The Life-Changing Book Club: November
Which book(s) changed your life? Join me for a Life-Changing Book Club in your pyjamas...
A monthly quiet book club where we read a book that has changed someone’s life…
Similar to most of you, reading is my solace and my hope in a troubled world. When I asked in a recent newsletter, which book had changed your life, lots of you took time to answer and I thought:
Oooooh. This is a beautiful reading list!
I asked what it could be like if we had a small book club here to read those suggestions so generously shared. And several of you shared that you’d like that…
So, here goes.
This November, I thought we’d try The Salt Path by Raynor Winn suggested by
. She says: The memoir written by Raynor Winn after she and her husband lost everything - their home, their livelihood, everything - at the same time as he was diagnosed with a debilitating, life threatening illness, and they chose to walk The Salt Path rather than lie down and be defeated is a marvellous tale of love and hope and resilience.Here’s the blurb:
Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home and livelihood is taken away. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall.
Thank you so much, Cate.
How will The Life-Changing Bookclub work?
We’ll pick a book for each month. These will come from you: books you share that have changed your life will go into the selection.
Each month, you’re invited to read the book with me. I’ll share thoughts about my reading experience and ask you to do the same in my newsletters and a group chat: join here.
If you choose to write your own post about our book of the month, use the badge (provided below) at the bottom of your post and tag me. If you tag me, I’ll save/ share/ bring your essay into the round-up.
If you’d like to write about a different book that has changed your life, you can also use the badge. Again, please tag me so I don’t miss your thoughts about books that have changed your life.
HOLD UP! How does a book change your life? Well, that’s up to you. Maybe your life is transformed in a small way. Maybe like me you believe that hundreds of books have changed your life. Or maybe it’s a big change, a one book deal. All are valid.1
BUT THE RISK! What if other people aren’t changed by the book you pick? What if other people don’t even like your book? That’s all okay. Being brave and sharing that a book has changed your life, then giving other people the opportunity to read it IF they desire is all we’re doing here.
NO BOOK? No worries! Read the one that we’ve selected for the month and share your thoughts.
LOW STRESS. NO OBLIGATION. Just expansive, open-hearted reading and discussion. Let’s see how this goes…
Do you have to wear pyjamas? Nope. But you also can…
Kudos to
who came up with the badge idea for her essay club. It inspired me to do the same for our book club!Your turn!
Do you want to read the book with me? Or do you want to tell me which book(s) changed your life, today, this week, this month, this year? Please share in the comments.
What’s changed my life is being a reader.
Devoting myself to words. Falling in love. Over and over, while staying in love with reading for a lifetime. Some books create a small but significant impact; others rip me apart and I become confetti, scattered briefly on the wind, before becoming remade.
Thank you for these suggestions below—I can’t wait to read this month’s pick and many others throughout the rest of this year and 2025.
xoxox
Alice
Let’s choose a book for December:
Here are some books for us to pick from! Please add your suggestions, too, or let me know if one of these appeals for next month!
Ashleigh Mattern suggests The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green
suggests When Things Fall Apart by Pema ChodronInes79 suggests The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
Linda Hoye suggests The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
Matthew Long suggests Roots by Alex Haley
Vicky (who I’m having trouble tagging) suggests Wild by Jay Griffiths
Bernadette (same tagging troubles) suggests The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
Suzanne White suggests Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett
suggests One Thousand Gifts, by Ann VoskampArthur Slade suggests The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
If you’re new here, my name is Alice Kuipers and I’m a writer, mother and dog-owner transplanted twenty years ago to the Canadian prairies from England. I’ve published fourteen books in 36 countries and my writing has been described as: “For storytellers and story lovers,” by Kirkus Reviews; ‘Gorgeous, heart-ripping, important,” by VOYA; and “Intense and wonderful” by Bif Naked. Join me for coffee breaks to look at lines from great writers.
Xoxo
The way the book you tell us about has changed your life is your secret to share or keep. I appreciate the book suggestions and I’m very grateful to build this reading list together.
Wintering by Katherine May changed my life because it allowed me to see the dark, cold times of life that make humans feel weak and isolated can be beautifully restorative periods of quiet necessary for our healing.
It just so happens that The Salt Path fell into my hands just last week! My life is has taken a similar course, losing my home, business, and my life on hold indefinitely while I care for my mum, who has dementia. I'd escaped the house during one particularly difficult day last week, to walk the dog and take a moment to "regroup". My dog led me on a different route round our village, quite out of the way and through the graveyard round the back of the church and up to the church door. It was there that I noticed they had a collection of secondhand books in the porch that parishioners could help themselves to, always too much to resist for me! Anyway, it brought me to this book, which I'm hoping will help give me the extra strength I need right now to carry on, I'm certainly enjoying it so far.
On another note, I agree with another comment, Katherine May's Wintering is another good choice.