Book Clubs and Boys

Let me guess. The term "book club" triggers an image of grown women reliving their boring high school English class discussions but this time with tea biscuits and berry pies. (I admit, I usually think that too.) But I've been visiting with some book clubbers who defy those stereotypes. Okay, so maybe there's pie... but the discussions are far from those painfully boring times you were forced to think about the symbolism in The Great Gatsby.
In the last few weeks, I've been visiting with a few book clubs across the country who've been reading 31 Dates in 31 Days. One was in Westchester, California with a book club established 40 years ago. That's nearly 500 books!
The ladies had set up a huge dinner spread and made a few desserts, all sprinkled with magazine cutouts of hunky movie stars. A perfect feast for a bunch of women!

Yes - these ladies are taking a bite of
Zac Efron and Colin Farrell. YUM!

Joining me for this book club was a special guest - my mom, who'd never been to a book club meeting before. The first-timer was flooded with questions from the moms in the crowd.

Thank you Linda and Fei for hosting in Westchester!

"How did you feel about your daughter going out with a bunch of strange men in New York City?"
"Were you ever worried she'd never get married?"
"Which of the guys were you hoping she'd end up with?"

The following five minutes Mom gushed about how my husband is the best son-in-law in the world.

Juan-Carlos, Date #21

And then she dove into her confession - that she was a huge fan of handsome, brilliant Date #21, Juan-Carlos. My mom loved that he was such a kind mama's boy who came to my defense if anyone questioned my project's intentions. He's such a great guy! (And FYI, still single and now living in Indiana! Just sayin!)

While most of my out-of-town book clubs contact me via Skype, this week I was offered an impromptu phone call with book clubbers in Seattle. They'd been chatting about the book for about an hour before calling me and the room was filled with giggles. (Nothing like a little session of talking about boys and dating to bring out the girl giggles!) Oh! How I wish I could have been in the room to chat with them in person!

Adam & me, Date #5

I imagine they were gushing about their fan favorite (you know, in addition to my husband) - Adam, Date #5. And who can blame them? He speaks Italian. He's handsome. He's funny.
And he's now married. (wah wah. Sorry ladies!)

Among the most common questions I receive at book clubs is "How did you find all those guys??"
To that I say - never underestimate your friends or the power of social media. I asked for help and thankfully it was given!

Let me know if you'd like me to join you for a book club party. You can buy copies of 31 Dates in 31 Days here - or at your favorite bookstores. I look forward to chatting with you!

Happy reading!