Whilst I’ve been working on this Book Club for a few years, I guess it’s actually something I came up with as soon I could read.
Books were my first love. From make believe and magic, to scary stories and thrillers (I began reading my sister’s Stephen King and Dean Koontz novels at six years old) – reading stories and storytelling became my favourite things. So much so that my Dad built me a little ‘library’ in our attic. I was so proud of it that I began to show friends my book collection, and if they were trustworthy enough, I’d let them check out a book with my very own signing out system. I’m pretty sure I wanted to be a Librarian for a while – just to be able to stamp books in and out.
In school, we were asked to pick an influential author and write them a letter. My best friend and I picked the same author and I was certain if anyone was going to get a reply it would be her.
Weeks had passed and one morning we were asked to gather on the carpet – someone had received a reply. It was me! I couldn’t believe it. Author of ‘Elmer the Elephant’ and ‘Not Now Bernard’ David McKee had loved my letter and we became pen pals.
Fast forward years later and after a last minute switch up in my degree I graduated with a Major in English Literature.
You might ask how I went from that to a career in fashion… It took me a while to realise, but being a stylist became my way of storytelling – just in a different art form.
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I spend way too much money on books. It’s an addiction. And when myself and my husband were travelling non stop for work – I even started buying two copies of the same book so that we could start our own little book club over Facetime. The truth is we were too busy to read at the same pace. And if it was a pageturner, I could finish mine within a few nights. So we stopped doing that – and then realized we’d be left with two of the same book.
In my job a Stylist and Editor I try my best to be sustainable, whether it’s with my own purchases or dressing my clients. But I certainly wasn’t practising this when it came to books.
Additionally, friends would message and ask what I was reading. Ultimately ordering a perfectly good book I could’ve just passed on to them myself.
And it was ironically from a book – that this idea really came to life. Marie Kondo’s ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up‘ is a must read for anyone like me who finds it hard to let go of items in the home and I took to her rituals immedaitely. But, when she started to talk about getting rid of books – I was done. ‘How dare she? These books mean the world to me!’ I was horrified and stopped reading. It wasn’t until her NETFLIX series aired that I really understood what she meant.
There are books that I would never give away. Books that my Dad gave me. My coffee table books. Books by talented friends. But, I realised I had countless books that I would genuinely never read again. And especially not two copies.
So one day I sat down and set aside books that no longer served me. And realized that it could always be a great way to see friends more often too. Catching up over a coffee and giving them the book they’d been asking about… But then I thought – wait – what if they just do the same thing I’ve done all these years. Then it becomes pointless and the cycle just continues…
And so, Bini’s Book Club was born – a sustainable book club with a difference.
Head over to our instagram to stay tuned for our launch. @BinisBinisBook
I can’t wait to share my books with you.