Last week I was sitting in the yoga studio, waiting for class to begin, when in walked an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in years. We used to be in a book club together, which was started by a mutual friend. We called ourselves Litterati, and we met once a month to discuss our selected book over a meal and a few bottles of wine.
We took turns hosting the meetings and choosing the books. Some of my favorite reads were titles I never would have selected on my own…Bel Canto, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and The Other Boleyn Girl among them.
I stayed with Litterati for about a year and a half. When I left, I told everyone it was because I was too busy, which I believed at the time. But looking back, I was just beginning to realize how unhappy I was. There were problems in my relationship, my job was highly stressful, and my self-esteem was in the toilet. It was also around this time that I began dieting and exercising almost obsessively, thinking if I just reached the “perfect” weight I would finally be happy. My life was a mess, and I think I was secretly worried that people would find out and be disappointed in me, so I kept them at a distance.
It took a few more years, but I finally figured things out. The real problem wasn’t my weight, or my busy schedule, or any of those other superficial things. The real issue was that I had stopped being me.
I stayed in an unhealthy relationship because I was afraid of what people might think. I was already divorced once, and had broken two engagements before that. I stayed in my career because it was all I knew, and worried it was too late to start over. I wasn’t writing because I didn’t think I was good enough to be a “real” writer. I had millions of excuses as to why I couldn’t live the life I really wanted.
Isn’t it funny how a chance meeting with an old friend brought new perspective to events that happened nearly a decade ago?
I chatted with K. after yoga class that evening, and she said Litterati is still going strong, though some of the members have changed. They are celebrating their 10-year anniversary this month. At the last meeting, she said they discussed inviting all the old members back for a reunion. I told her I would love to come.
Seeing K. reminded me how long it’s been since I curled up with a good book. Last summer I finally read The Kite Runner and loved it, but to be honest I haven’t done much reading since that wasn’t work-related. I’d like to change that, and could use some recommendations.
Have you read anything amazing recently?
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One of the things I enjoy so very much is reading. I usually have a couple of books going at a time. I go to the neighborhood library, and also download to my Kindle.
Just finished a very interesting book that was a 99 cent download: Speculation by Edmund Jorgensen. A very unusual and engaging novel. Just downloaded Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde, on the recommendation of a friend. But…I also love mysteries and crime novels for the sheer entertainment value!
How wonderful to be invited back to the book club after all this time. What a difference a decade makes, eh?
Thanks for the ideas, Tara. Second Hand Heart is a great title. Crime novels are a favorite of mine, too. Especially when I just want a quick read. I haven’t gotten into e-books yet, but it’s time.
I’m reading “The President and The Assassin” about the presidency of William McKinley and the strange brew of imperialism with a side of anarchy and run amok capitalism that was America near the turn of the century. It ‘s a period of our history that I knew nothing of before.
Vicki, I’m intrigued. I may have to borrow that one when you are finished.
I recommend “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.” It’s an unusual book, but I just loved it and recommend it to anyone I can convince to read it. It’s about a young woman who can taste emotions in food and her brother with his own peculiar talent.
Also “When She Woke” – a modern retelling of “The Scarlet Letter.”
“Ready Player One” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” which are both classified as young adult literature but were very fun.
I also recommend “The Lovely Bones” a narrated by a young woman who was murdered and yet it manages to be uplifting in the end. I gave 20 copies of that book out last night as a World Book Night giver – a great thing for book lovers to check out. A group of publishers and literacy organizations provide special copies of books for free distribution to encourage a love of reading.
Wow, thanks for all of the ideas. I love unusual storylines so the idea of tasting emotions is compelling. I’ve put off reading The Lovely Bones for years because I have a really difficult time reading about that type of subject matter. The Kite Runner had some tough stuff in it, though, and I ended up loving the book.
I didn’t know about World Book Night. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been on a Muriel Spark bender. It started with an NPR Book Notes review of three novels written about secretaries writing novels, “Loitering with Intent” by Spark being among them. Got the book & LOVED her writing style, so looked into what else she had to offer. Oh. “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”. And much more.
Laini Taylor’s “Faeries of Dreamdark” duo and “Daughter of Smoke & Bone” were fun reads. And for a COMPLETE departure, Tom Franklin’s “Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter” was magnificent if only for his use of language and making me feel like I was right there. The plot and characters were also gripping.