Beyond words: Women get together to keep reading habit alive

Petrina Francis, Assistant Editor - News

A group of women, determined to keep their reading habits alive, earlier this year established their very own (for now) all-female book club - Beyond Words.

The group is the brainchild of Rashida Hanif.

Ruth Carey, one of the group's members, explained that the women were all in Negril late last year, attending the Reggae Marathon, when a discussion about books came up.

"We realised that we all liked to read and had so much in common. Pretty soon, Rashida sent an email inviting us to be part of the club," Carey explained.

Beyond Words gives each member six to eight weeks to read a book. A get-together is then held, hosted by the group member who selects the book. The host sets the location and the kind of food to be served.

The group gathered last Sunday at Carey's St Andrew home to discuss the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, authored by Rebecca Skloot.

When The Sunday Gleaner visited the house, the food was all prepared and Carey was awaiting the arrival of group members. They soon arrived and the scrumptious meal of grilled chicken with macaroni and cheese, and salad, was served with wine or juice - depending on the individual's choice. Sweet potato pudding was the chosen dessert. Over the meal, the group members started their discussion of the non-fiction book.

It was interesting to hear the different perspectives of the members of the group.

According to booksellers Barnes and Noble, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of a poor Southern tobacco farmer who was buried in an unmarked grave 60 years ago. Yet her cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medical research. Known to science as HeLa, the first 'immortal' human cells grown in culture, are still alive today, and have been bought and sold by the millions.

"There is something special and powerful about reading. Reading, in general, is edifying, you can't lose," said Ruth Chisholm, another member of the group.

Carey, who loves to read but is sometimes unable to because of her demanding job, said she was happy she took the decision to join the club.

"The club forces me to read rather than carry home work. I usually read non-fiction but, after joining this club, I realised that there are interesting fiction books as well," Carey said.

She added: "The good thing about this club is with the diversity with selection of the books and the people. We all are not Jamaicans. We are racially diverse."

Lee-Ann Steele, who is passionate about books and reading, said the book club is a God-send, as she is pushed to do one of her favourite things - reading.

"Sometimes you get so caught up with other activities, you sometimes put off reading but, with this club, you have no choice but to read because you want to be part of the discussion."

Steele said the club takes members out of their comfort zones. She related that a particular member was only accustomed to reading books about sex. She has no choice now but to read the books that the host selects.

Steele urged parents to keep their children reading.

"The children of today are not readers. Instead of forcing books on them, give them something that they will enjoy reading. Allow them to have a general love for reading before you force some heavy stuff on them," she said.