Book clubs aren't just for Oprah. From some new arrivals on the reading scene (including our own Chow Bella Book Club) to the trailblazers who started it all, we're rounding up some of the best of the Valley's book clubs for your consideration.
"Phoenix is really beginning to come into its own in terms of book clubs," says Karen Stigers, who moderates the Phoenix Divas Book Club out of Changing Hands Bookstore, which hosts 45 registered book clubs centered around everything from Witchcraft to Buddhism to Sci-Fi.
"I think part of it is that people are really hungry for some sort of intellectual stimulation now," says book club veteran Patrick Millikin with The Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale. "And it's a cheap easy way to get together and discuss intellectual matters."
We'll furrow our brow to that. Here are five local book clubs you'll want to read up on ...
1. Phoenix Divas Book Club
Our very own Chow Bella Blog and is about to embark on yet another kind of book club venture with Changing Hands: the on-line book club. Under the guidance of veteran food writer and Phoenix native Jennifer Woods, the Chow Bella Book Club will "meet" on the blog on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss, argue, banter, and respectfully chew over a book about food.
From memoirs to cook books to novels, we're looking for everyone who loves food, reading and reading about food to join in (and, if you do, you'll get a nice 20% off discount from Changing Hands).
There's still plenty of time to join in the first discussion. Woods will be kicking off the first discussion on November 1 at 7 p.m. about The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How A Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by writer/chef Kathleen Flinn. You can read more about it here and order the book on-line through Changing Hands here.
