giovanni's room
In a recent and concerted group effort to lift the crushing weight of boredom from our shoulders, my girlfriend and I have been going on a lot of dates. I normally plan these dates, and as such we usually end up in a bookstore of some kind. One of my many purchases on these recent dates was Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Since deleting TikTok, I've been buying more books than usual to have something to do during the day, and have been enjoying most of them, but I knew within the first few sentences of Giovanni's Room that it would be one of my favorite books of the year.
I should also mention that the recent onslaught of super-fun dates also stems from my feeling lonely recently. My job went remote back in August when I moved, and while I appreciate the time at home to be able to work on school, cook, and blog, it's been isolating being hundreds of miles away from my office friends, and my schedule this semester (and my girlfriend's demanding schedule at work) means I'm home alone with nothing to do from Friday-Monday. I figured all this being alone wasn't good for me, so I decidedly made an effort to go to club meetings and invite friends over more often.
My first club meeting of the semester was yesterday, for my university's English Major Society. It was a meeting outside in the plaza, where we were asked to bring the book we were currently reading so we could share it with the other members. I'd been reading Giovanni's Room obsessively for the past 24 hours, and was honestly wishing the meeting would end quickly so I could rush home and finish it, but once I sat down, I stayed until the sun went down nearly two hours later. I only knew two people in a group of seven of us, but we talked as if we'd been friends for a long time. We went around talking about the books we were reading, and when I picked up the book I was reading, the club president gasped and told me I should come to their next meeting on Monday that he'd organized about James Baldwin! As it turns out, being a recently converted Baldwin-head is a great way to make new friends! After we talked about our books, we shared things about our lives, the classes we were taking, The Grammy's, and everything in-between. I just met most of these people, but I hope I get to see them again on Monday. I even learned new things about the two acquaintances I already knew, which was a pleasant surprise!
When I got home, I had plenty of time to finish the book, and I felt all the better for having gone to that meeting. Having finished Giovanni's Room, I can confirm it's my favorite book of the year so far, and though the year just started, I have a feeling there will be little contest.
I know I still have a long way to go with making an effort to see friends and manage my loneliness, but I know the next time it creeps up on me, I'll be okay. This place feels a little more like home every day.
"Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition."