Finding a Book Club that Fits

by Laura DiSilverio

Up front confession: I do not currently belong to a book club, even though I’ve just launched a series about the five women who make up the Readaholics book club.

Over the stifled gasps, I add: I would like to, but with two teens still at home, I have not carved out the time to join one or start one. [Embarrassed pause.]  Okay, that’s weak. We make time for the things that are important to us, right? I mean, I make it to the gym 3-4 times a week, and to Bible study every other week, so if I were serious about wanting to join a book club, I would. After all, CEOs and government ministers and stay-at-home moms with six kids find time (and babysitters) and get to their once a month book club meetings.

Book Club Types

I’ve gotten as far as debating what kind of club I would like to join. One that reads best-sellers? One that reads classics? A club that mixes it up with fiction one month and non-fiction the next? One that has husbands and wives, or one that’s all women? One that spends ten minutes discussing the book du jour and an hour catching up with friends and noshing? Or a club that huddles around a facilitator with a long list of prepared questions?

I divide most book clubs into two groups: social and serious. There’s usually a lot of wine or margaritas at a social book club, and furrowed brows and note-taking at the serious ones. As a writer, I’ve talked to clubs of both kinds and enjoyed them both. I get all my best what-to-read-next recommendations from book clubs.
Reading Like a Writer

I think part of my inertia is because I haven’t ever been part of a book club that wants to look at books the way I do, as a writer. Francine Prose wrote a book called Reading Like a Writer some years back, and I think she’d be great to have in a book club. Yeah, it can be interesting to argue about the social issues raised in a book, and ask “What would I do in such-and-such a situation?” But I want to dissect how an author makes a character sympathetic, or how she raises the tension in a particular scene, or why he chose a particular setting. Few of my friends and neighbors want to take a book apart that way. That’s not a slam on them–they’re not writers.

I’m sure a movie director would have a similar experience watching movies with non-industry friends. Her buddies might be gushing about the moral dilemma portrayed in the film, while the director says, “Did you notice how that shot was framed, or that transition, or the lighting?”

Resolved

While writing this post, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really do want to be part of a book club. If I start a book club that spends at least part of every meeting looking at how the author wrote the book (and part of each session quaffing wine, chatting and arguing about the book’s content), will any of you join me? We’ll have to call ourselves the Readaholics, of course.

In the comments, please recommend a book for us to start with!

P.S.:  If you don’t live close enough to Colorado Springs to make it to meetings, why not check out the Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco to see what they’re reading?

About the Author:

My life began, from a writing perspective, when I went to college. That’s not to say I didn’t write stories before then. I did. I’ve always written and, in my elementary years, illustrated stories. My tales always featured horses and princesses I could render with flowing manes of hair. Anyway, when I say my writing life didn’t begin until college, that’s because my home life was so overwhelmingly normal and angst-free: no family divorces, no abuse, no felons, no deaths, no drugs or alcohol, no shop-lifting or sex parties to win peer approval. (Have you heard what 12-year-olds are up to today? I shudder.) My father was an Air Force pilot and we moved a lot, living in Georgia, Texas, Washington, the Philippines, and Oklahoma before I was out of high-school, but I liked the peripatetic lifestyle.

I wrote my first novel for a creative writing class at Trinity University. Professor Bob Flynn inspired me and heroically refrained from gagging when reading the contemporary romance I titled “Jeweled Torment.” That manuscript is buried in a box in the garage, along with the Regency romance I wrote shortly after joining the Air Force. I concentrated on becoming a good intelligence officer for many years before doing any more significant writing. I served with an F-16 wing in Korea, helped resolve reports of live-sightings of Vietnam prisoners of war while working out of the embassy in Bangkok, pushed paper at the Defense Intelligence Agency, earned my Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, taught English for three years at the Air Force Academy, learned cool things about satellites (none of which I can ever write about) at the National Reconnaissance Office, attended various professional schools, did my time in the Pentagon, commanded a squadron in England, and ended up in Colorado. Along the way, I married my wonderful husband and produced two beautiful children who re-defined what is important in life. A moment of Holy Spirit-guided epiphany in Elliot’s Bay bookstore in Seattle convinced me it was time to embark on writing and mothering full time. I retired from the Air Force in late 2004.

My motto? Never, never, never, give up. I’m also fond of the saying that sits on my desk beneath a photo of a sailboat on the sea: “You cannot discover new worlds unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

One of those new worlds included the privilege of serving on the Sisters in Crime Board, for which I am now their immediate Past President.

I discover more new worlds all the time in my writing and I give thanks every day for being able to pursue my passion.

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Jennifer’s Review of The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco

Review (4.5 Stars): This was a great start to a new cozy series and I loved that the mystery revolved around a bookclub comprised of women that loved mysteries.  Amy-Faye was sweet, spunky and I love the humor that was laced throughout this mystery.  The secondary characters in this story are a real treat and I believe that The Readaholics and The Falcon Falso is a definite winner.  I haven’t read any of Ms. DiSilverio’s other mystery series but that will definitely change since I enjoyed this one so much.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by April 13th, please leave me a comment below:

Things have been quiet in the coastal town of North Harbor, Maine, since Sarah Grayson and her rescue cat, Elvis, solved their first murder. Sarah is happy running Second Chance, the shop where she sells lovingly refurbished and repurposed items. But then she gets dragged into a controversy over developing the waterfront. Most of the residents—including Sarah—are for it, but there is one holdout—baker Lily Carter.

So when Lily is found murdered in her bakery, it looks like somebody wanted to remove the only obstacle to the development. But Sarah soon discovers that nothing is as simple as it seems. Now, with the help of her cat’s uncanny ability to detect a lie, Sarah is narrowing down the suspects. But can she collar the culprit before the ruthless killer pounces again?

Amazon/B&N

About the Author:

Sofie Ryan is the pseudonym of young adult writer and mixed-media artist, Darlene Ryan. As Sofie Kelly she writes the Magical Cats mysteries. And as Sofie Ryan she writes the Second Chance Cats series. Sofie/Darlene lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she practices Wu style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.

Website

Jennifer’s Review of Buy A Whisker

Review (4 Stars): Readers are in for a real treat with Buy A Whisker.  Sarah finds herself in the middle of a community dispute over whether the waterfront should be developed and help bring more tourists to the lovely town of North Harbor.  Everyone in town seems to be for the proposed plan except local baker, Lily Carter and she refuses to sell her business for the waterfront development.  Soon, Lily is found murdered in her bakery and now Sarah and her trusty feline sidekick, Elvis, must find a killer before they decide to take another victim to get keep this project going.

I love little Elvis and he can tell when people are lying which has come in handy in helping Sarah find a killer in the past.  This cat is so adorable and has definitely become one of my favorite characters in the series.  Buy A Whisker is a cute, charming mystery that will have you wanting to spend more time with this spunky crime-fighting duo.  The mystery was intriguing with several plot twists and the right amount of humor to make the pages just fly by.  Looking forward to reading the next mystery, A Whisker of Trouble, which is due out next year.

Giveaway