Intro + February’s Pick
Why book club?
I’ll be straight with you: my last book club attempt was in the early days of the lockdown. It consisted of two friends and myself. Its lifecycle lasted one book and one Zoom call before we lost interest and moved on to other hobbies (the art supplies I bought to pursue drawing are sitting in a closet).
There’s a good chance this book club will suffer the same fate. But I’m going to try this again anyways!
My fake “virtual book club” started in 2016. I was inundated with books during my graduate program: I had to read 2-3 books a week, plus additional readings, all while handling a full-time job, writing homework, and a nasty commute between work, campus, and home. I started posting the books on my Instagram stories in case others were interested in what I was reading, or for those looking for something different to read. Some people did care and here we are!
Some goals I’d like to achieve during Book Club 2.0:
Read books you wouldn’t otherwise read or have been saving for a rainy day.
Let this not be a stressful experience—we will NOT be reading Les Miserables (~1,462 pages) or Infinite Jest (~1,079 pages), analyze a book for 4 hours, or read more than 1 book at a time. We all have shit to do!
Meet once a month at the end of the month to discuss our book for at least an hour
Learn something you may not have known, whether it’s about the author(s), the time period a book takes place, etc.
Have a good time, even if the world is a dumpster fire🔥
February’s pick is A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) by Jennifer Egan. I’ve been saving this book for a rainy day and for 12 years, I’ve done my best to avoid any spoilers.
You can always purchase the book at your local bookstore or on Bookshop.org (if possible, please do not buy your books from Amazon!), or borrow from your local library (e-books and audiobooks available through Libby). Seriously, if you don’t have a library card, you’re sleeping on it—some libraries give you free access to Kanopy, just sayin’!
Unfortunately, we are still living in COVID times so our meetings will remain virtual. I am happy to consider hosting people at my Brooklyn apartment if you live in the area though!
**Our first meeting will be on February 26th (rain check February 27th)
**Time: TBD (likely 1-2pm EST on some Skype-like program) If this time doesn’t work for everybody, we can figure it out together!
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at fern.cdesouza@gmail.com. Concerns include but not limited to: wanting to quit book club, sitting in on the chat but not reading the book, or bringing more friends onboard. All valid!
Let’s see how long we last!
Godspeed,
Fernanda
P.S. Since this book is about an aging punk rocker, here’s a favorite anthem from my punk rock days as an 8th grader in Catholic school.
February is the most punk month!
My body is ready.