Books & Beyond - April Book - The Client

Books & Beyond is what we call ourselves now.  We had been known for years and years (since 1988) as the "Fourth Thursday Book Group."  We were started by the Woman's Club of Tarpon Springs but it was open to all who were interested -- male and female.  We have had a man join us for a meeting or two but they are so out-numbered, I think they aren't all that comfortable.  My husband is one of the few men I know who would enjoy that environment.  One year his school decided to segregate the classes -- all boys and all girls.  Somehow, he ended up in a class with all girls.  His teacher let him stay.  "William and his Harem."  He made all "A's" -- not because he thrived in that environment, but because he was cute and all the girls did his homework for him and gave him the answers to tests.  Those who know him will not be surprised by that revelation.  He is a man who truly likes and respects women. And he knows how to be a friend with nothing else in mind.

I digress.

So today was the fourth Thursday of the month and we met as we usually do in the conference room of the library at noon.  Someone always brings refreshments and I made the coffee and a pitcher of ice water.  I distributed the book for May - "Mayday" by Nelson Demille and Thomas Block.  And then we started to talk about "The Client" by John Grisham.  Some of us had read it when it first came out.  Others had never read it but had read others by Grisham. Still other members had never read Grisham and were surprised by how much they enjoyed it.

That is the main function of a book club -- to try to introduce us to a genre or an author we have never read. Our club has evolved to a more participatory group in the last few years.  When I assumed the role of Coordinator, I changed a few things.  The most important was allowing the members to get their books anywhere they wanted to.  I have a list of people who prefer to have me handle getting their books for at prevailing used book prices.  Others prefer to borrow a print copy or to download an ebook from the library, Amazon, or a book store that sells them.  I place the orders for the paperback crowd, but download my own from Amazon to my Kindle.

I loved "The Client" when I first read it. Loved the movie.  Loved the main characters.  It is not a typical John Grisham novel though it is a "page turner" as his other legal thrillers are.  This year we introduced several members to that genre with books by Michael Connolly (The Lincoln Lawyer) and this month's book.

Next month after our book discussion, I'll pass out a list of possible book choices for next year with a synopsis of the book.  We will vote on the books for next year using that list and I'll assign them to each month from October 2013 through May 2014.  Some of us will be reading "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett over the summer and we'll discuss it in September.  In August we'll meet at a local restaurant for lunch to talk about our summer activities and, especially, what we read over the summer.

There are 18 of us and we all have two things in common:  1)  We LOVE to read, and 2) because we love to read, we're open to reading experiencing new reading unfamiliar authors and books. If you possess those two attributes, think about joining a book club -- or starting one of your own.

Now that I have four weeks before the next meeting, I'll start a non-book club book tonight, I have a new J.D. Robb that downloaded to my Kindle awhile back that I WILL start tonight!  I have it on good authority (from my daughter Chele) that it is a very good book!  I expect no less from Nora Roberts no matter which genre she is writing in.