Although Valentine’s Day has passed already, we are still in the month of love. So I have decided to dedicate this post to my best friend Keera, who I love very much.
A couple of years ago, Keera decided she’d round up some of her closest friends and form a book club out of us. It sounded like a good idea when it first began; I mean 10 -12 well-educated and grown women gathering together monthly to discuss the themes of a book. It should be easy enough right?
WRONG.
Our book club was very short-lived. In fact, it lasted about six months before Keera packed it in with frustration. She just couldn’t carry on any longer with our unserious group. It’s funny now, but back then I actually felt sorry for Keera. Those few months may not have gone as planned, but Keera’s book club taught me a few things.
Before I share with you what I learned from Keera’s book club, here is a bit more about my best friend. I have known this woman for close to 23 years! Our first encounter was on the football field of Bexley Grammar School. Unlike most friendships these days, our sisterhood has survived petty school ground fall-outs, boy drama, heartbreak, attending different universities, marriage, and everything else life can throw at a friendship.
Through it all, Keera’s friendship has been solid and unwavering. She’s the kind of girl you can call in the night during a crisis, and she’ll be there in a split second; the kind of homegirl who celebrates your wins more than you do, who’d be ready to throw hands with you when beef comes knocking and who will crawl into your bed and cry with you on your darkest days.
Thank you sis for over two decades of your friendship.
Anyway, back to what I learned from Keera’s book club.
What I learned from Keera’s Book Club
1. Some just want the sex
Our book club’s second book was Eric Jerome Dickey’s Sleeping with Strangers (may he rest in peace). If you’ve ever read an EJD book then you’d be familiar with his hot sex scenes. Dickey has a way of writing about it that leaves little to the imagination.
Although it had been years since I’d read a book of that genre, I was excited to revisit one of the authors who first initiated my interest in black storytelling. Besides EJD is one American writer who knows how to write about London with accuracy.
Anyway, the afternoon we met up to discuss Sleeping with Strangers (with all seriousness might I add) was a wonderful day of theme-related games and discussions 😉 Needless to say, the erotica-themed meetup had the highest turnout. Everybody wanted to show up to talk about sex! Keera’s book club had miraculously grown in members.
Well, I wouldn’t have been able to tell when we next met to discuss George Orwell’s Animal Farm because our number had dwindled spectacularly. What a shame!
2. Some are in it for the chicken wings, wine and the vibes
It soon became very apparent who was actually reading the books each month and who just showed up because Keera was good at providing food and drink.
The afternoon we met to discuss Michelle Obama’s Becoming, Keera was confident that everyone would come prepared (cos I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a book from the queen herself, right?). Our host opened the discussion by asking everyone to name a life event from the book they think contributed most to Obama’s “becoming”.
Well, things were going pretty smoothly around the room until it got to a particular person, who began talking gibberish (with a mouthful of veggie pizza, and a glass of wine in her hand – instead of the book). It quickly became apparent she hadn’t done the required reading like she promised she would. This was before confessing that “reading wasn’t her thing”, and that she only attended book club for the vibes. Ha!
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3. Some will hit it and quit it
Our first ever meet-up was an introductory meeting. There was no book, just a bunch of us in Keera’s living room, getting better acquainted with each other and discussing our various reading habits (or lack thereof).
When it came to deciding what our first book should be, there was one particluar person who was very vocal about it. She wanted us all to buy (or borrow) Farrah Storr’s The Dis Comfort Zone, because she happened to have received a copy for Christmas, and if we all read it, that would mean she wouldn’t have to buy a new book.
It was against my better judgement as I thought the first book should be a fun read, and something less dense, but it wasn’t my book club, so I kept my mouth shut. Well, needless to say, after Miss Madam made us all go out, hunt down her beloved book, and labour over it all month, she failed to show up to the next meetup, or to any other meetup after that.
Boo!
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4. Some have all the mouth
This is a pretty short point, but have you realised that in every group there is that one person who knows just about everything?
Well, it wasn’t too different for Keera’s book club. For a while we’ve known this club member to be a bit of a “know-it-all”, and this attribute was highlighted at each of our meetups.
So, in erotica-month, she was our resident sexpert, and in Obama month, she knew everything about American politics, then the time we discussed Animal Farm, she talked us all to death about the Russian Revolution…you catch my drift now right? 😉
I can’t say I minded Miss Chatty-Patty much. At least she showed up each month right?
This brings me to my next point.
5. The rest won’t even show up
Everyone agrees to show up to the event, so you set up the WhatsApp group chat and add them, only for some of them to never participate in the group chat and never show up to the event! That’s what happened with the book club, much to Keera’s annoyance.
Well in our case, everyone did take part in the online group discussions, in fact there were some people who would agree to read the book each month, but did they show up to a single meetup? Of course not!
Keera’s book club taught me a lot about some of the challenges that arise when trying to organise a group of people on a monthly basis. Some of the character types made book club interesting but they also meant our monthly meetups were shortlived.
So this is what I learned from Keera’s book club. Have you ever been the group organiser for a holiday or an event perhaps? What challenges did you face?
