One book at a time!!

One book at a time!!

Have you ever read a book and just couldn’t wait to share it with others?  This happened to me time and time again when I was teaching full-time and at lunch some of us would share our latest read with those sitting around the table.  One day after a book review from one of my fellow teacher readers, the suggestion to start a book club was shared.   The four of us involved in the discussion talked about how many other members we wanted, who we wanted to invite to our group, how often we would meet and where.  Within a couple weeks our book club was formed and our first meeting date had been set.

Our group consisted of seven teachers, ranging in age from 28-49 years old, different political and religious beliefs, and each of us liked a variety of genres.  At our first gathering we decided to meet on the third Thursday every month, we’d rotate our meetings at each members’ house and discussed how we would choose our monthly reads.   We also stressed the importance of having a “low stress/pressure” attitude to completing our monthly read; we all had plenty of stress in our everyday lives, we didn’t need to add to it.  This disclaimer was so important to agree on as our goal of forming this group was for fun and enjoyment, not pressure to read a book when our lives were in total chaos or we just “couldn’t get into the book”.

Being a member of a book club can certainly expand your library and forces you to “read outside your comfort zone”.  Personally, I love historical fiction and probably would never choose a detective or poetry book, but because it was a chosen book, I read them.  There were times when only two or three of us would purchase the upcoming title and we would pass the book on to the next member to read

. This helped each of us save money and our own personal libraries weren’t growing at such a fast rate.

Did I mention food?  Each gathering included a lot of food and drink. Our hostess for the night would choose the entree or main dish based on the country or culture the book was based on, with the remaining members choosing a dish or item to compliment it.  One of the nights I was hosting we were discussing the book, The Island, by Victoria Hislop.  The story takes place on a small Greek Island that served as the nation’s leper colony during the early 1900’s. I loved the true story of the Petrakis family and how this disease crept into their family line.  For this evening I chose to make soup, bread and salad, all homemade recipes authentic to the Greek culture.  The other members brought drinks and desserts and a good time was had by all.  Our book club members were extremely creative cooks and bakers and the food at every gathering was totally scrumptious!

Since we were all teachers and on the same work schedule, we were able to meet at 4:30 and could be done by 6:30.  We would discuss our featured book for the month while eating our delicious food.  Most of our gatherings also included wine or other drink reflective of the country we had read for that month.  Our book club helped support our local wine shop that stocked imported beverages, so again, our own personal horizons and experiences were being expanded.  Chances are slim to none that I ever would have drank Japanese beer if it hadn’t occurred at book club.

Our book discussions were usually very casual and open, rather than going around a circle and each person sharing their thoughts of the book’s contents.  This random format seemed to work well in our group as everyone respected each other’s opinion and allowed even the shyest member an opportunity to talk. If the group has more than ten people, however, I can see how this looser discussion structure might not be conducive for the quiet or shy member.  Guidelines for discussion may be needed depending upon the make-up of your group.

Once we were done talking about the month’s book, it was time to share any books that you had brought to “sell” to the other members for next month’s read.  Sometimes there would be as few as two books to vote on or as many as seven.  Again, our group was loosely structured and didn’t follow a list as to whose turn it was to choose a book, whereas some clubs do.  We did keep mental notes, however, to make sure that everyone had a selected book within the year.  Each group is different and it’s important to figure out what works best for your group.

Our book selection process was fairly easy.  One requirement to recommend a book to the group was to have read it.  We added this part after we had already met a few times and had voted on a new read that had been suggested by a male family member of one of the girls.  When we met the following month to discuss the book we found that no one enjoyed the book and very few of us had even finished the book! I can’t recall a time when a book was read by a member, approved by the group to read and not enjoyed by at least 3/4 of the gals.

During my five years in the book club, I read some wonderful books.  Titles that I personally liked and would recommend are: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand; The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford; The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent,; The Book Thief by Markus Zusak; Forever by Pete Hamill and Snow Flower and The Secret Fan by Lisa See.  As I said earlier, I love historical fiction, particularly WWII, so many of the books on my favorite book list center on this time period.

So you want to form a book club?  Talk to your friends and see if they’re interested.  If so, go for it!  I did it and it’s pretty easy to get it off the ground.  If your friends aren’t up for it, start asking people at your work, gym or church and see if you can get interest in that circle of acquaintances.  Go ahead, step out of your comfort zone…you’ll be so glad you did!  I can’t think of a better way to spend a Thursday evening than with friends, eating, discussing books, and enjoying each other’s company.  What about you?

Until next time,

Judy