Books, discussion and dating

I had my book group today, and was pretty proud of myself for the little blurb I put together about the book for when we went around and all gave our impressions and thoughts. I was only barely able to squeak out a few sentences the first couple books, so it’s good to see that I’m developing the skill of talking about books. I guess I haven’t really had to digest and discuss books much since college, so I was rather out of practice. I do still need to work on participating in the discussion that follows that initial going-around. In conversation it tends to take enough of my focus just listening to what’s being said that I have trouble putting together thoughts of my own to contribute, which is part of the reason I come across as being so shy in social settings. So conversation is definitely a skill I need to practice. I’m starting to get out more. When I was dating Matt I didn’t get out much, but since we parted ways I’ve been pretty motivated to participate in the world more.

Speaking of which, I joined a dating app called Bumble yesterday! A couple people were discussing it at a birthday party I was at, and I thought it sounded like an interesting idea, so I decided to try it out. So far I’ve made a bunch of connections and a few conversations have developed, but I’m starting to get a little skeptical about anything coming from it. I guess I’ve only been at it for a day, there’s certainly still a lot of possibility for it.

Back to books though, I went to the bookstore today, which is always a rather fulfilling experience. I had been shoe shopping — a couple of my pairs are pretty worn out, so I was trying to replace them — and that experience was pretty frustrating. The store where I’d seen Birkenstocks had closed, and no place else seemed to carry open-toed, no-backed shoes in December. I did finally find a pair in Sears, and then there was a gigantic line (and I had forgotten my phone, so I couldn’t even do flashcards or something while I waited). So I rewarded myself after all that frustration with a turn in the bookstore. Little luck as I had with shoes, I always have luck with books. Today was no exception. I ended up walking out with five books, all covered by gift cards that I get as rewards from my credit card.

Books are a huge part of my life. One of my favorite things about book group is that it gets me to read books that I normally wouldn’t otherwise. I love broadening my horizons. That’s a large part of why I love reading in the first place — every book widens my world just a little bit more.