The book (club) cover
Or, aka, the birth story of RMBC
The foreword
Readable Moments Book Club has been in the making for decades (I just didn’t know it then). Ever since I decided, as a 16-year old girl clearing out the basement, that my favorite children’s books had to be preserved for my future progeny. Even back then, I knew those misshapen, scuffed books (along with some old writing journals) were treasures I wanted to share with my children.
I wanted to share the wonder I experienced when I first read those books and then the cozy familiarity I felt, like coming home after a long day, when I reread them. It’s pretty tired and trite to say that “books are my friends” but for my 5-year old self it was true. When I immigrated to the United States, my family didn’t know a soul and we barely spoke English. A few kindly neighbors took my mom under their wing and introduced our family to the public library system. That was a pivotal moment—it changed my life.
My very first friends were books and they were amazing friends. They not only made me feel less alone but they actually taught me language skills that helped me make friends in real life. They taught me about a culture that was completely foreign to me. They gave me a community. And this is where RMBC comes in: they showed me how to be courageous, thoughtful, kind, and that there were always two sides to every story.
The book (club) blurb
And that’s something I want to impart to my—our—kids: a life that's rich in books. That helps us connect to our children in the way humanity has done for eons: by sharing and passing down stories. Stories that help us build critical thinking skills, empathy, and an appreciation for the vastness of the human experience. We can lecture our kids about morals, our values, integrity, etc. Or we can venture into fantasy worlds with our children together and explore all these themes in a safe, low-stakes way that’s memorable, long-lasting, and builds our connection to them. I’m sure we can all recount a few books and stories that have stayed with us throughout our growing up and continue to live with us today.
Readable Moments Book Club helps recapture the magic of the storybook wonderlands we explored as children and share them with the next generation. It’s an opportunity for us to share what we stand for in a way our kids will love and appreciate.
The table of contents
As a subscriber, you can expect:
2-3 posts per month
Posts will focus on children’s book recommendations that fit within certain themes and topics
General thoughts on reading and resources
This is the perfect space for those who have loved reading since they were kids and want to impart the wisdom of books to their children. Who knows? Maybe some of those books are ones our kids will choose to keep and pass onto their own babies.