THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN

The Book Club for Troublesome Women was an absolute fall reading highlight for me!! My IRL book club chose this for November and I did not want it to end. I purposely listened to it on a slower speed than usual, and if I’m below 1.4x on @librofm - you know I loved this book.

In 1963, four women in the suburbs of Washington, DC form a book club, and choose Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique as their first novel. Each of the “Bettys” is at a personal or professional crossroads, and Friedan’s book becomes an unexpected catalyst for change and female empowerment. As they strive for a life of purpose beyond their culturally prescribed roles, what they find along the way is true female friendship, and the knowledge that love and support from other women is the secret ingredient to turning dreams to reality.

Like the Bettys in the story, there’s so much more to this book than its pretty cover! I loved these ladies’ character arcs - their growth doesn’t follow a straight up trajectory, but they always lift each other up and keep moving forward. Despite the many indignities they endure as women in the 60s, the story never felt cartoonish or two-dimensional. With a dash of Lessons in Chemistry and a bit of Barbie movie, this book is absolute treat!

When Viv bakes a cherry chocolate chip bundt cake for her friends, I knew I wanted to bring one to my own book club. But there is no cherry chocolate chip cake better than the one from a local bakery - it is truly iconic - and I know when to step back and let the pros take over! So this beyond delicious cake is from Beascakes Bakery, and I am so excited to bring it to book club and share it with my very own Bettys. Love you, book club girls!

Are you in a book club? What’s the best book your club read this year?