For a long time now I have gotten away from in-person bookclubs, instead I have a few very good virtual friends with whom my reading tastes overlap and we have picked books or short stories to read in tandem, which I thoroughly enjoy. It's a way to connect with friends and broaden my reading horizons and always it is a very laid back way to read and chat about books.
However there is a local bookstore I frequent and where I buy my books, which is a charming place with lots of personality and a dedicated clientele. I have become a member of a few bookclubs that the owner organizes. Often the books chosen are not necessarily books I might generally reach for; this is not a bad thing to read outside my comfort zone. To be honest, I think the bigger draw for me is to be around a pleasant group of readers whose passion for books matches my own. So it isn't only about the books but about the social experience, too. For an introvert, it is like having my own safe space.
I tend to overextend myself too often when it comes to books, but it is hard not to be drawn into the possibility of a story that will captivate me. These days, if a book doesn't work for me and I know it early on I will let it go with few qualms, but I still enjoy hearing the discussion. More often than not, however, I do finish books and have come across some really wonderful new authors and genres.
So my eagerness occasionally gets the better of me (maybe that is true of all the members), so for February, we are tackling (three different groups mind you) several novels! Sometimes we select a book that is part of a set or series and then we try and read all of them. This does not always work well for me, being a very slow reader who is constantly grazing when it comes to books ... but I am always willing to try.
Our choices (made last December) that we will be meeting to talk about at the end of the month are: top to bottom:
The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods is a gentle sort of read, a mostly enjoyable bit of escapism, though I found the storytelling maybe a little bit uneven. It is narrated by three characters in two different timelines. The story is set in Dublin and opens in the 1920s when the bookshop was established by a woman who fled an arranged marriage first to Paris, where she learned the bookselling trade from non other than Sylvia Beach, and then later to Ireland. Her own passion was the Bronte family, in particular she hopes to find evidence of a purported manuscript written by Emily. Fast forward to the present where a young woman flees an abusive marriage for Dublin and finds work as a sort of maid/helper to an eccentric older woman on an unusual street called Ha'Penny Lane. Just the spot where there is rumored to have been a bookshop (the lost bookshop) that a British grad student is trying to locate. The author manages to touch upon some difficult subjects in a way that is not too distressing that gets to a happy ending.
Lyla Sage's Done and Dusted is perhaps not a book I might have gravitated to on my own. I am more a reader of fiction--mysteries--historical novels that are big on characters and plots with a dash of romance that is more swoony than super spicy. So I surprise myself in saying I quite enjoyed this cowboy romance. The story is set in Wyoming where a young woman returns home after a bad fall from a horse. Her plan is to work her family's ranch and not fall for her brother's best friend she grew up knowing but would not have imagined falling for (since most of the women in town already had). But you know how that goes. Sparks fly and some of them are quite sizzling. I liked Clementine's spunky best friend who is likely to get a book of her own and I might have to pick up if I come across it.
I am now reading and very much enjoying the YA novel Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. Another genre I don't tend to pick up often is fantasy, but I was pulled into this story from the start. There are gods and goddesses who have reawakened and have gone to war while raining down violence and fear on the humans who are in the way. The rivals are two journalists who are competing for a position as columnist on a prestigious newspaper. What I love about this story is the way the magic of the fantasy is quirky and charming and maybe not so otherworldly that it feels entirely foreign. The rivals are connected to each other through their typewriters that magically send messages back and forth. One of the rivals does not know who she is talking to and the other has already fallen for her and I fear he is setting himself up for some grief when she discovers his deceptions. There is a sequel called Ruthless Vows and the idea was to read the pair of books by bookclub night, but I suspect I will be doing good to just finish the first book. I do want to read the sequel, however. Eventually.
Bookclub is always an adventure!