In the beginning were our words...of introduction.

In an era where tweets, texts, and TV are the preferred media, we of “Thrice Booked” will remain forever in love with books.

While attending graduate school in Northern California, the three of us realized we shared this love for literature—a deep excitement for words and story that easily qualifies us as nerds, er, English scholars. Reading was clearly our thing, but discussing them together was even better; it was really, really awesome. We ended up learning not only from the texts and grad school but (even more importantly) also from each other during our impromptu salons, our comprehensive exam study sessions, and our struggles with countless essays. Doing so happened naturally because of the respect we all held for each others’ varying viewpoints and interests; Milton and Steinbeck commonly were referenced in the same conversation without a roll of the eye, a smirk, or vibrations of canonical disgust. Unsurprisingly, then, we became friends in addition to classmates because we thought reading and analyzing books was meaningful and, yes, fun.

One can imagine our disappointment once we graduated, and our regular discussions became not so regular. Well, no matter; we knew that leaving academia would change our relationships, so we had prepared ourselves for a smooth transition. We would of course keep in touch as time elapsed, even if it meant less frequent philosophizing over happy hours at the local college pub, and more phone calls or facebook chats. After all, doctorate programs, teaching positions, and groundbreaking writing jobs anxiously awaited us; our lives were going to be fulfilled, but in a different way. Such progress and change was the whole point of grad school, right? And we couldn’t wait to share our stimulating experiences with each other, even if it was less often than we would have liked.

But alas, a year later, the jaws of transition still grip our lives. Like most Americans, the economy has had an enormous impact on our current and future state; we must now patiently wait to earn a PhD, or attain that elusive college/university instructor position. So, instead of solely waiting for others to give us the go-ahead to live our lives the way we had always envisioned to, we are taking matters into our own hands. We of “Thrice Booked” are determined to create and continue our own literary conversations, only this time, we want to put it out into the wild world of the internets, and share it with you, mostly because we think doing so is essential for the hearts and minds of academically inclined souls.

We hope the discussions we found so valuable will also offer you some sort of joy and/or meaning! One Sunday a month we will be have a roundtable (well, “roundblog”) discussion on a book of our choice, but for the rest of our entries, we’re providing a free forum for anything and everything relating to books, teaching, and the creative process.

As a hint for our first “book club” selection…Bon Appetit and Welcome to “Thrice Booked!”