The Library of the Messy Sisterhood
- Just Charlie
- Aug 15, 2023
- 3 min read
Do you remember a book series that was turned into a movie series called:
“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?”
It was a good book series and I liked the movies well enough (books are almost always my preference). The narrative centered around a group of friends all with different lives and body styles who shared the same pair of jeans. These jeans were like magic and fit each of them perfectly. Which every messy sister knows is definitely something supernatural!
Any way this idea is what hit me when someone asked me lately -
“Charlie, why book clubs? Why read a book together?”
Books can be like those pants in the story. Everyone reads the same book but walks away with it fitting them in just the right places and spaces. The same words in the same order, but no one is affected identically.
Honestly, it is also because reading seems like a luxury in my busy life. It shouldn’t be, but it is. I long for that luxury and connection to words, stories, thoughts, and ideas.
I was lectured once (by someone who clearly didn’t enjoy reading) that reading a physical book was an inefficient use of time since you could just listen to a podcast or an audiobook while completing another task. I am not putting down that option, but I enjoy visually digesting the words on the page. It has been proven that listening to books can trigger similar spaces in the brain and is very fulfilling to the listener.
However you choose to ingest it, the truth is you are in one of two camps - either you LOVE books or you just don’t.
Books are very soothing to me. So, in the midst of my messiest moments I long for a cup of tea or coffee and a book to get invested in. One of my favorite places to go when I need to clear my head, or just be by myself, is a public library. People are mostly quiet and generally no one is paying much attention to anyone else. I can stroll up and down the aisles of books and not worry about how much money I will spend to absorb the stories and facts housed in this magical place.
Yes, there is comfort for me in books. However, in the “messiest of moments” I rarely get to snuggle up and read a book, not as a grownup anyway. When I do remember to catch a few moments with a book I fall asleep OR get interrupted about a bazillion times. Sound familiar?
Maybe that is why I chose a book club to meet other “Messies” and talk about the one we have chosen to read, because then I can prioritize reading again. I tell myself:
“I need to read so that I can be engaged in & ready for book club this week.
The other “Messies” are counting on me.”
I have shared before that words and I have had a complicated relationship over the years. I have always respected those who can harness their words and coordinate them into chapters and volumes. I believe that through books many things that our hearts and minds have not yet processed can be uncovered and discussed in real time. Often the life story, strategy, or epiphany shared by the author gives an avenue to link up something I have been thinking about or struggling with. Do you know what I am saying?
So, that is “Why a Book Club?” A weekly space to talk about a book with others who are digesting it too. A place once a week where we get to meet in whatever “state-of-being” we find ourselves and talk about something we have in common, even if we don’t share many other commonalities. A safe spot to land with other Messy Sisters who want to be there and won’t judge each other. We share, laugh, cry, & pray together.
It has become a different kind of library for me. A library of Messy Sisters who chat but can also just be together in the silent moments all chewing on different ideas. Instead of rows of bookshelves we share memories and build rows of safe relationships that are warm and not judgemental. And like the library, I never worry about how much this is gonna cost me, because the connection is not transactional in that way. The components are simple but the connections are lasting. That’s why I choose to host The Messy Sisterhood Book Clubs.
Join us and see what the fuss is about.
The next TMS Book Club starts September 14th - it is free but spots are limited.
Register here to claim your spot, choose a morning or an evening group:
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