Some friends and I started a book club almost a year ago now… (BCers, we better get started planning that posh one year anniversary event!) We rotate the professor position, the one who introduces four picks and then we all cast our vote, while enjoying a few bottles of wine and a delicious meal. Some might say it’s a dinner & drinks club dressed up as a book club.

The literary choices are quite diverse in this book club; some selections include Hemmingway’s A Moveable Feast, Twilight and most currently the Sir Richard Burton’s translation of The Arabian Nights. We typically organize gatherings at restaurants (new ones and old favorites) where we discuss the week’s reading assignment and propose our predictions for future chapters.

With all of us in somewhat similar industries, the club is an opportunity for us to stop talking “shop,” stop all that friendly gossip and dive into topics we might never have ordinarily thought about. And these discussions can get heated! This weekend was especially hot since book club took a road trip to the Jersey Shore.

This weekend we chatted about The Arabian Nights over hummus and delicious Middle Eastern inspired cocktails, while burying our feet in the sand. It was the perfect escape from the city and the usual. Book Club has inspired an old group of friends to keep things new again and depart from the norm; it’s also our excuse to make a point of getting together regularly even when life becomes hectic. What do you do to escape from the day-to-day norms?