This afternoon I was in another book group. This group’s book was Apostles of Revolution: Jefferson, Paine, and Monroe and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe. Yes, it’s detailed history, and fascinating, but it’s long, almost 400 pages. As we met via Zoom, I asked how many had finished the book. No one had. One person hadn’t even started it, but she confessed that this kind of history is not to her taste. Another had read the preface. But another person and I hadn’t been able to read much because we both had other book groups earlier in the week.
“What was the book in your other group?” I asked.
“Hamnet,” she replied.
“No!” I said. “That was my other group’s book, too!”
What a coincidence. We two spent the next five or so minutes discussing our reactions to that other book, a novel about William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, who died from plague at age 11. We both liked it, but had some reservations about the writing style.
And even though no one had finished our book, Apostles of Revolution, we still had read enough to have a lively discussion.
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I’m participating in the 16th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 4 of the 31-day challenge. It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about. Join in!
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