Today’s Hint: Start (or Join) a Parenting Book Club

Before I had a baby, I was one of those book club members who always finished the book.

However, since my daughter arrived nearly two years ago, I’ve only finished a couple of my book club’s bimonthly reads, and I’m now at least three books behind.

Part of the problem is that I’m swamped reading parenting books, from What to Expect the Second Year to Bringing Up Bebe, and I can barely find the time to finish those.

So an idea hit me a few months ago: I should start (or join) another book club that focuses on reading parenting books. This way I’d be able to get some social time in while also checking the childrearing books I want (and sometimes need) to read off of my to-do list.

If you find yourself in a similar quandary, today’s hint is to start (or join) this sort of parenting book club.

You’ll probably want to focus on creating such a club with parents who have kids similarly aged to your own, so you’ll be interested in the same general type of books, and will likely have similar free time schedules. It may also make your life easier (and make you more likely to attend book club meetings) if you join up with other parents who live close to you.

To be sure, though it kills two birds (reading and social time) with one stone, a parenting book club is easier said than done.

I’ve broached the topic with a number of friends who have little ones around the same age as my daughter, and few have jumped at the opportunity to start such a book club with me. Most say they don’t have the time.

In fact, I seem not to have the time either. Case in point: I recently learned about a parenting book club composed of moms in a local moms group I’m a member of. While I signed up to be included in invites about future meetings, I have yet to read one of the books or attend one of the meetings. I blame this partly on the fact that the meetings, so far, have been across town from where I live.

Still, despite my lack of practicing what I preach, I still think a parenting book club is a great idea, and starting one in my neighborhood is on my to-do list.

It also turns out that for those who don’t have the time or prefer not to meet in person, there are a number of parenting book clubs that meet online, including the Thinking Parents’ Book Group over at Books Inc., the Alpha Mom’s Parenting Book Club, the “brilliant book club” over at School of Smock, and the parenting book club over at No Time for Flashcards.

I also love this idea for the very time crunched that I came across over at the site Modern Parents Messy Kids: start a parenting cliff notes swap where rather than meet in person, each member reads a certain parenting book and then shares notes about the book with others in the club.

Finally, if you don’t think any of your friends would be interested in a parenting book club but you are, you could post on local parent message boards to find other interested parents, and you could also search online to see if there’s already one happening near you.

What do you think of the parenting book club concept – yea or nay, and why? What are your tricks for fitting in pleasure – and parenting – reading?

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