Deanna Repose Oaks

All about my written words.

stories

Book Clubs

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Never underestimate the power of a book club. They can do amazing things, just by reading books… and drinking wine.

I joined book clubs because I was struggling to decide what to read. I can never make up my mind about what to read next – I am not a genre reader I am a GOOD STORY reader. I’ll read anything, even the crappiest crap, all the way to the end if the blurb is good. For a while, I was just allowing my Kindle to recommend books to read. Bad idea let me tell you! While I learned lots about what not to write, it was difficult to find satisfaction. The book clubs SAVED me, in more ways than one.

First, I am now reading better books without being forced to think about what I am going to read next. Second, the group shares what they think, so I get to hear so many different opinions about the stories. Third, I feel valued when I share my opinions, enough so that I often open up when the books cut deep, and they all there with bandages and care. Fourth, I now have a tribe of people to ask for help on the silliest of things like where the cheapest gas station is or the hardest of things like can you help me take care of my family because one of us is sick. Fifth, I get to help others with the silliest of things and the hardest of things. Sixth… I could go on (and on and on), but I feel I may be boring you…. so I’ll stop there.

My books clubs have healed me, made me helpful, shown me that people are worth more time than I was giving them, and that you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (or its blurb!).

Powerful stuff, all of it.

My TBR Pile…. That I keep getting distracted from

Prompt 1

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I decided that the best way to spend a lazy day is making up stories. The time just flies when I am thinking other people’s thoughts or trying to move characters from one scene to the next without fighting against their natures, situations, or emotions. While I am lost in their situations, I am not within my own.

When I can’t get lost like that, the next best way to spend a lazy day is to fall into a story someone else has dropped in my lap, either through a written book, a filmed movie, or a spoken track. Trying to find the connections between theme, story, and my life fills my mind with ways I can better the days I live, the people around me, or my situation.

I am starting to fight this story about laziness because it reads like a job description for a writer. A description about a job does not seem like it would lead to a “lazy” day, but for me it is how I unwind. I sort out all my stress and the daily wear on my soul. Maybe I am a more of a writer that I am prepared to admit?

Maybe I am going to talk myself into it before too long…