I’ve been thinking a lot about book clubs lately since the new movie Book Club came out a few weeks ago.
If you haven’t seen it or the trailer, it’s about four older women who have a book club. One decides to spice things up a bit and introduce the other members to the racy book Fifty Shades of Grey. What ensues is adventure, hilarity, and life-changing events at a time when many think they are too old for new beginnings.
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Its release reminded me how popular A Land Remembered is with book clubs throughout Florida. And while it isn’t in the same category of Fifty Shades, for many it too has been life-changing and would make a perfect pick for your next book club selection.
Here are five reasons that I think A Land Remembered is a perfect fit:
1. You are new to Florida and want to learn more about its history.
The book is the story of three generations of a pioneer family in Florida from 1858 until 1968. It is also a story portraying the tenacity of American pioneers in the Southeast of America: how they survived and prospered in an often hostile, and desolate environment. While it is a novel and the family is fiction, most of the events depicted did happen. That’s one of the big reasons the book was made into a student version and is used to teach Florida history in schools throughout the Sunshine State.
2. You love reading historical fiction.
While it is very popular with Floridians and those who love Florida, it is also an enlightening work of historical fiction that would appeal to anyone who enjoys this genre. There is much written and genres of films available depicting life in the American West. This book takes you to another American wilderness most people don’t know about. I like to say it takes you back to the time of the Wild Wild East!
3. This is a book people love to discuss.
Like any great work of historical fiction, it makes the reader think. Not just about what life was like back then but also how that history affected today’s Florida. What did we lose? Was it worth it? What qualities did these people possess to make them come to the Florida wilderness in the first place? Why do we feel they could be our family. When I am out on the road doing the Patrick Smith’s Florida IS A Land Remembered tour, after the show I get bombarded with lines of people wanting to tell me about the book and their personal Florida history and experiences. The room is abuzz with others talking about it. So many people have shared with me their different ideas about what this great book “meant” to them. Once you read it and discuss it with a group of others who have read it too, you will have a deeper understanding of not only what it means to you but what my father was trying to portray.
4. You’ll learn some cool new words.
Words like yellowhammer, coontie, fro, adze, just to name a few. Dad also had a gift of describing not only the flora and fauna but the nuances of what life was like before the Florida we know now. After reading this book, you’ll be able to drive along Florida’s roads and get a glimpse of old Florida. On your next walk through the backcountry, you’ll be able to point out the food the pioneers ate, or the foliage they used to make a life out of the wilderness.
5. There are discussion questions already written!
A few years ago we were approached by a woman wanting to know if we have a list of questions to stimulate conversation on A Land Remembered. We didn’t then but Kim went to work coming up with several. It’s proven to be very popular with book clubs. You can get the 25 book club discussion questions in a downloadable PDF format by clicking here.
If you buy 10 or more copies A Land Remembered (either hardbound or softbound) through us, you receive 20% off. And every book comes with the free DVD, Patrick Smith Answers Common Questions About A Land Remembered.
$21.95 (Hardbound) 
$14.95 (Softbound)
Kim and I’ve never been in a book club before but many of our retired friends are. It looks like fun, especially the ones that have wine and food involved. It is something we’d like to do once we officially retire. And I know what book we’ll recommend to the group!
Has your book club read A Land Remembered? We’d love to hear from you – please comment below – on what you talked about and if you downloaded the questions, how helpful they were.
