A Surprising Book Club

My husband attended a conference for healthcare CEOs in San Diego and I accompanied him. The weather was lousy- cold and rainy, it was warmer in New York City that we left behind.

He enjoyed the conference, and I was struck by how many wonderful activities they had planned for the spouses. There was a walking tour of the Coronado Hotel, morning yoga, an interesting lecture from Dr. Kristin Reese (a naturopathic doctor) and the one thing that I was most excited to see- a book club event.

Janine was in charge of the spouses program, and she sent an email out before the conference asking us to name the best books we read in 2013. At the conference, we received a list called What's On Your Bookshelf?

Many of the books the spouses listed included many of my favorites, including:

• Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
• Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
• The Paris Wife by Paula McClain
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
• Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon
• Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub
• The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
• City of Thieves by David Benioff

At the last morning's breakfast, they raffled off ten books from five of the favorites, and that was a big hit. I had read all of the books, so I was able to advise one of the winners as to which one she might like best. (I suggested Me Before You.)  I enjoyed talking with people who had similar tastes in books.

They also had a bookshop, run by Barbara Keenan who owned an independent bookstore for 30 years in Southern California. She now owns Books On Demand, and I had a lovely chat with her. She had several tables of books for sale, including many of the books on the spouses' list, books for the executives, mysteries, and a nice selection of children's books. She did a fabulous job curating her inventory, and she will be at BEA this year. 

Next year's conference is in Boca Raton; I hope the weather is nicer!