Every writer must be a reader. I won’t back down from that statement. A writer who does not read is like a person applying for a driving license who has never sat behind the steering wheel. I have my book club to thank for exposing me to literature that would not have crossed my radar and keeping me reading when projects or writing could have devoured all free time.

This month we’re reading The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, an American writer with a shelf of science fiction including significant speculative fiction work. Bless their collected souls, the book club members want to be supportive of my speculative fiction work. Dick is fascinated by many of the same social and political issues readers will identify in my books. He passed away in the 1980s which shows that a dominating government, limited resources, and loss of freedoms are not concerns unique to any one generation.

Discussion without an arbitrary cut off related to everyone’s work schedule the next day will be interesting. I suspect we’ll talk about a whole lot more than books. There is a world of problems and challenges to chew through—families, work, politics, music, books. We’ll probably visit The Peninsula Bookman for a wander through new and used books. I’m guessing we’ll also visit the Bayside Tavern for good bar food and a bit of rowdiness. I know we’ll spend time walking along the shores of Lake Michigan even if it rains. The lake calls to our two Michigan and one Wisconsin native as a homecoming of sorts.

So be prepared Fish Creek. The book club is coming to town.