Jenny sent me this article today and we both thought it was
worth sharing, since it reiterates what we’ve felt all school year about our Mother-Daughter book club. Yes, it’s ongoing – and has
been a complete hit with our girls.
There are a lot of similarities between our club and the one
discussed in the article: Both meet once
a month (most of the time), both involve food, and we take turns choosing the
books we read, as well as the restaurants.
I liked what the author mentioned about gradually turning over the reins
in terms of leading discussion to the girls; I think one of my goals as we
enter our second year of book club is to introduce that aspect of club
participation. But they main thing about
our club is that we love it, our girls love it, and it has been a wonderful
learning and bonding time for us all.
I wanted to take a minute to share the list of what we’ve
read this year in case any of you are thinking of starting a similar club this
summer. Our choices were generally based
on books that Jenny and I had read and loved, or on books that received some
sort of “press” – either via A Mighty Girl (such a wonderful resource), or via
our individual Facebook feeds (we both have lots of reading friends). Many (but not all) are fiction, since that’s
what Jenny and I love best, and most (but not all) feature strong female
characters in the starring role. (Harry
Potter is one exception – but then again, where would Harry be without
Hermione?) We also picked books we felt
our girls wouldn’t necessarily pick on their own, but would enjoy. It was a good way to force them to “branch
out” without outright coercion – our group is full of strong-willed females,
that’s for certain (and that’s putting it mildly). And of course, we always looked for books
that would spark interesting discussion.
Anyway, here’s the list so far. Happy summer!
August 2012 – The Penderwicks
by Jeanne Birdsall
September 2012 – Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
October 2012 – The Hundred
Dresses by Eleanor Estes
November 2012 – From the
Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
January 2013 – Harriet
the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
February 2013 – Through
My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
March 2013 – The Lightning
Thief by Rick Riordan
May 2013 – The Secret
of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
June 2013 – A Smart
Girl’s Guide to Staying Home Alone by Dottie Raymer
In other news, I just read this wonderful thing via a recommendation
from my “grown-up” book club, and it was FABULOUS. Isn’t the cover art just perfection,
also? Plus, it’s a novel-in-letters (we old
English majors are always a sucker for the epistolary novel, be it Les Liasons Dangereuses or Bridget Jones,
let’s get real), and it’s funny and smart and the exact right “beach-read” to
kick off your summer. Jonathan Franzen
even loved it, and I think he hates everything.
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