I love books. There’s no doubt about that in anyone’s mind. Just ask my husband, he’ll tell you we have too many books. Too many? You can never have too many books! It’s only natural then that I should belong to a book club.
We meet once a month on a Tuesday night at someone’s house. There are around twenty-eight women in our group, but only about seven ever show up to our meetings. Kathleen, Sylvia and I have been there from the start and along the way we have picked up new members – Kim, Katie, Margarita, Carrie and Angela.
It’s been at least five or six years ago since Pam invited me to join the group. “Come on, now,” she said, “I’ve started this book club for residents of Northeast Baltimore. It’s mostly young moms. Please come. You love books, and, well, I don’t want to be the only older woman there.” So, how could I refuse with an invitation like that?
Pam was right. That first meeting we were the oldest women there. A group of young moms gathered in a girl named Meghan’s house and we discussed the book A Dog’s Purpose. It was, and still is, my least favorite selection. We have now read close to seventy books.
These book club has read really wonderful books, and really, really forgettable ones as well.There have even been a couple of occasions where no one has read the book, but that didn’t stop us from meeting. We learned the kind of wine we liked best and what foods to serve. More importantly, we’ve learned about each other and some very strong friendships have developed.
This month we are reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo. Below I’ve listed a selection of books we have read over the years. Many of these books I would never have selected on my own, but I’m glad to have read them. I think it’s important to not only read, but to read outside your comfort zone.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Outlander by Dana Gabaldon
The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
Faithful by Alice Hoffman
The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman [we must really like her!]
Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
As Long As We Both Shall Live by Joann Chaney
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albon
On Being Human by Jennifer Pastiloff
The House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende
Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
Happy reading!!!
Scenes From A Baltimore Kitchen 