Once upon a time, before committing to the practice of keeping a book journal (April 2010), starting my blog (March 2011), or discovering Goodreads (January 2013), finishing a book involved little more than jotting down a few impressions on the final page, if the book belonged to me.
Long ago, before attending my first book club meeting (May 2010), followed by being in/out of more than a dozen others (June 2010 - early 2015) prior to initiating a book club of two with a reading soulmate (summer 2015) and then starting my own club (January 2017), discussing books - except with my partner of forty-seven years - was a welcome but rare occurrence.
Nowadays, the amount of activity that routinely follows the completion of nearly every book is roughly equivalent to a part-time job. I'm not complaining. By a significant margin, it's the most satisfying part-time job I've ever had. This is true because whether it's writing about books - in my journal, as a blog post, putting a review on Goodreads, or sometimes all three - or discussing them with that reading soulmate or the folks in my club (did I mention I'm also in an all non-fiction club?), all this additional activity helps to both extend the glow of excellent books and assist me in recalling more of what I've read. How do you ensure the riches of your reading life remain with you?
p.s. Silly to close this post without recommending something, right? The Beekeeper of Aleppo (2019) by Christy Lefteri is worth your time. It's a straightforward, unsentimental, sometimes harrowing tale of refugee life. Hard to read a book like this and not recognize how fortunate I am.
I too like to ensure that the riches of reading remain with me. Like you, I like to discuss books in a book club or one-on-one as we have done. I keep a list of books read on a yearly basis and I sometimes capture moving passages in a notebook. I am not as consistent as you are on the latter:). I am so grateful my parents started me on a reading path at an early age. There were two highlights every weekend: going to the library and roller skating. My Christmas wish list always included books!
ReplyDeleteInes; Thanks for the comment. Given the subject matter of this post, I'm not at all surprised you chose to weigh in here. Your love of reading is a match for mine. Bookworms unite!
DeleteA book on hand! HAPPINESS! When I was around high school age I kept records of everything I read. At some point I tossed the records and just read for deepest pleasure as the book became part of me for the time I was reading it.
DeleteJust finished FOX by the incredible JCO and now reading “I’ll Tell You When I’m Home”. Beautifully written…lyrical almost. Not surprising given she is primarily a poet.
Anonymous; Thanks for the comment. Though I've enjoyed Oates, I have to admit I had to ask someone who "JCO" was and I haven't yet read her latest book - "Fox". Also, who is the "...primarily a poet"/author of "I'll Tell You When I'm Home", that you mentioned?
DeleteOpps! That would be Hala Alyan
DeleteHey Pat. Although I am not a part of any book club(s) at the moment, I have very much enjoyed talking about a book I've read with people/friends who have either read the book or who I believe would enjoy reading it. And they have done the same for me. If noting else it allows us to share our love for reading and open us up to book choices we may not have otherwise experienced.
ReplyDeleteBe well,
Bob
Bob; Even though you're not in a book club, you've got the right attitude about discussing the books you've read with as many others as you can rustle up. Whatever happened to that father/daughter club you told me you were thinking about starting not long after you began commenting on my blog?
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