Do you like to read non-fiction books, do you fall asleep on page four, do you need space for gentle accountability, do you not want to get on a Zoom once this summer? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you'll want to join me, Jen Gurecki Founder of Coalition, for my newly launched Summer Book Club (that I'm a bit nervous to start because I have no idea if anyone will show up but here we go...).

There are three books on my reading list, none of them fiction, and all of them provocative and chosen because I believe they will have a positive impact on my day-to-day and on the way I see the world.

Exploring all of this with other humans would be more fun, with greater learning, and it will hold me accountable to actually read the books. No one has time for more Zoom calls in the summer, so we’re going to do it asynchronously through the Substack Chat so that you can chime in whenever and wherever.

The invite will go out to all paid Lady Parts subscribers (our Substack newsletter), and it’s super easy to join:

• Procure the books

  • The Art of Making Memories, by Meik Wiking

  • Permission, by Elisa Altman

  • The Portable Feminist Reader, by Roxane Gay

• Read some or all of the books, no judgement (schedule below)

• Access the chat through Discord

  • You’ll receive an email to join

• Share whatever you want, when you want, from the comfort of your couch, pool floatie, or rock

  • It’s not a live chat and I’ll be popping in and out for about a week until I take a pause to move on to the next book

📅 Schedule:

• June 30th - July 7th: Discuss The Art of Making Memories

• August 3rd - August 11th: Discuss Permission

• September 1st - September 8th: Discuss The Portable Feminist Reader

I understand most people like to read fiction during the summer, so if that’s your jam, there are a million book clubs for that. The books I have chosen are written by authors whom I admire, and they are what I would want to read on my mini-retreats to fuel my creativity and keep me motivated and excited about what I’m working on and towards.

📚 The books:

The Art of Making Memories, by Meik Wiking. What’s the actual secret to happiness? Great memories! Meik Wiking—happiness researcher and New York Times bestselling author of The Little Book of Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke—shows us how to create memories that make life sweet in this charming book. I’m all about making the most of the summer, so we’ll start with this book because we all could use a little more happiness in our lives. The Art of Making Memories examines how mental images are made, stored, and recalled in our brains, as well as the “art of letting go”—why we tend to forget certain moments to make room for deeper, more meaningful ones.

Permission, by Elisa Altman: Who am I to tell my story? And how can we grant ourselves permission to write the stories we're compelled to tell when we've been told we shouldn't? This book speaks to what is at the heart of this newsletter and really what I do, and I know I’m not alone. Fun fact, Elisa and I shared the TEDx stage in Reno many, many years ago. She’s an award-winning author of the memoirs Motherland, Treyf, and Poor Man's Feast, and the highly acclaimed Substack of the same name.

The Portable Feminist Reader, by Roxane Gay: A dynamic and strikingly relevant look at a feminist canon as expansive rather than definitive. I was fortunate enough to see Roxane Gay speak in San Francisco a few years ago, and she is an absolute BOSS. She’s the author of multiple books and memoirs, including The New York Times best-selling essay collection Bad Feminist and the short story collection Difficult Women. She also publishes The Audacious Roundup, full of the most noteworth and dumbest shit that she comes across each week, all with her own witty critique. While feminist canon may seem like a heavy read over the summer, I think it’s perfect because you don’t have to read it start to finish. So if you’re like me and you open up a book right before going to bed, and three pages in you fall asleep, then this might be the book for you because you can actually get through a section and have a meaningful discussion with us in our chat without having to read the whole thing. A no-pressure way to end the summer book club!

TBH, I’m a bit nervous to start this book club because when you start something new in a format that people aren’t necessarily accustomed to, you run the risk of it flopping. So if it’s just me and you, please don’t be embarrassed for me. But I’m really excited to get into these books and have a summer reading list that feels manageable and uplifting.

❓Questions: Email me at hello@coalitionsnow.com :)

xxoo,

Jen Gurecki, she/her, CEO of Coalition Snow