I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie
True story, I'm addicted to buying books. Like real life books. With that said, I'll also confess that most of those books have gone unread, stacked in what we call "The Red Room," like a hoarder's paradise. My final confession, I've always been jealous of people who can crush a book in a day.
On a related note, I love connecting people, primarily women, and witnessing that magic happen. Which is why in September of 2018, I started a book club, as a way of bringing women together AND holding me accountable to actually take time for myself to read.
I don't know what the actual statistic is, but I feel like a lot book clubs have great momentum in the beginning, and then fizzle out soon after. I've been determined not to be a book club failure, and happy to report that the Literal Babes Reading Collective has been going strong for a year and a half now, with the added bonus of me reading on the reg. On top of my personal reading victory, the connections that have organically formed through book club fill my cup up to the brim. New members join our meet-up each month, the Facebook group is over 100 women strong, and in 2019 we added a Philly chapter in addition to Rochester NY. I even renewed my library card. Cheers to small victories!
I’m challenging myself to read 15 books in 2020, beginning with The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah—our current book club read. To some, that goal might seem small. But to me, it’s hefty, and totally doable.
If you’re looking to read more too, check out this article from Bust (one of my favorite magazines!), with seven tips to help you enjoy reading a little more in the year to come.
Also check out and enjoy these titles, vetted and read by the Literal Babes:
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
Normal People, Sally Rooney
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, Lori Gottlieb
Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
No Happy Endings, Nora McInerny
The Broken Girls, Simone St. James
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
Educated, Tara Westover
It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too), Nora McInerny
Other books we’ve read include Girl, Wash Your Face (Rachel Hollis), Grit (Angela Duckworth), and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck—all of these titles had pretty mixed reviews at our meet-ups, but I still wanted to share.
I did read a few other books of my own accord (humble brag), including Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle, Wolfpack by Abby Wamback, and The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates.
Annnnnnnd…I just realized all of the titles we’ve read were written by women, which is a total coincidence, but also pretty awesome, so I’m going to go ahead and pretend that was intentional. Well done, Literal Babes!
The Henrietta Public Library merges literacy and Lizzo with this killer book display!