welcome to: the rent free book club.

get in girls. we're un-rotting our brains.

there is nothing more satisfying than sinking into a book and letting yourself be carried away into an alternate world dreamed up by another person entirely. there is an intimacy to reading, one that counters all the tactlessness our phones have encouraged.

we’ve gamified everything: it’s not how well you understand a piece of art, but how much you’ve manged to mindlessly consume in the hopes of getting your reading count up. actively engaging with a single book in a month, tearing it apart and re-configuring what it means, placing it in a context and dissecting it has more value in my eyes than reading four colleen hoover novels in a few weeks (yes, that woman is going to catch a stray anytime i talk about books) and not being able to remember a single thing that happens in them.

if you want to read more intentionally, doing it with other people who are also motivated to do the same is a great place to start. hence, this book club.

i love clever people and i love hearing their thoughts on the work they interact with. i love my readership and know that many of you fit the bill. this is an entirely selfish pursuit; i want to be able to hear you guys talk and interact with not only each other but also with me in a way that’s a little less convoluted. also, i love a gossip and you’d be surprised at just how entertaining these clubs can be when everyone is finally comfortable with one another.

you must be restless with anticipation, so without further ado: our april book club pick is none other than-

jazz by toni morrison.

the parrot will make sense after you read the first page, i promise.

why?

a lot of you who were interested in the book club named a few writers you’d love to read more of and of course the ever brilliant toni morrison’s name came up because you have taste. this is a book i read years and years ago, in truth when i was a completely different person. i can’t wait to meet toni’s work again as a woman who now writes like she did. jazz is said to have been toni’s favorite of all the work she’d published and i’m so curious to see why.

i also picked the novel because i think it sets the tone perfectly for the space. we’ll get brainy darlings and more often than not political. who better to set the mood and christen our book club than ms morrison herself?

the deets.

the rent free book club will function as all good book clubs do: as a space to nerd out and even disagree on our view of our chosen book, devoid of judgement. as i mentioned before, i’ve already started a book club chat where we can update each other on our progress through the month, highlight passages we love/hate/ can’t stop thinking about and trade further recommendations.

on the last sunday of every month, i’ll host a big zoom call (we’ll decide on a time together in the chat since i know a lot of us are in different time zones; rent free is international now darlings- keep up). you can choose to join these calls, camera off, wigless, face beat to the gods or not at all and still be a part of the book club. community is about tailoring to the people you are building with. if you only feel comfortable in the book club chat, then come gossip with us in the chat:

if there are any other accommodations you’d like me to make, please be on my case and LET ME KNOW!!

i’ll post some of the discussion points in the chat for each book a week before our zoom meeting so everyone can know what points will most likely come up; i hate being unprepared for discussions and y’all are a bunch of overachievers used to eating down in english class, i can tell.

the rules

• this is a space first and foremost interested in intersectionality. there will be no space for intolerance or shitty personal politics. in short, if you’re a bigot in any way STAY TF AWAY (i doubt any of my readers need this reminder but my pieces have found themselves in some of the odder corners of this site so, just making sure).

• most if not all of the books we pick will be by non-white authors. i have no problem with white writers (in fact, some of my favorite writers are white *stares directly into camera*) but literature recommendation lists are often blander than the diary aisle at the supermarket and i hope we can help remedy that a little with our book club.

• you must make a cup of tea whenever you decide to pick up our book club pick to read. i don’t remember where i read it but i heard once that making yourself a brew was a small act of self-remembrance many of us forgo and ever since, i’ve made the effort to put the kettle on whenever it’s book time. it’s become an intimate little ritual i look forward to with religiosity every morning now. i will be demanding pictures be sent to our chat to prove you are loving on yourself via shah (the somali word for tea btw) and no, you may not have a matcha. put down the frother darlings and grab an earl grey. you know you don’t need the caffeine.

• you must be honest. if a book doesn’t mesh with you, then it doesn’t mesh with you. debate is a beautiful thing. disagreement can breed new knowledge and learning. so long as that dislike isn’t rooted in dickishness, our tastes vary. i’m interested in hearing what you think.

i am beyond excited. may this be a space that makes you all feel as warm and curious as it does me. may this book club help you all form connections that bring some extra joy into your lives.

welcome to the rent free book club darlings. we’re unrotting our brains, one novel at a time.

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thank you as ever my loves. i have another surprise announcement coming later this week (i hope you aren’t sick of me by the end lol) so stay tuned. it’s of the audio variety and it’s yet another petrifying leap i’m only capable of taking because you’ve all made me a braver creative.

i can’t wait to nerd out with you all and until next time loves,

aa xx