THE JOURNAL
Moving Home & Starting A Book Club
Not your usual book club!! Think boozy, fun, full of women, and full of laughs.
I’ve always been a bit of a homebody. A glass (or two) of wine and a f*cking good book? Perfect night in. But when I moved overseas to a city where I didn’t know a soul, I found myself craving something else. Something social. Something fun. Something that got me out of the house - and back in bed by 9pm.
I missed connection. I missed adult conversation that wasn’t just gibberish with my toddler. I wanted to meet like minded women, bond over good books and even better drinks, and have something to look forward to that didn’t revolve around nap times or snacks.
So I moved home, back to Whitianga! At the worst time of year. Winter!! The town that’s so lively in summer becomes SO sleepy once the sunshine disappears. I knew I couldn’t be the only one feeling a little socially starved, especially other mums. And that’s where the idea for Plot NZ came from.
I pictured a night out that wasn’t really a night out. A reason to dress up, talk about books for a few minutes, and spend the rest of the night yapping, laughing, and sipping margaritas.
I started an Instagram page - @plot.nz and quickly realised I wasn’t alone. There was so much interest. Turns out, Whitianga was ready for a fun, no pressure book club. I asked followers:
What should we read? How are we reading? What’s your drink of choice? Where should we meet? Unsurprisingly, Basker was the crowd favourite. I reached out to the lovely team there and locked in our first event, complete with a cheeky $10 marg deal just for our book club girlies. Um, yes please!!
Our first book was The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. We read it over the month, and before I knew it, it was go time.
Cue panic. What was I thinking? I can’t host 35 women. I can’t even finish a sentence without a toddler interrupting me!
But after a couple of internal pep talks (and a couple of margaritas), I found my groove and the night was INCREDIBLE! I met amazing women. Some hadn’t picked up a book since school and Plot got them reading again. We laughed, we talked, we absolutely smashed the margarita special. We voted on our next read (Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka), and even had a fun little giveaway (shoutout to Gathered Collab - still lowkey sad I didn’t win).
We’re now just a couple of weeks out from our second meet up. We’ve got another amazing giveaway, even more local support, and a group of lovely women ready to show up, sip, and share stories. I’m just honestly so stoked with how Plot’s come to life!
The support has been unreal, I’ve met the coolest bunch of women, read some amazing books and had the best night out that still let me be in bed by 9. And those weetbix coated prawns at Basker? Don’t even get me started!
If you’ve been looking for a reason to get out of the house, meet great people, and maybe even read a book along the way - this is it.
Follow along at @plot.nz or grab your ticket via Eventbrite. We can’t wait to have you. Grace xx