What a week…

I hope you’ve all been able to take some time for a little self care. With or without audio books, walking soothes the soul.

On May 29th, The Walking Book Club held a fundraising book chat with Jeanine Cummins, NYT #1 best selling author of American Dirt and narrator Yareli Azrimendi. As last week unfolded, their words and sentiments have taken root.

Words from Jeanine:

“Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the pain and injustice the world (like everyone) and about the role that book clubs can play in opening up dialogue. One of the many difficult things about this moment in our culture is that people who feel moved to stand up and speak up, when they are people of privilege, they often don’t know how to engage. Or they’re afraid to engage. Or they feel like it’s not their place to engage. And I really feel like book clubs can help facilitate more candid dialogue around important issues of racial injustice and inequality.

A book club like yours, that’s potentially diverse, can really promote positive change. Anything that gets people talking and listening outside their own bubble of reality is a really important thing right now, I think. So keep up the great work.”

Words from Yareli:

“What you have created is a much needed space where people who want to understand in a deeper manner what is going on around them, while taking care of the vessel — mind and body – given to us to engage with our reality, are welcome. Precious!

Connecting to issues through creative work is a fantastic way to engage the audience in creating solutions to themes dealt with in the work. Your choice of books and access to the authors is the key to expanding the possibilities and influence of your great idea.”

The Walking Book Club is evolving and growing into a global community of #bookloversinsneakers whose mission is to engage the mind and body to make exercise and activity more enjoyable.

The conversation with Jeanine and Yareli opened my eyes to the possibility of adding a soulful philanthropic aspect to the mission.

We will always be focused on audio books to sweep you off your feet with adventure, romance, intrigue, drama, humor, light-hearted stories to escape, educate and amuse as desired.

And we will offer audio books from time to time that can open the dialogue to the greater world of what is representative, topical and maybe even controversial at the time to stimulate the mind.

P.S. For all our new members, please check out our past emails and resource page which includes FAQs and extras here. 

These are our current group selections for the round that ends June 28th. If you moved and listened to one of the group selections, you are invited to freely discuss the audio book now. The discussion threads are located in both “Announcements” and under “Popular Topics” in our Facebook Group.