What is a "Secret Book"?

You are dying to know.

But first let me tell you we met today for our usual flurry of year end reviews. We pass around favorite Christmas books- laugh about not-so-favorite books (sorry, Richard Paul Evans, but Promise Me has almost become a one title joke and punch line in our club), and talk about other books that have left an impression on us this year. Oh yeah....and we eat. We had lots of brunchy yummy food, cookies, rolls, even bottled Cream Soda in a throw back to Christmases long ago. It is always one of our favorite get togethers. We discussed our December book, The Screwtape Letters, which will be included in a later post.

Now.... the secret book......

Our club has a secret book we throw in every once in a while. It didn't start on purpose, it was just that while we were reading our book of the month someone would start gabbing about a book they were utterly enjoying and we all had to read it, too. We all kind of snuck it in on the side, never officially picking it, but reading it and discussing it.

One rule of the secret book is you are not allowed to bash it. Someone is invested in the secret book. Someone loves it so much, that bad mouthing it would just be cruel. So we, as a group, abstain. Thus it becomes a "secret" read.

Our first secret book

What a book it was. I definitely recommend it if your club hasn't read it yet. Extremely touching, yet hilarious and heart breaking all at once.

Last year we all seemed to find time to read this pick, without picking it

and the books that followed. They were all part of our discussions, as the year passed. I personally LOVED the journey Suzanne Collins took us on (and intend to use it to preach to my children about the importance of self-reliance every chance I get.)

This year we are picking a couple of secret books....we are feeling very ambitious, so quite a few more books than usual have wiggled there way into our To Be Read pile. I will share our first one with you now, which we may not quite get to until Feb or March, by Flannery O'Connor.

I'd love to tell you more about it....

but it's a secret.