I wouldn’t be much of a writer if I didn’t spend part of my time reading. Not the best in the social department, the idea of joining a book club has been both intriguing and frightening to me. On top of that, I’m so oddly picky when reading fiction books that I rarely make it past the first few chapters. Uber-popular design site Apartment Therapy has solved all of these problems with their new Green Home Book Club.

Feeling disconnected is a natural part of working and interacting online, but the folks at Apartment Therapy have that aspect covered as well, allowing readers to vote on which book is next and consistently encouraging discussion. Amped is the only work I can think to describe how I felt when I found out that Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle won the vote for the Green Home Book Club’s first tome.

Already popular among critics and eco-readers alike, I’ve been teetering on whether or not to read the book. Thanks to the Green Home Book Club, I’ll get the pleasure of enjoying a good green read and being able to discuss it with others. If you haven’t heard about the book yet, here is an overview:

Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that’s better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

Treehugger.com had this to say about the book: “Full of irony, wit and love this book is a must read for anyone interested in growing their own food and everyone else interested in how the food they eat arrives at their table and the consequences of our indulgences for the planet.” The New York Times said that Animal, Vegetable, Miracle “aims to fill a hole in the soul. [Kingsolver] succeeds in dramatizing her own family’s story so that these ideas come to life, anecdotally and charmingly. And she gives her book the natural momentum of a changing calendar.”

Already read the book? Haven’t read it but want to? No time to read but curious about the subject? Here are a few details about the Green Home Book Club that you’ll need to know:

• The book club will officially begin on the AT: Green Home site on November 19, with a discussion post that relates to the first chapter of the book, “Called Home.”
• Every Monday there will be a new discussion post (as most of us get the majority of our reading done over the weekend).
• Feel free to read at your own speed; however, at the end of each Monday discussion post there will be a suggested page to reach by the next Monday. We’ll start slow, be as flexible as we need to be, and see what works as we move through the book.
• Everyone is welcome to join the discussion! Whether you’re reading the book, read it a few months ago, or just have an opinion on the subject matter.

I’ll be excitedly joining in on the conversation and I hope to see some of you there. Upon finishing the book, I’ll be writing a review for Victoria-E.com, so keep your eye peeled!