If You Can Read This...

[what's brewing: double shot of fun!]

You’re Invited to

The Coffeegirl Book Club

Could you use more than your weekly Tuesday fix of interaction with other Coffeegirl Regulars? If yes, you’ll be glad to know that soon we’ll be offering a supplemental posting every week through The Coffeegirl Book Club.

Who? Coffeegirl Readers
What? Online book club
When? January 2009
Where? coffeegirlconfessions.blogspot.com
Why? To read, discuss and learn together.


Though I’ve always been drawn to the concept of a book club, I have never been part of one before. I thought that moving to another country would finish off any possibility of ever participating in one, but with a bit of creative thinking I’m now joining (and hosting!) this blog-based book club. No, we may not have the luxury of convening in each other’s homes or a local coffee shop to discuss our reading, but the idea of readers from across the world participating from their own living rooms, cozied up with their own cups of coffee or tea now seems even more appealing to me. It’s another level of connection as we come together to share our thoughts and learn from one another.

The inaugural book for this club is A Severe Mercy, by Sheldon Vanauken. It’s a favorite of mine and my tattered copy was a “must bring” item when we packed our bags to head to the field. I stumbled upon the book at a mid-summer yard sale just over 6 years ago. It was one of many books thrown in a box and marked “25 cents”, which I admit was the initial bait that sent me searching through the titles. This one caught my attention and the black and white photo of the couple, along with the brief description on the back page, closed the deal. I found many aspects of myself in the pages of this book and it has become a central piece in the literary landscape of my life.

For those who have read it, come again and turn the pages with us. For those who’ve never read it, the powerful love story and the deep grappling with the difficult questions of life and faith will draw you in. To whet your appetite, I’ll share with you the brief description that I read that hot summer day:

Sheldon “Van” Vanauken and Jean “Davy” Vanauken were lucky enough to discover that radiant love so often written of in books, so seldom found in real life. Van and Davy got married, crossed oceans and became inextricably bound up in a search for Christian faith. At Oxford they met C.S. Lewis and through his influence became believers. But then Davy fell prey to a mysterious illness. What follows is an almost unbearably powerful story of hope and sorrow. Van turned to Lewis, his friend and mentor, for guidance. Their letters, published here for the first time, ask the difficult questions, and show the saving grace
of a tragedy courageously borne.

I am announcing this book club now so that you can consider asking for a copy of the book if you have friends or family members asking for suggestions as they prepare to send a box of Christmas goodies to you. Depending on where you are, there are some online bookstores who provide international shipping for an extra cost and you may be able to order a book to be sent to you on the field. For those who don’t get a copy of the book, I’ll include a portion of the text in each posting so that you can follow along and participate in the discussion as well.

I hope you’ll join us - I can’t wait to get started!

P.S. – The Coffeegirl Challenge

As I picture you reading and writing from your own living rooms in hundreds of different cultural settings, I love the glimpses you provide through your comments and postings on your own blogs. I’d like to encourage you to continue getting to know the other readers as we’re building our blogging community.

My challenge to you is this:

• Go out to one blog on the Coffeegirl Blog Roll and leave a comment on her most recent post.
• The catch? If another CG regular has already posted a comment, you must move on to another blog until you find one without a comment.
• How will you claim yourself as the CG commenter? You must mention “Coffeegirl” somewhere in your post.

Let the commenting begin!