Updated Book Club Planning

I run a book club called Women, Wine, and Crime in the Denver, CO area, open to women interested in murder mystery and true crime books. I took over this book club in August of 2020, we read fiction and non-fiction, a new book every (roughly) 6 weeks. I find that six weeks, along with some other parameters I’ve fine-tuned, has increased attendance and more members have fished a larger portion of the book. Here’s a list of past, present, and potential books we’ve read.

I started doing a book every 6 weeks or so last year and it really improved attendance; people had more time to read and more fodder for conversation. We go to different places each time and I initially hadn’t kept track. A few favorites are now closed and I’ve been getting more recommendations from members so I started a sheet that has locations, if they’re good, need to be re-vetted, or are a “no” with qulifiers of “closed” or “bad”; bad being either rudeness, group size difficulties, or parking issues.

I’ve made some changes and have explanded my GoogleSheets that I use plan and organize upcoming events and books.
^{“my GoogleSheets” is a hyperlink to the actual organizer for you to check out as inspo}

Recently, memebers have been asking me for more events that are not necessarily book reviews. I’ve decided to comply with the masses and, sandwiched between evey other book, add some other activities. Since the book club is named Women, Wine, and Crime, I decided that the first two would be No Crime, Just Wine; just to get together. The third one will be a book exchange in July since the one in December went well. Essentially, it’s scheduled: book, six weeks, book, three weeks, event, three weeks, book, six weeks, book, etc. So we don’t have an event every three weeks which I think would run the members ragged. The first No Crime, Just Wine, is January 27th; I’ll let you guys know how it goes!

If you view the sheets, let me know if you have any recommendations to improve. I’m also always looking for book recommendations, for the book club or otherwise. If you run a book club, I hope this helps.

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WWBC – True Crime Lovers

Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate including a full list of topics for the year, please click here.

Given I run this book club, it’s safe to say True Crime is my jam. I read other genres, too. I also like to watch tv about true crime and to listen to True Crime podcasts. That being said, I’ve tried at least four true crime podcasts and I find the hosts go off topic and can sometimes be, well, annoying or unfocused and I can’t stand the podcast. If you have podcast reccommendations, I’m all ears. I won’t share which ones I didn’t enjoy, because it’s just my preference and opinion. I can reccommend most of the podcasts under the Wondery umbrella and Behind the Bastards. As far as TV, my most recent favorites are How to Become a Tyrant and How to Become a Cult Leader; both are on Netflix.

There you have it. I’m into True Crime and I’m open to suggestions!

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Current Podcasts

• My Favorite Murder
  • I listened to a few and it’s like two best friends talking and no one else has any idea what they’re talking about… I think I just need to keep listening until I get used to their convo patterns
• Martini’s and Murder
  • Toes the line of having too much fun with murder and it’s WoNd3rFuL; they’re always picking (jokingly) on their producer/bartender. Also, who doesn’t love a show that introduces a cocktail each episode
• Fierce: Stories of Women Who Changed the World
  • Each episode covers a woman who had a huge impact that was lost to history, it’s interesting and every story is told well.
• Unlocking Us by Brené Brown
  • Um, it’s Brené Brown. Nuff said.
• The Happiness Lab
  • A scientific-ish approach to those things which affect our happiness

Click here to see some of my past, which are still part of my past as long as I haven’t run out of episodes, podcasts.

Thanks for your patience, I’ve missed my last 4 posts between my new job picking up speed, moving, and May being a super busy month with my birthday, Mother’s Day, my mom’s birthday, my aunt’s birthday…. you get it.

*If you enjoyed any part of this post, please consider liking it. If you loved it, please consider following me on WordPress. I also love comments including questions, advice, or a review of the post itself. Thank you for reading and best of luck in your adventures.*