Books That Make You Go Hmmm...

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ~Dr. Seuss

I've tried joining a few book clubs that were genre specific (chick lit), gender specific (chicks only), and author specific (Stephen King) but as none seemed to satisfy my palate, I thought I'd try to see if there were others like me, i.e. those who can equally enjoy the likes of Jane Austen, Stephen King, Shakespeare,Neil Gaiman, Dean Koontz as well as nonfiction books (The Book of Vice, Don't Get Too Comfortable).

Chosen as "One of the 5 Best Book Clubs to Join in New York" by CBS Local (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/top-lists/5-best-book-clubs-to-join-in-new-york/)* !

Story About The Name of this Book Club:

I am a huge Jane Austen fan and attended a Jane Austen Discussion at the Morgan Library featuring modern day authors whose works were a tribute to Jane Austen literature. One of the authors, Ben Winters, had written "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monster"' published by Quirk Classics. I admit that I had read "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by the same publisher and had no desire to read another work from their publishing house.

During the Q&A session, Ben Winters confessed to an audience mostly comprised of the Jane Austen Society of North America that he had actually disliked Jane Austen in school and wrote his book to appeal to a larger audience. What caught my attention was an audience member who had read the book asked him to confirm the HP Lovecraft references in the book. (HP Lovecraft?!). He affirmed this, adding that other influences for the book included Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson.

This intrigued me and yes I did go "Hmmmm.." buying the book that same day and devouring it over the weekend.

That experience taught me to keep an open mind and inspired me to create this book club.

As Ben wrote when he autographed my copy "Come on in, the water's fine.."

*2012