I had a chance to read The Great Gatsby this week. Okay, well, the truth is that I probably have the chance every week, I only did it this week. I used my college professor’s copy of the book, which he gave me as a gift in 2001, shortly before I graduated college. He was amazed I had never read it before, and gave me his own, personal copy with his notes scribbled in the margins.

I am ashamed it took me 13 years to read it. As my friend Katie said tonight, “Cherish that gift!” And I do. I think it’s amazing he gave it to me in the first place.

I put this on FaceBook last night, and today I am reminded what a rich group of bibliophile friends I have. From casual acquaintances to long-time college friends, and even one of my favorite high school teachers (that I never actually had in class), we had a grand discussion of books in education, why some books are chosen for a class to read and some are not, and a book-club-esque discussion of Nick Carraway that is currently still on-going.

I love it. I absolutely love it. It makes me feel like I’m still in high school or college, sitting around a classroom, discussing what we’ve read. It’s a treat to hear my friends’ opinions of this book, especially knowing they are all scattered across the country (and world…one friend is in Germany).

One of my friends deleted her Facebook account yesterday, and while I get why she did it–wants to foster more personal relationships with those around her–I can’t ever imagine doing it myself. I don’t see Facebook as merely a vehicle to show cute cat videos (though I have been known to upload a snippet or two of my kitten chasing water drops in the sink). No, I see Facebook as a way of connecting with people I genuinely like and admire, who’s company I’d keep if we all lived closer to each other.

Today’s exchanges make me thankful we have such a way to keep in touch, share information and opinions, and bring people together through common threads that may not have otherwise connected.