Join Our Year-Long Book Club
Join Our Year-Long Book Club
Book clubs can be a lot of pressure. But what if there was a book club that gave you plenty of time and space to exploring your own thoughts, feelings, and creativity…slowly, all year long, using a single book as a jumping-off point?
From now through the end of 2024, The Tea’s Made community will be embarking on an introspective and slow journey through The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl; a book that was written and designed to be read slowly, seasonally, in bite-sized pieces the whole year through.
The Comfort of Crows is a “literary devotional” that follows the ebbs and flows of a year of seasons, through the lens of creatures and plants in the author’s backyard. It’s structured in week-by-week essays, starting the first week of winter.
We’ll be reading it the way I believe the author intended it to be read; one chapter, one week at a time, with the essay we’re reading reflecting the tiny tells of seasonal change that are happening outside our windows in that moment.
We will be delving into the material in the book in a variety of ways, with a new post each week. In addition to reflective essays from me, expect writing, journaling, and photography prompts as well as opportunities to explore the material in other creative ways (through your own artwork, foraging walks, and more.)
One post each month will be available to free subscribers, but to join in many of the discussion threads or monthly Zoom calls, you will need to join as a paid subscriber.
Remember, this is a super-slow, low-stakes book club for those of us who resist book clubs! You can join in when your life allows: no pressure, and no hurry.
Here are some options for acquiring a copy of The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl:
Purchase a print copy. (I highly recommend this: the book is gorgeous, and remember you are going to be spending time with it all year!):
Buy from my family bookstore, Paper Mill Books, on Bookshop.org (and support other indie bookstores at the same time!)
Or pick up a copy at your favorite local indie bookstore. (I’d love for you to shout them out in the comments if you go that route!)
And, of course, you can buy on Amazon. (Let’s face it, you probably already have stuff in your cart anyway.)
You can also read digitally:
I already own the hardcover book but also purchased on Audible so I have options. I am planning to read each chapter both with my eyes and with my ears to see how the experience is different each time.
Before you get started, take a moment to identify a quiet space in your home, preferably near a window, so you can gaze outside and reflect on the small, subtle changes each week brings to your landscape as you read along. What items would you like to have at hand when you sit down to read? A small table, perhaps, with some favorite pens, a sketchbook, a journal, a camera?
I hope that this opportunity will help you create space for quiet, thought and reflection, creativity, and most of all, yourself as we journey through another year. No hurry, no rush, no pressure. Just thoughtful conversation and nature. I can’t wait to share this experience with you, friend.