Last summer my oldest had a brilliant idea, which shouldn’t be surprising. He is borderline genius after all. For real. No joke.

The idea? Family book club. My kind of adventure!

I know, I know – my kind of adventure is also bungee jumping, zip lining, traveling to new places, trying new food, karaoke, riding bird scooters (and falling off to avoid running over oldest – story for another day)…the list could go on.

But, I LOVE reading. Before I ever started school, I loved reading, so I absolutely loved this idea!

We each picked a book (there are four of us), and from mid May through September of 2018 we read them and discussed. Now, word has it that some of us didn’t finish every book, but because this was my kind of adventure, I did. And, even though three of the books were fiction, they were each unique – just like the four of us.

We read:

• a science fiction, satirical, anti-war novel published in the 1960’s and on a list of 100 books everyone should read.
• a non-fiction memoir which was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Hanky not included but needed.
• a young adult fiction book that is the first book in a series (I do like a good series!)
• a novel written by a Swedish author full of humor and a tear or two.

There is so much that I loved about this besides the obvious – the reading.

I loved that each of us picked a book that fit our personality.

I loved that I read books that might not have made it to the top of my reading list last summer – or ever.

I loved that it was a fun way for our family to connect, since there are many miles between us. One kid is near the Pacific. One kid is near the Atlantic. We are in the middle. Thankfully, technology makes it easy to have a long distance book club.

And, I loved that it was fun! Right up there with loving adventure, I love fun! (For those of you who are into the enneagram, can you tell my number?)

This is something that anyone could do, and it doesn’t just have to be family. You could do a long distance book club with friends, too. I might need to set one of those up – anyone want to be a part of my potential long distance book club? 

So, are you wondering what we actually read last summer?

We read:

• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
• My Grandmother asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

I would love to share one of these books with one of you, so I guess we need to have a contest!! I LOVE winning things; hopefully you do too! To have your name entered to win your choice, like this post and follow my blog – that is super easy. If you want a second entry, comment with your guess for which of the books was my choice. (Or for those of you who know my whole family, you might be able to guess for all four of us.) For a third entry, share this post on your social media. I will draw a name from those who “enter” and let you pick the book you would like for me to send to you. Deadline to enter: Wednesday, February 27 at midnight CST.

“May the odds be ever in your favor!“