Tayari's Blog: R.E.A.D. Divas Book Club
Posted by TayariJones on November 20, 2005 09:37 PM
Filed under
Book Tour
The R.E.A.D. Divas of Bloomington, Illinois invited me to their monthly book club meeting. They made the invitation way back in August. When I accepted, I had no idea how exhausted I'd be by November. But being a woman of my word, I traveled the 70 miles to Bloomington to attend the meeting. I am so glad that I did.
R.E.A.D. stands for Read, Eat, and Discuss. And we did all three. The food was sumptuous. There were old standards like good old pot roast and peach cobbler and some more exotic dishes, the names of which I can't spell, but goodness how tasty. And did I mention the champagne?
The R.E.A.D. Divas are a group of about ten African-American women who are affiliated with Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University. Their unofficial motto is "This book club has no rules."
We talked about The Untelling in wonderful detail and we also talked about ourselves. It was good to be around so much Sister Love. I really needed it.
When it came close to time for me to leave, I gave each of the R.E.A.D. Divas a copy of Leaving Atlanta as a keepsake of such a magical evening. While I was gone outside to dip into my trunk-of-the-car stash, they went into their secret hiding place and pulled out two HUGE and gorgeous gift baskets! I won't list all the goodies contained therein, but it was quite a smorgasbord. I opened the bags ever-so-carefully so that I can display them in my own living room.
Thanks, R.E.A.D. Divas for all the love. I had no idea just how much I needed it.
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There are 5 comments on "R.E.A.D. Divas Book Club". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by Allison
I enjoyed being in the company of the R.E.A.D Divas and my friend Tayari. Thanks for the good conversation , good food and just the pleasure of tagging along....what a great evening.
November 20, 2005 11:24 PM
Comment #2, by Cydney
Hey, this club gets my vote for Best Book Club Name of the Year. I love it!! LOL.
November 21, 2005 06:46 PM
Comment #3, by Stephanie Cook
I miss ya'll sooo very much..sniff:(
November 23, 2005 05:09 PM
Comment #4, by judi khalilallah
A friendly notation: our R.E.A.D. Diva Book Club also include members from two institutions that were omitted--Heartland Community College, and University of Illinois. Just want to be certain that everyone receive their "props".
November 28, 2005 04:27 PM
Comment #5, by Kathleen Collins
It was so exciting to have Tayari and her friend Allison join the READ Divas at our last book club meeting. I truly enjoyed the book "the Untelling." Not only is Tayari an excellent writer, she is an excellent story teller.
Again, Thank you Tayari for your contribution to our discussion of "The Untelling" and thank you for the signed copy of the "Leaving Atlanta". Consider your self and honorary READ Diva! Enjoy your holidays....Kathleen
December 5, 2005 11:37 AM