Book Club Experience

            I attend a monthly book club with a sometimes-large group of girlfriends.  The size generally varies as some months more people can make it than others.  It’s usually one of the only times I get out of the house each month, so it’s something I very much look forward to.  It also allows for me to read books that I normally wouldn’t pick up for myself and forces me to finish them so that I can participate in the discussion.  This past month I attended a book club for the book I read for our week three annotations, The Real Michael Swann.  I did not pick this book out, it was chosen by one of the other ladies (we rotate picking the books) but it happened to fit in well with this class!

            This week’s book club started with a small socialization over the food and drink table, as it normally does while we wait for all the members to arrive.  Once everyone is there (or majority of people – usually there are a few late comers) we start.  We started this month on time at approximately 7pm and gathered in the living room of one of the members houses.  The house always rotates as well, so we’re at a different place each month.

            Our book clubs are led differently each month, as the host generally determines how the night will go.  The host this month decided to prepare a list of questions that she put into a jar for each member to pick out and ask the group.  She started by removing a question and reading it to the group and waiting for the other members to chime in their responses.  Then the person next to her would pick her question, and the same would occur.  If the question picker wanted to answer the question, they were able to, however it was not required that they give an answer.  All of the questions were based on the plot – some “what if?” questions, some “what did you think about…” questions, but all of the questions were open-ended, no simple “yes” or “no” answers could be given.  Everybody participated in the discussion because everybody read a question out of the jar.  Some of the ladies had not finished the book, so they participated a little less than the ones who had read the entire thing.  This is also a common occurrence at book club as most of the ladies in the club are working moms who find it hard to finish a book in the allotted time period (and no judgment from anybody else – finishing the book is not a requirement, just appreciated more).  There are always two members who seem to speak up more than the rest of us, and a lot louder at times, but I wouldn’t say that they steal the spotlight of the club – they’re just more passionate about some of the books we read.  One of the rules we have for our club is that you can’t pick a book that you have already read.  In the past, there has been some awkwardness where a person will choose their “favorite book EVER!” and a lot of people actually really disliked it.  It causes a lot of tension during the club, and some people are generally afraid to speak up if they didn’t like it because they don’t want to hurt the book choosers choice.  I really do like this rule and I feel that since enforcing it we’ve had more positive experiences during book club.

            This month’s book was completely different from the books people generally choose for the club, which was a nice change for me because it was a really quick read, and a thriller.  (Two things I am always seeking out when choosing a new book).  We read a lot

Please not another WWII book, Violet!

of non-fiction books (one of our women is obsessed with World War II based books so those have been chosen quite a few times) and a lot of cultural and contemporary reads.  I have to admit, I struggle to finish a lot of the books for our book club because they are usually a lot longer and more difficult than I am used to, but it opens me up to so many books I would normally pass over.

            As I’ve stated previously, book club is my favorite day of the month.  I love that each month is a totally different experience, due to different hosts and a variety of different material.  I feel that attending a book club monthly has helped me with my readers advisory at the library and has given me experience in a lot of different genres I normally wouldn’t have picked out for myself.