Book It Tuesday

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It's Tuesday, and technically it's Book It Day, but I am having a hard time drumming up thoughts for conversation. Online book clubs are hard! One of the hardest parts about the club is that I don't know who has the book, how many folks finished the book, and if anyone is actually interested in discussing the book. Some books just don't make great book club books... Is this a case of a poor book for discussion? Is the Internet in our way? Am I a poor book club moderator? Am I throwing in the towel on the book club idea too early?

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A semi-side note: I was shocked and kind of annoyed that Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was not available on the Kindle. How snobby and 21st century of me, I admit it. It was enjoyable to have an older copy to read though. I felt like I was connecting with the history of the girls, now women (Yes, I am assuming no boys have ever read this book), who read the copy before me. The community that can form through books is something I miss by using a Kindle. I miss bookstores especially. Yesterday a friend and I were discussing that we would like to visit a local bookstore that opened recently. It looks charming, like the dream everyone has at one point of being a bookstore owner. It's the Kathleen Kelley in all of us. But, sadly, I don't have anything pressing me to go to the store other than curiosity and a little nostalgia. Any book I want (well, any book other than a Judy Blume classic) is at my fingertips. Maybe I should go to the bookstore today just to hear the bells that I am certain are hanging on the door and to breathe in the wonderful smell of shelves of books. 

Don't these photos make you want to curl up with a good book? Would a Kindle suffice?

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Literary Chat Tuesday

It's here! Our first book discussion. First things first, I am curious how many folks have actually obtained the book and started reading. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was oddly hard to find. I am saddened when "classics" are hard to find. Barnes and Noble misplaced all their copies, and I did not have the energy to comb the giant store, so John ended up checking out the book from the middle school library for me. In hindsight, getting Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret from the middle school library seems perfect. The first time my copy was checked out from the library was November 10, 1986. Who was that young girl? Where is she now? Did this book leave a lasting impact?

Confession: I just started the book last night. I made it to chapter 8. I plan to finish today. I want to keep today's discussion somewhat broad, just in case this post spurs some others to start reading. Hint, hint. My initial thought about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is that it could easily be a prequel to Mean Girls. Nancy Wheeler terrifies me. Is she a young Regina George? (cue quote: "Raise your hand if you have been personally victimized by Regina George.") I keep cringing and waiting for a bad trick to be played on Margaret, for her to get hurt.

The second thought that has been bouncing around in my heard while I am reading is, "Is this a good book for young girls?" The inspiration for reading this book came from Jackie, who wondered if this book was too mature for one of her young elementary students. I have been debating if Judy Blume focuses too much on the obsession with breast size, boys, looking like a Playboy model... Is Judy Blume over-emphasizing topics that are not very healthy for young girls, or is what she writes about exactly what 12-year-old girls are consumed with anyway? It's a debate to me. Are most tween and teen novels consumed with these topics?

Weigh in on the discussion. Run wild!

Burgeoning Book Club About Burgeoning Life

One of my teacher friends - one of the best teachers in Metro Atlanta, in fact - mentioned to me that one of her students is reading Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. If I was to create a list of pre-adolescent/early adolescent must-read books, Are You there God? It's Me, Margaret would definitely make the list. In college one of my friends and I decided to re-read this classic to see if it had longevity. Unfortunately, my discipline in reading did not have longevity, so I did not get through this coming of age tale. Well, the opportunity has come again to revisit one of Judy Blume's top hits. I have decided to start a blog book club. Motherlode does a blog book club, so hey, I will too.

Tuesday, January 24, will be the first post about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. From there, there will be a book post and discussion every Tuesday until the discussion dies down. I am thinking there will also be some guest posts to spice up the conversation. This will be a test-run of the book club.

Who's in?

Take a look at the many covers of this cult classic.