Last year I somewhat unintentionally started a C.S. Lewis book club in my parish. It originated when a friend and fellow parishioner mentioned that she would like to begin reading Lewis for the first time, as our pastor is very fond of quoting and referencing him.
Loving Lewis’ work as I do, I offered to read the books along with her so that she would have someone to discuss them with and also have some guidance on which ones to read and in what order.
We quickly began inviting other parishioners to join us, and by the end, we had two separate groups meeting in the morning or in the evening to discuss our selections. We read more than a dozen of Lewis’ books in a year and a half, ranging from his autobiographical work to apologetics to a sampling of his fiction, including three of the books from his beloved Chronicles of Narnia series.
I’ve studied Lewis’ work a great deal on my own previously, but the ability to come together with others and share insights and reactions was truly special. It allowed me to not only revisit works that I love, but also to view them through fresh eyes and gain new insights from the rest of the group.
Something to talk about
Book clubs seem to be rising in popularity. Even with my friends and family who don’t belong to any specific club, our standard form of initiating chit chat these days is, “So, what are you reading right now?”
With the advent of audiobooks, e-readers and reading apps that can be downloaded to your phone, it’s easier than ever to consume a lot of content even if you don’t think of yourself as a reader or struggle to find leisure time.
A book club can help direct the choice of books from an abundance of options. They also provide an opportunity for community, which is so sorely needed in our culture today.
It can be hard to find commonalities to talk about, sometimes with even the people closest to us in our families, never mind co-workers or new acquaintances. Trying to discuss the news or current events can be like walking into a minefield. Music, movies and television shows have become so numerous and niche that it’s increasingly rare to find someone who is familiar with the same content that you are.
A good way to connect
Even as our world has created more and more ways to connect, social isolation and depression are on the rise. We have more ways to stay in touch, yet less to discuss with each other – and an ever greater need to talk and bond with others.
Books might seem just as vast a landscape as other media. But with centuries of content that has been refined into acknowledged classics and Great Books, it’s more like navigating a known territory where others have already left guideposts for us.
Rather than chasing the latest trend or viral phenomenon, one can easily find lists of foundational texts in Western, and even specifically Catholic, culture.
Reading with others also forms threads that help tie us together for years to come, forming tighter communities and social bonds. Having common references, inside jokes, etc., creates a new language for us to communicate with.
‘A twitch upon the thread’
These threads that books create reminds me of a quote from one of G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown short stories. The amateur priest detective talks about how he “caught (the thief) with an unseen hook and an invisible line which is long enough to let him wander to the ends of the world and still to bring him back with a twitch upon the thread.”
This line is also referenced in Evelyn Waugh’s novel “Brideshead Revisited,” in discussing how God keeps hold on the prodigal sons and daughters who have strayed from their faith and yet can be brought back with “a twitch upon the thread.”
I grew up reading books like the Chronicles of Narnia and “The Lord of the Rings,” long before I was Catholic, and I often think that those stories were the threads God twitched to bring me to Him.
When I finally began learning about Jesus Christ, I found that I already knew Him in the form of Aslan the Lion.
When I started to learn about Christian virtues, they were already familiar because I had seen them demonstrated in such characters as Frodo, Sam and Gandalf. It was books that first stirred my longing for God.
Inspired by the success of the C.S. Lewis group, I recently started a wider book club for my parish of Sacred Heart in Salisbury based on foundational and popular texts.
My hope is to build a deeper sense of community and communion among fellow parishioners by sharing and discussing great works together. If anyone in the wider diocese is interested in reading with us, you can find our book list and resources on Sacred Heart’s website (www.salisburycatholic.org) under Faith Formation.
Kathryn Heim is an author, wife and mother living outside Salisbury, where she gardens, raises chickens, experiments with cooking and reads too many books. Find her work at www.kathrynheim.com.
The reading list
Here are the books that will be discussed each month by the book club at Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury:
- October – “Orthodoxy” by G.K. Chesterton
- November – “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien
- December – “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
- January – “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis
- February – “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom
- March – “The Reed of God” by Caryll Houselander
- April – “A Prayer Journal” by Flannery O’Connor
- May – “A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter M. Miller Jr.