I have been in the same book club for 14 years. We meet about 10 times a year, rotating hosting responsibilities, book selection and facilitation duties among a group of about a dozen ladies. The group is as varied as the books we read: moms with kids (some who work, some who stay home), single women, married women without children. There’s a core group of us who have been in the group from the start. Others have dropped in and dropped out. I think some were just looking for wine and conversation, not books. Some, like me, may contemplate quitting (because really, who has the time?) but then realize we’d either a) never stretch in our literary choices or b) never make the time to see our dear old friends.

Joining a book club can be a commitment. And finding time to read as equally challenging. But the joy that comes from discovering a delicious book, the kind you stay up late to read or devour on the train makes it all worth it. That’s why I’m thrilled to introduce you to Mari, bookclub hostess extraordinaire who blogs at Bookworm with a View. Last January, Mari launched the Manic Mommies Book Club (MMBC) as a way to discuss books without the pressure of fitting one more commitment into our already busy lives. As an added bonus, you can participate in your sweats, from the luxury of your own home, or while on a business trip.

Until now, the MMBC has been happening exclusively in the Big Tent. We’re excited to bring the great content, book giveaways and discussions to the broader Manic Mommies audience.

We have some wonderful titles to close out 2009 and are excited to have actual authors participating in November and December. Later this month Mari will be hosting an interactive audio discussion of “Waiting for Daisy.”

“Waiting for Daisy” is about loss, love, anger and redemption. It’s about doing all the things you swore you’d never do to get something you hadn’t even been sure you wanted. It’s about testing the limits of a loving marriage. And it’s about trying (and trying and trying) to have a baby.

Upcoming MMBC selections include:

September 23: Waiting for Daisy, written by Peggy Orenstein. Discussion online and we have scheduled an audio call for September 23 at 7pm CST.

November 7: The Wednesday Sisters, written by Meg Waite Clayton. Meg will be joining us in person at The Escape

December 16: Oxygen, by Carol Cassella, Author call in discussion on December 16 at 7pm CST

Thanks to Mari for coordinating all this and I hope you will choose to read along with us!