Bay Path, the Bookies, and me

Posted on | May 4, 2009 |

The Bookies gathered at Bay Path (as I told you they would...) and were a delight to all who met them, as well as each other. The event was the brainchild of Suzanne Strempek Shea, Bay Path's extraordinary writer-in-residence, and Briana Sitler, the presiding genius of all things that need to be done with style and verve. At the podium were Jacquelin Blais, who was at the book desk of USA Today for more than a decade, and a series of writers including yours, the undersigned, who snuck himself in under the 'local authors' banner. I was in illustrious company, though; Leslea Newman was there (57, yes, 57 books and counting) and the astonishingly poised and delightful Amanda Butcher who had just published her first novel, and was aged just 16. That took my breath away. I know what I was up to at 16, and it wasn't anything nearly as civilized as novel writing. But perhaps Amanda doesn't know how to hotwire a car. There's solace in that. The Bookies themselves were the members of established and growing book groups. There were the wonderful ladies of the Tuesday evening club, who'd met every first Tuesday of the month for more than ten years, and had a list of the books they'd discussed. Then there were the ladies who had met when their daughters became friends at middle school and who had formed a group with their daughters, discussing the books that were available for young readers. I thought that was a really exquisite idea. I think the daughters were now both college-bound, and the bookgroup was redesigning itself. And there were other groups too, of course; all of which seemed more like gatherings of like-minded souls than anything I have encountered before. One of the more unusual groups was the contingent headed by Diane Hall and Bob Rjeaswec. Diane is a professor at Bay Path, and Bob works for the Department of Youth services, and he brought four of his young charges along - because they were readers who had discovered that reading helped to articulate their lives to themselves, and therefore to lead them away from destructive behaviors and crime. A book group with a difference, one could say, and yet what a difference books were making in their lives! It was a privilege to be there. There were also miraculously tasty munchies, provided by the Bay Path chefs, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention those. The strawberry soup, served in wine glasses, was just splendid, and looked so inviting that various people took photos. And those sandwiches shaped like butterflies? You had to be there. I believe they're taking bookings for next year. Get in line.

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Bay Path, the Bookies, and me

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