Book Club

About two and half years ago I moved into a neighborhood in the suburbs of Atlanta in order to give my kids the kind of childhood one dreams of.  Friends they can walk to for playdates, swim team in the summer, amazing schools, nature trails right in the neighborhood, no worries about kids playing outside for hours on end!

What I didn't realize moving in was that there were also opportunities for adults to socialize outside the realm of their kids.  Parties at the clubhouse, tennis and BOOK CLUB!!  All my adult life I have tried to find a book club.  You see one in movies, hear about them from friends, and of course read about them in books!  For years, I never had the time, the resources (namely lots of people to talk about books with).  Sure, my best friends and I traded books we've read, share kindle accounts, and give each other recommendations.  But when we all get together we talk about books but also lots of other stuff!  So, I was so grateful when I moved into my house in the suburbs and heard that there was a neighborhood sponsored book club!!

At first, I didn't go, mainly because I couldn't find time to read the books (I just moved remember??). Or I tried to read the novel and couldn't get through it and I vow NOT TO FINISH BOOKS I DON"T LIKE.  Big waste of time in my world!

Then finally!  I finished and enjoyed one of the books.  It was The Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Kline.  Totally not a book I would have chosen on my own, and not my favorite genre.  But I was able to finish it - hurray!  And I didn't totally hate it!  Bonus! This meant I could attend my first book club meeting in good conscience.

I had a great time, met lovely women (and one man - which has since grown to 2 men!), had real adult conversations and have been attending once a month, give or take, ever since.  In fact, I even give input on book choices now (Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and Where'd you go Bernadette by Maria Semple). Secretly, I do this just to make sure some of the books I REALLY like to read are in there.

In between books that I chose or agreed with the choice, there's at least one book I actually loved (The Martian by Andy Weir) and others that I liked and felt like regardless of my love for the book, we had good discussions (Me Before You by JoJo Moyes, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.  And a few I didn't finish, as hard as I tried (A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman by The Magicians by Lev Grossman).

Oh yeah, there's the one I watched the movie of because I couldn't even get past the first page (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier),  Full disclosure, I let book club members know I did this, and couldn't believe I was the only one!

Total aside...and probably a whole topic for another blog...but I also started listening to books on my commute and love when the author reads their own work (celebrity memoirs, self-help books etc.) Recently, I was listening to Gretchen's Rubin's Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives, and I realize now that in order to create a reading habit, I had to be held accountable - thank you book club!!! Now back to my blog on book club...

I will NOT finish books I don't like is kinda my mantra (thank you Austin Kleon.).  But book club at least gets me to try them.  And that has made all the difference!

One Word

This blog a month challenge didn't come easy for me.  I do not have a "go to" video that I use for either personal inspiration or for educating children.  I have a lot of quotes and sayings, but not a specific video or movie that I know well enough or used often enough to write about.  So, when asked to blog about one I thought about what speaker has inspired me and I looked to Jon Gordon.

A few years ago my principal introduced us to Jon Gordon and the Energy Bus, as well as his notion of picking "one word" for ourselves.  Jon Gordon's positive thinking was inspirational to me then and immediately I got on the bus!  While I always thought of myself as a positive thinker, I now had a vehicle to discuss it and help create a culture of positivity in his name.

Over the last few years, I continued to stay on the bus, and also have picked one word for myself, regardless of whether or not we did this as a team.  In looking for inspiration for this blog, I revisited Jon Gordon's speeches and am reminded about the power of his words and ideas.

My word for this year is FOCUS.  In my position at work, I wear multiple hats and I have decided that for me to be most successful,  I need to FOCUS in on certain aspects in order to be really good at what I do.  At home, I have a house full of kids and need to FOCUS on what is most important, which is the time we get to spend together and not worrying about all the little stressful day to day things (which is what I usually tend to focus on).

Jon Gordon's inspirational videos can be used with adults AND kids, and I am glad I have revisited them for inspiration to FOCUS on my one word this year!