I’ve become involved in a variety of new activities in the past year. Most have been focused on spiritual development; I believe that being ready for whatever comes next requires, as Tony Merida would say, a healthy soul. I operate best when my soul is in order, when its delight and happiness is in the Lord.
That being said, I’ve taken up other activities. Some play into a healthy soul; art, for instance, is both a learning and worship activity. Thus, I’ve signed up for classes to improve existing skills or to learn new ones.
I’ve also started taking boxing and kickboxing classes. While they’re aimed at keeping me healthy, I ultimately signed up for a different reason: I wanted and needed to be around people. More importantly, I wanted a place where I’d have opportunities to share Jesus. That hasn’t happened yet, but I’m okay with that. I’ve never been much of a Bible-thumper, and I’m not about to start now.
Book club…well, I joined one for a couple of reasons. First, one of my friends asked me, and who doesn’t want to participate in something to which they’ve been invited? Second, it was an opportunity to meet new people and form new relationships. Third, I love, love, love books and reading and writing. The decision to join book club was therefore an easy one.
However, there are other reasons to join a book club, some of which I knew and some of which I’m discovering—who knew that Warby Parker had a book club in the interest of team dynamics? It seems that book clubs are not the realm of crazy-cat ladies (if they ever were) or retired librarians and schoolteachers. They’re for everyone, from the youngest to the eldest.
- Community. Like I said, I joined my book club because I was invited. A group of ladies—we cap the club at fifteen members—welcomed me into their homes and conversations. I will be forever grateful to my friend for asking if I’d be interested in being a part of her community.
- Growth. I grow in community; I am not meant to go through this life alone. In relation to book club, I grow through the books we read. I gain a new perspective on the world, even if it’s one I don’t particularly fancy, i.e., the Vanderbilt family. I also discover new subjects—I wrote several poems about the Romanovs after reading a book about them—and new ways of approaching problems and structuring my writing.
- Empathy. Much has been said on the subject of reading and empathy, as well as writing and empathy. To be a good writer, I have to be able to understand and place myself in another person’s shoes. Good writing does that to the reader, too. I may not like the character or what they’re doing, but I relate to them.
- Knowledge. In book club, I read books I might not otherwise have chosen—the Vanderbilt family is an example. I never would have read about them but for the presence of the club. I consider this a great tool in my writer’s kit; it gets me outside the reading bubble. While mine is rather large, it still needs an injection of an outside force now and again.
- Trivia. I use metaphor and analogy a lot in my writing, so a book club is a way to replenish and add to the coffers. An example? I made a reference to a Vanderbilt mansion in a conversation on Twitter. That never would have happened if I hadn’t read about their gargantuan, gilt-covered homes first.
Those are my five reasons for joining a book club. What are yours?