As an invited guest, today I attended a Ladies Literary Club. I've never been to such a gathering before. Usually, it is hosted in members' homes. A church member who belongs to the club chose to host in the church lounge, since her home was not adequate for the gathering. Thus, my invitation. About half of the women were from our church.
This club actually began in 1880! It was a strong reminder that reading was the primary activity for many folks, especially prior the advent of modern day technology. A report on tonight's evening news outlined how much time today's youth spend on facebook, cell phones, texting, twittering, watching television, playing video games, etc. All of those ranged from one and a half to six hours. The average time per day that a young person reads is 38 minutes.
There's nothing better than reading a good book. On the other hand, in the past few months, I had the experience of reading some really lousy books. When finished, I wondered what the point was, and wish I had stopped reading much earlier.
Perhaps the purpose of a literary club is that good books are reviewed and recommended. At least they were today. Two presenters read their "papers" [which each member has to write] about their favorite author. I learned of a new contemporary writer who sounds promising.
It is remarkable to me that this club has a history of one hundred and thirty years! Something about the whole experience was reminiscent of another era, when life was slower, easier, less complicated.
And they even brought out the good silver, too!
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