Bookworms Anonymous Volume Two

Bookworms Anonymous #2

by Jan Stafford Kellis

The women are gathered again! Bookworms Anonymous is a non-traditional reading group established in 2000, comprised of seven women in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. They meet monthly to share a gourmet vegetarian meal and discuss and swap books. Part memoir, part cookbook and part celebration of words and reading, Bookworms Anonymous Volume II contains many of the same things found in Volume I: reading group meetings, anecdotes, book reviews and recipes. "A love letter to reading, beautifully rendered, and with all the warmth and fun and closeness of your favorite book club on that perfect meeting night." - Robert Kurson, author of Shadow Divers and Crashing Through "A warm celebration of two of life's most vital ingredients--books and friendships." - Ellen Airgood, author of South of Superior and Prairie Evers

Genres: Memoir

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2014

About the author

Jan Stafford Kellis was born reading and learned to write soon afterward. She lives in the wild woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where she runs her handcrafted soap company, DeTour Soap Co. She spends her discretionary time traveling to visit her daughters and granddaughters, marathon shopping, reading, writing, quilting, and luxury camping. See jankellis.com for the latest updates.

Reviews

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timberdoodle Mercantile in De Tour Village, Michigan is the place I bought this book. We were headed home this September, and I turned the car around to park in front of the store. I also got the last card there drawn by Drummond Island artist Gloria Brubaker, thus adding 2 precious purchases that someone will have to find another home for after I'm gone. If I could figure out how to remove Bookworms Anonymous Volume Two and then re-enter it, I would because I happily devoured this book in one day. Volume Two is a new year of the 7-women reading group in the Upper Peninsula, and a collection of the recipes served at the monthly meetings. V2 is organized in interview style with the members each profiled about how she came to be a reader, how she continues to find the time. You'll want to buy this book so that you can wind your way through the Stamp of Approval (only awarded unanimously) books listed at the back. The photographs fronting each chapter are great fun. One favorite has our reader with a book in front of her face at the gas pump, getting 10 pages to a gallon. A delightful read, and a beautiful visit to the summer humidity and winter chill of Michigan's UP. Our writers' group shared out BA Volume 1, and 2 will share the same lucky fate. If I don't get it back, I'll gladly buy it again.

[Sylvia Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fun to read, if you like books! The author writes about her book club, which is different from one where everyone reads the same assigned book. In hers, Bookworms Anonymous, the "worms" bring in a bag of the books they've read over the past month, give a brief review of each, and then pass them around to each other. Dinner is served first, and the book contains vegetarian recipes. At the end is a list of the books that have received the Bookworms Anonymous Stamp of Approval; all 7 members gave the book 5 stars. Part of the fun for me was the fact that the action takes place in the UP.

[Georgia]

(First reads win)
Reading this charming text was like being a fly on the wall of someone else's book club... always a dynamic experience, especially for those of us looking to improve our own book clubs. I would certainly try to emulate their structure (and some of the shared recipes) on my own.