Book Club?

So I happen to think that I have some of the best blogging friends around. People I admire, whose opinions always interest me, who inspire me with their hobbies and interests and lives. I want to share more thoughts and ideas with all of you.

What do you say we form a book club?

Emily (of Overdue) and I discussed the idea of an online book club together and it is going forward! I have been lax about doing things, but I'm excited to get going now!

The books that have been suggested so far are the following:

1. The Book Thief;
2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day;
3. The RoadSmall Island; and
4. Love in a Cold Climate.

Feel free to put forward others, as well as any ideas you might have for the club (including a name). Sadly we won't be able to share cheese, biscuits and cake, but a different blogger can 'host' each time and who knows, we may snychronsie recipes or post pictures! In any case, it will be so fun to share ideas and motivate each other.

The power of books to transport us to other places, to inspire and entertain us, to comfort and teach, is incalculable. But how much greater is the joy when it is shared! I know that when reading a good book I always have the urge to grab the person nearest to me and read a portion out loud.

So please join us.

Now a little related personal history...

In high school, where I discovered my love of books and reading, a most wise and special teacher, Mrs Bourke, started something called 'Literary Society'. I don't even remember how often it met, but I remember that the first book we read was 'The Reader'. We would discuss our ideas and the aim was to learn to think critically in preparation for admission to university. Mrs Bourke is the person who first had faith in my academic abilities. One day - it must have been close to the end of term - she asked each of us what we wanted to study at university. She nodded supportively at everyone's choices, until I announced that I wanted to study law. She just didn't think it was for me. I replied by saying that that was fine, but I thought she should tell me what she thought I should study instead. She said that she would think about it, and think about it she did. A few days later she told me that I should study English 'somewhere like Oxford'. Were it not for her I would never have contemplated either. The thought hadn't entered my head. Mrs Bourke's faith stemmed not from anything I wrote but from the passion with which I discussed ideas in books. So I suppose that the idea of a book club strikes a special chord with me. See you there!