - 6
The vanishing half - 6.5
The flat share - 4
The midnight library - 9
Quite - 6
The Thursday murder club - TBC

If you need some inspiration of what to read there are loads of resources online, including lovely Helen in Marlow who has a super Instagram account called @Bestbookforward and a blog https://www.bestbookforward.org/, Reese Witherspoon also has a great Book Club on Instagram called Hello Sunshine, with lots of inspirational books to read.  Also, the longstanding Richard and Judy Book Club is always helpful, and includes a number of books that we have read at P&P.
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So for now, I wish you
happy reading and a Happy New Year!