Book Club Experience

     I run a book club through the library where I work called Books & Booze.  We meet on the second Thursday evening of each month, rotating between a few locations around town, and we alternate between fiction and nonfiction books.  Before I started this group a few years ago, I had never participated in a book club, let alone facilitated one.  I always feel like I’m winging it and potentially letting my members down.  I was excited about this assignment because I finally had the impetus to attend another book club and see how it’s supposed to be done!

     I decided to attend a local book club called “Timely & Timeless.”  The group meets once per month for lunch to discuss that month’s book at various local restaurants.  I chose this group because it worked with my schedule, and I know (and like) the group’s moderator.  This meeting took place at a local Mexican restaurant.  Ten people attended, including myself and the moderator, all women appearing to be in the 50-70 age range.  The first thing I noticed was how prepared the moderator was!  She had a binder with dividers, and from what I could see inside, it had information on all the books the group has read and will read, handouts for members about this month’s book, and attendance sheets.  The book we were discussing was The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin, and she gave us copies of maps of the High Uintas Wilderness (where most the book takes place). 

     The moderator did most of the talking.  She had prepared discussion points in advance, and once we ordered our food, she started going through her list.  She brought up things like the possible meanings behind the character’s names and allegory behind the story.  (I had not read the book so deeply, and I wonder if I should do so with my group’s readings in the future.)  She would share one of the discussion points she had prepared and what she thought of it, then asked the group what we thought before moving on to the next point.  For the most part, at least one person would respond, but there were a few awkward silences.  Many members of the group had also seen the movie, so we compared those as well.  (The group consensus was that the movie was an offensively terrible adaptation of the book.  I haven’t seen the movie, so I stayed on the sidelines for this part of the discussion.)

      At the end of the meeting, about an hour and a half later, she asked us to go around the table and rate the book on a five-point scale.  I was torn because I really didn’t enjoy this particular book, but I didn’t want to be a spoilsport ... I erred on the side of honesty and gave it a “2,” and I was relieved when another member gave it the same rating.  The rest of the table gave 4s and 5s.

     After lunch, I chatted with the moderator for a few minutes.  She said that she had been leading this group for a few years after taking over for another moderator, and attendance is usually approximately ten participants.

     The group was very welcoming, and it was a fun experience overall!  There are lots of techniques the moderator used that I will implement in my group as well, like having prepared discussion points in advance, trying to keep the discussion from veering wildly to other topics, and asking the group to rate the book at the end of the meetup.  I don’t think my members would like our meetups to be quite as structured as this one, but I am planning on moving closer to the middle road between the two.

If you live near Columbia City, Indiana, and would like to attend either of these book clubs, Timely & Timeless is next meeting on March 27 at noon at Big G’s restaurant to discuss Green Darkness by Anya Seton.  Books & Booze’s next meetup is at 7pm on April 12 at Downtown on the Square, and we will be discussing Frankenstein by Mary Shelley!