Paper Trails: Wine, Words, and Old Friends
The Return
After I wrote the blog about my old book club days, I decided to send it to one of the ladies from the group. She messaged back almost right away and said the club was still going strong - and invited me to join the next meeting! I didn’t hesitate. I ordered the book, cleared my schedule, and made the drive.
For context, the only reason I stopped going before was because I’d moved - and now it’s about a 30-minute drive each way (on a good night). Still, once a month feels manageable. Totally worth it to reconnect.
Familiar Faces
Walking in, it was so nice to see familiar faces. The group has grown to about eleven members now, and I recognized five from the original crew. It felt like slipping back into an old rhythm - easy, warm, a little chatty chaos in the best way.
The Feast
The host made this incredible roasted chicken, and everyone brought something to go with it. I took brownies - boxed, but organic, and I doctored half the batch with white chocolate chips. Honestly, they turned out amazing: gooey, rich, perfectly messy. (Though not as messy as my first batch, which crumbled apart so badly I left them home. Always make two boxes - lesson learned.)
Dinner always starts the same way: we eat, we catch up, we laugh. Everyone shares snippets of their lives - new jobs, travel, little wins. Once the plates are cleared, we dive into the book discussion.
The Book
This month’s pick was The Briar Club by Kate Quinn. I went the audiobook route this time, partly because I’ve been deep in fantasy reads (The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is my current slow burn), and I wanted something that didn’t involve magic systems or world maps for once. The Briar Club was a nice change of pace - set in 1950s Washington, D.C., about a group of women who rent rooms in a boardinghouse and slowly form friendships amid secrets, suspicion, and a murder.
The story weaves through different perspectives - each woman hiding her own struggles while trying to find belonging in a tense, political time. I liked how it touched on loyalty, fear, and the kind of quiet courage women often show in the background of history. That said, it didn’t completely pull me in. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
The group felt similarly divided. Some appreciated the historical angle and the found-family dynamic, while others thought the pacing dragged or that too many storylines got wrapped up too neatly. A few wanted more closure or depth from certain characters. One person said it felt like the kind of book that could’ve been great if it had taken more risks - and I get that.
We still had a lively discussion, though. It’s always interesting to see what people connect to - one person really related to the main character’s independence, while another couldn’t get past the slow start. There was a lot of “I didn’t buy that ending” energy in the room, but also a few defenders who said it was satisfying in its own quiet way.
By the end, we’d covered everything from Cold War paranoia to female friendship to how much wine it takes to forgive a weak plot twist. Then we voted, and next month’s book is Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa - which looks short and poetic, a nice palate cleanser after a dense read.
Notes for Next Time
It’s been a couple of weeks since that night, and I already know I’ll keep going as long as I can make the drive. There’s something about that mix of food, laughter, and story-sharing that feels grounding - like reconnecting with an old part of myself.
I’ll keep writing about these gatherings, hopefully with more details next time (note to self: take notes). For now, I’m just glad I went back. Some chapters are worth reopening.
