I’ve mentioned here on my blog more than once how I was an avid reader as a child and into my teenage years. Upon studying English in university, I quickly lost my love for leisurely reading because I was expected to read so many materials, texts, novels, etc., as part of the curriculum, and my lack of interest in reading as a result of this didn’t sit too well with me. A few years after graduating from university, my mom and sister actually grabbed a book from Costco that they figured I would enjoy; I was reluctant to read it initially, but I’m so grateful I did. Not only because it was excellent, but furthermore because it reignited my passion for reading.
I’ve been steadily reading once again for a couple of years now, and while I do try to stray outside of my genre preferences here and there, I tend to gravitate toward romantasy, a cross between a romance and a fantasy novel.
A couple of months ago, a few of my rugby teammates put out the idea of starting a book club, within the team, to see who might be interested. I expressed interest, as did roughly ten of my teammates, we we have been going strong with the club ever since. We give ourselves a few weeks to read whatever book we have selected, and selection is based on our own preferences; we decided everyone gets to pick a book to read in the book club at some point.
If you asked me five years ago to join a book club, I absolutely would have declined. But, I’m really enjoying it because it is exposing me to texts I would not normally be interested in reading. Are some of the books my favourites? Absolutely not. But that is entirely okay, and I think stepping outside of my reading comfort zone is no bad thing.
If you have ever contemplated joining a book club, consider this your sign to do so.
Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash
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