Book Clubs

[brdgt]

Have you ever belonged to a book club?

I stayed away from them for a long time, they had too much of an Oprah taint on them for me. I thought they sat around and read family dramas, involving at least one teen pregnancy and two abusive husbands.

But I joined one in January and I love my book club! We have such a diverse group of people (psychiatrists, art historians, philosophy students, etc.) and we read a mix of classics and award winning newer books (this year we've read everything from Lolita to The Golden Compass). Sometimes we diverge into just chatting and drinking wine, but last week we had a great discussion about meta-narratives in Kundera's Immortality!

I’ve enjoyed it so much that when I move in August, I'm going to try to start one in my PhD program :)

[Craft Forums]

[Martita]

I love my book club...I joined it a few weeks after I moved to my town (it was brand new...) so it has been a nice way to meet people.

Strange coincidence and PROOF of the SSOL...one of the members of my book club is a librarian here in upstate NY. We were talkinga bout weddings once, and she mentioned that she had moved up here from RI, right before her wedding - some 20 odd years ago. I asked her where she lived and worked in RI and she mentioned the same town in which my mom was a librarian in RI more than 20 years ago. When I asked her when she was there she responded..."HOLY SHIT! You are Mary's daughter, aren't you!"

We met once, 500 miles from where we both live now, 24 years ago. At the library.

We were destined to read together!

[brdgt]

We were destined to read together!

That is too cute!

[yozhka]

i'm so jealous! i have wanted to be in a bookclub forever (especially in this year between undergrad and grad school)...but by the time i really decided i wanted to start one, i had to move, and i'll move again at the end of the summer to go to grad school in nj...i doubt anyone will want to do outside reading, what with first-year reading loads anyway. maybe if it's only 1x/month or something...

what was the secret of your successful book club (other than the diverse membership)? how did it start? maybe i'll try to get people in nj that aren't in grad school currently...

[brdgt]

what was the secret of your successful book club (other than the diverse membership)? how did it start? maybe i'll try to get people in nj that aren't in grad school currently...

You should check out Chicklit - they run an online bookclub: http://www.chicklit.com/index.shtml

I know our book club doesn't stress that you need to finish (or even read) the book - we have a pretty high attendence as a result. Most people who haven't read the book or all of it still have a lot to contribute as far as literary discussion goes.

The book club I'm in started long before me and has evolved into a completely different membership than when it started. Some people only come a few times a year and we have a defacto "leader" who is in charge of sending out emails. We also keep a notebook with suggestions people have come up with.

[CraftyChicaAZ]

I've always been curious about book clubs. will you share what goes into one, like what the meetings consist of. it sounds so fun and inspiring!

[Sherbet Dip Dab]

Hi! erm...I'm a newbie tempted out of lurkerdom by this thread.

I joined a book club after Christmas and I also *heart* my book club. I like brgt's idea of noting down everyone's ideas so you don't forget them.

At the end of each meeting a random person chooses the next book and they have to come up some 'leading questions' to start the discussion next time.

What I also love is all the silliness inbetween because everyone gets competitive about how far they've read plus we're all desperate to talk about the book but have to go to great pains no to in order to save ourselves for the big night.

Currently reading: Small Island by Andrea Levy