Why I Love My Bookclub

 The book club I'm a member of started over ten years ago after a glass of wine with friends. busy lives, jobs and children frequently made meeting up dificult to plan and we all love reading  so we decided to form a book club to force us into diarying a regular meet up with a purpose.

As some of our group worked in London and generally got home late we decided to make it a shared meal with a rota so we could eat and chat. This has worked very well and although we are terrible at remmebering whose turn it is it seems to have worked out fairly over the years.

In more recent years we started keeping a physical record of the books we read, the people who attended the meeting and a score out of 20, formed by us all voting and us working out the average. There's been a sognitifcant gap in the record keeping as someone (yes, me. It was me) lost the flipping book. No-one who knows me was surprised by this.

Here are some of the reasons I love my bookclub (and the people in it.)

1. Community. Book club is a safe space to share. Tears, laughter, worried and wins. We support and ulift over the table. These women (we aren't consciously female only, it just worked out that way) are my Ya-Ya's.

2. Books.  Well obviously the books are important. I've read books I wouldn't have looked twice at, learned so much and been inspired in life and my writing by things we've read. I've not loved all of them, not even cracked the spine on a few but even during the meetings where we barely touch on the book Ive appreciated the chance to read something discovered by my friends or share a book I'm passionate about.

3. Food. This might seem a bit of an odd thing to be listed in a post about why I love my book club but I am neurodiovergent and have huge issues with food. One of my biggst fears is being expected to eat something I can't face. Book club has given me two gifts. One, the realisation that there are people who appreciate my issues and give me advance warning of the menu and often an alternative. Two, the opportunity to feel safe enough to try new things without fear of judgement if I can't.

4. Something to look forward to. In recent years life has been quite tough with my husband's health and my own health issues resulting in our calendar mostly featuring appointments at the GP, Hospitals and the hospice. A lovely meal with friends and a chat about books is a shining gem to be treasured in the midst of medical mayhem.

5. Bookclub on Tour. Our bookclub is not confined to our houses. Recently inspired by a book about the ballet dancer Carlos Acosta we went to his production of Carmen. Loving "The Book of Beginnings" by Sally Page resulted in a fascinating trip to Highgate Cemetery and a chilly but uplifting swim in Hamstead Ladies pond. We've read books then gone to see the film adaptations and we visited a member who moved away. Another member has moved to Cyprus so we are thinking book club on tour might go overseas!

Now I've raved about my bookclub - I suppose I'd better go and start reading the latest book!