Our September Top Pick author Kristina Riggle, author of REAL LIFE & LIARS, dishes about girlfriends and great reads to kick off another fantastic week.

When I think of girlfriends, I think of books.

As a teen-ager, when my best friend Tonia and I had five bucks to spare, one of our favorite ways to spend that money (right up there with a couple pair of giant dangly earrings from Claire’s) was to go buy a paperback book. We both liked Christopher Pike, who wrote spooky teen thrillers.

When I get together with my girlfriends now, one of our favorite things to do is get a coffee at our local bookstore and wander the aisles, browsing, talking about our favorite recent books, books we’d like to read, and books we’re going to buy.

Whenever a group of my girlfriends get together, it’s not uncommon for the subject to turn to books. Like a great lipstick or movie, when we’ve read a great book we want everyone to know about it. I recently brought over a fistful of books to a teacher-friend on summer break for her to plow through before her school year madness started again.

And then there are books about girlfrends. LITTLE EARTHQUAKES by Jennifer Weiner springs to mind, as do the books of Emily Giffin. (LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH is as much a story about friendship as it is about the men in the heroine’s life).

So it’s no wonder there’s been an explosion of book clubs lately including our very own Book End Babes. Girlfriends and books… a natural combination!

Well, to some of us. I was speaking to a group of new moms recently about an anthology called A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers, which included one of my essays. I gave away a copy of my novel to the group. The novel was received gratefully, but not before one of the mothers said in a rather biting tone: Raise your hand if you have time to read.

It is hard to feel like we can spare the time, I know. When my own babies were tiny, I honed the art of nursing-while-reading, though it gets trickier once a bottle enters the picture (we only have so many hands, after all). And with kids at any stage, you’ve got carpools here and there, volunteering, grocery shopping, perhaps a job with a boss who would probably frown on reading at your desk.

But reading gives so much, it’s one of those things I believe deserves space in our lives. It can be just for you! Imagine, something just for yourself! And when you combine it with a book club (in other words, girlfriends) then ta-da! A social life, too, where you get your own name instead of saying, “Hi, I’m Sam’s mom.”

So, what’s your favorite book to recommend to girlfriends? I’m all ears. My “to be read” stack has some space in it…