As a single mum who has the majority of the custody, getting out and about during the week can be quite tricky for me. Between my full time job, school runs and play dates, pretty much every weekday is a no-go for me activity wise. As someone who loves reading, joining a book club has always been a dream, but they always take place during the evenings when Thea is bed and I can’t leave her alone to attend. Now I know I could hire a babysitter, but to be honest I don’t really know of any in my area, it comes with a cost, and it was sort of a problem I could fix myself…
The Peaches & Pages book club, which is named after Thea (Peach), was created in October 2024. Each month a post is shared in our Facebook group for members to suggest a book. If we get multiple suggestions then one is chosen at random by a generator. Sometimes I also put a poll out for a genre to be chosen which helps narrow down suggestions.
Mid-way through the month I post a ‘check-in’ post within the group for people to let us know where they are at without spoilers. Some people choose to read the book straight away, whereas others (myself included) save it towards the end of the month so it is fresh for our call. On the last Wednesday of each month (or as close to as possible commitments permitting), we have an online call to discuss the book. We go through our ratings, how we felt about the characters and if we saw any plot twists coming. I absolutely love the element of the online call, as this means it can be done when Thea is in bed from home, meaning I have no issues committing or accessing.
Our May 2025 book was The Conditions of Will by Jessa Hastings, and this book is by far the best one we have read for me personally so far. I talked in my ARC post about how normally I select a book based on either a recommendation or it’s cover…yet this would not have been one I would have selected from it’s cover. This book was absolutely fantastic and ended up being a 5* read for me. Another reason why it is great to be part of a book club – it forces you out of your comfort zone.
For June 2025 we are reading In The Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros, the bestselling author of Fourth Wing, who happens to be one of my favourite authors. For the first time ever we are reading a book that has been chosen by me, and wow am I feeling the pressure for everyone to like it! I have always let our members select books, but this month was quiet and there weren’t any suggestions before the deadline so I thought I would throw my hat in.
If you wish to join you can do so here. Peaches & Pages welcomes everyone to come along even if they have already read the book we pick, or if you wish to be a silent member you can do that too! Here are the previous books we have read as part of Peaches & Pages.
Since our June book has only just been announced I haven’t read it yet, but reading our book club book is something I really look forward to each month. I am so grateful to the members for widening my reading and opening my eyes to books I would never have chosen. Plus it of course has it’s own section in my reading journal too. I really hope to see you there!
Love, Beth x
Beth's Notebook 