Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Let's talk about Book Clubs!
~BOOK CLUBS~
I thought that it would be fun to talk about Book Clubs since most of you who are stopping by to read this like books and reading. I know that not everyone is in a book club nor wants to be as they aren't for everyone. I do think that if you are a booklover most of us want to, need to and crave to talk to others about books...or just search and find info about books. I know that is how I feel! That's why there are so many book related blogs and why I started one myself. I started a neighborhood book club about 5 years ago. We are all women, all of us are mothers and have a mixed range of children and ages. Our group has changed over the years as many have moved due to job changes and we invited new members. Our group is small and averages around 8-9 members. We meet monthly and each person hosts one month and then we tend to go out to dinner for the summer months. The host chooses a list of books, usually around 4-5 and we vote and choose the top winner. The Host leads the discussion and provides wine, snacks and a dessert. We always have wine and even have a signature bottle that we usually have at all book clubs as it is a favorite. We always talk about the books and we do ask that if you are a member of our group that you do your best to read the books. We're informal and have fun and have great discussions! I also discuss books with several online book groups and am a member of Library Thing, Shelfari and Good reads.
Please share your thoughts and experiences with your book club. What works well and what doesn't? If you aren't in a book club in what ways do you find to discuss books with others? I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas and experiences!
~Bonnie
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Bonnie, I just lost a long comment. Grrr.
ReplyDeleteI've belonged to online book discussion groups only. One was a group you're familiar with. A book was selected to be read over the course of a month one section/day. I stuck with it for almost two years and then grew tired to taking so much time to work through a book. The people were great but the format just didn't do it for me any longer.
I received The Septembers of Shiraz a few weeks ago from Gayle at everydayiwritethebook.typepad.com/books/. She's leading a discussion next Monday (July 28). I'm looking forward to it.
Hi Bonnie, I don't belong to any book clubs. I like discussing books on the Booktalk thread and I like writing reviews on Shelfari. I also like reading others reviews. Especially when the person I am reading has a completely different opinion or perspective of the book and how it was written.
ReplyDeleteSuzabella
Bonnie, Great topic. I belong to two book clubs. One meets in the evening monthly. We meet at a local restaurant and it always involves wine too :-) We rotate choosing the books so each member chooses at least one book a year. We have a university prof as one of our members and she usually takes the informal role of discussion leader and keeps us on track. It's a great group of 10-12 women and we enjoy our meetings a lot.
ReplyDeleteMy second group of 8 meets every 2 months and it's a looser, more casual group. We are all part of a Bible study group that meets weekly. We meet for lunch for book club. I nearly always choose the book. Out of frustration I disbanded the group for nearly a year but we began again due to unanimous vote, and that's when we changed it to every 2 months vs monthly. It's a looser, more casual group than my other one but we've been together for nearly 6 yrs and are such good friends and feel such a connection to one another so keep it going.
As for online book clubs I don't care for dragging a book out and discussing it daily online. I find that format frustrating so don't participate any longer.
All in all, despite some frustrations i love my book clubs and after our discussions I often come away with a new appreciation for the books we've read, even ones I may not have cared for.
I've only done the online book club thing.
ReplyDeleteI had fun at first, but after a while it felt like a particular person was trying to 'teach' the book to the group instead of being a give and take discussion of everyone's thoughts. The last straw for me was being told rather rudely that my opinion of a book was wrong.
I've never been a member of a face to face book club.
Oh, Suzi, I think I know who that person was...lol. Um, I guess they forgot the definition of "opinion"!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great comments you guys! I love hearing others "opinions"!
ReplyDeleteMary-I had trouble keeping up with the online book club reading schedule and prefer to read a book myself and then discuss it afterwards. The Septembers of Shiraz discussion sounds great..I hope that you blog about it and share how it goes.
Nikki-I like Book Talk and Booklovers too. Shelfari is a good site to talk to others about books as well as Library Thing and Good Reads.
Jan-Your book clubs sound very different which is a nice balance!
I experienced the same frustrations with dragging out a book in a daily discussion. It's interesting that some people do like that kind of discussion and that is what is nice about having options for everyone.
Suzi-Thanks for sharing that juicy story!LOL! I wasn't part of that discussion group but it sounds like that person didn't realize that everyone is entitled to their opinions!!! I have to figure out how to use google reader among other things I'm learning in blogworld!