Lots of publishing professionals belong to book clubs. That makes perfect sense, since we read lots of books. Why not meet with a group to discuss them?
Awhile ago I joined a book club of Christian women who read general market books I normally don’t read. I thought reading along with them would broaden my horizons.
The first month, I couldn’t get through the book although I tried. The nonfiction tome didn’t apply or appeal to me. It did make me aware of a couple of writers I didn’t know. However, the work of those writers isn’t of particular interest to me as a reader or a professional, so the knowledge wasn’t that useful.
The second month, they chose a very, very long, highly-acclaimed novel. I tried to read it. Really, I did. Please note that I’m a huge fan of very, very long novels. But I couldn’t relate to the characters or their situation, so for me, the book went on and on and on. And the depressing storyline had no letup. Not even anything I’d call comic relief. Because the book is famous, I was able to find a plot summary online. I could see that the depression would not relent. Ever. I put it aside and skipped the meeting.
A member of the club asked us to read another book for a retreat. The unremitting stream of gritty topics and horrible characters I didn’t want to read about made me quit that book, too.
Selections came and went. Without me. None of them interested me enough to invest the time needed to read them. Yes, I felt guilty about this. Then again, maybe not.
What I learned:
- Life is short. (Though I already knew that.) I had to read lots of books I didn’t want to read when I was in school. I’m out of school now. I’ve earned the right to read what I want to read.
- I love representing books I enjoy. My book club dropout experience made me even more appreciative of my work.
- My tastes may not be as broad as I like, but oh well. I refuse to apologize for who I am.
- My time is more valuable to me than I realized.
I’ve thought about starting my own book club with selections more tailored to my tastes, yet broad enough to challenge myself and other members. Maybe that would be a good New Year’s resolution! I’ll keep you posted.
Your turn:
Do you belong to a book club? What is your favorite part about it? Your least favorite?
Have you ever dropped out of any type of club? Why, and how did that make you feel?
Do you run a book club? Can you offer me tips if I decide to start my own?
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Hi Tamela,
I started my own Christian fiction book club six years ago because 1) I wanted to make myself read more. 2) I wanted to expose Christian authors I know to people in my community. We meet monthly at my house, so I only have to clean once a month 😉 I provide the beverages and the paper products. Snacks are rotated within the club with two people bringing them each meeting, one sweet, one not sweet. I always choose the books. I used to ask for a vote, but the other members were content to let me make the decisions. What I did learn to do was rotate the genre because some, like me, prefer historicals, others romances, other mystery, other contemporary, etc. As a writer, I enjoy hearing what these readers like and don’t like about the books we read.
That sounds like a great way to run a club!
I participated in a book club for about a year, and I enjoyed being with friends. The not-so-likeable part, as you discovered, involved reading what someone else selected. So when it came my turn to pick, I passed out various books by one author I liked. The next meeting they shared their opinions and these were not complimentary. I did not leave because of that, I quit the group because I did not get to my own list of want-to-read books.
Sounds like a good tip for people running a club might be to have the club read books you’re invested in emotionally or personally. But I also agree that when you’re too busy reading something required, it’s easy to let the pile on your nightstand grow!
I started a book club at my church a few months ago. I had never been in a book club before, and only heard how book clubs worked from online articles and my sister who started one at her old church in Kentucky. I wanted the club to read different books and genres within Christian Fiction, especially since all the members like different kinds of books. The way we pick the books is by vote. Every month, we have three books to choose from, and those three books have something in common, whether it’s theme, subject, or genre (We’ve had women’s fiction, books written by men, and fairy-tale retellings). And whichever book gets the most votes, is what we read for the month. We also do a Bible devotion based on certain themes that the book has, which has been great and given more depth to the book conversation. I always tell my members that it’s okay if they can’t finish the book because they’re not liking it, but I do encourage them to explain what it was that didn’t grab them about the book. Our book club has only been running for a few months, but it’s been great to hear from members that they’re enjoying it. It’s certainly been a stretch for me since I’m an extreme introvert, so leading a book club as definitely taken me out of my comfort zone. But it’s been good for me and I love talking about books. 🙂
Like you, I do better when I have something to talk about! So glad you’re enjoying your club.
Has anyone else seen “Mom’s Night Out”? There’s a line near the beginning of the movie where the main character has gone to her book club even though she (once again) hasn’t read the book. She says, “Reading books is something I aspire to, but I have three kids…so I don’t actually read books.”
Yeah, I laughed out loud at that one.
There was a time I lived that myself!
You’re telling my story! I think it is that, being a book club, we think, “Ah! I’m going to have something in common with these fellow readers.” But then we find out that people read for different reasons.
I dropped out of a Christian book club because I could not get anything out of the first book and I personally felt the second book chosen was off theologically.
I was excited to join a summer book club with my newspaper and even bought the two inch thick tome. I don’t know if you were reading the same book but your description of length, a first person narrator that sounds clinically depressed with no break in the darkness certainly is similar to the book I read. Also, I don’t care for revisionist history, even if it is historical fiction.
Maybe that book club that fits my needs is out there, but I haven’t met it yet.
Sharon, sometimes I think it’s all about the chemistry. Hope you find a good club soon.
I’ve never been a member of a book club. I don’t even know how to start one. I was invited to one a while back and she said she’d let me know the date and time. I never heard back. I’ve considered starting one, but as I said, I’m clueless. Invite people, read books, talk about it? Are there specific questions you should ask or discuss?
How about an online Skype/Zoom/Go-to-Meeting book club? Has anyone ever done one of those? No house cleaning would be involved and you’d provide your own refreshments. Lol
Great idea about Skype! Maybe we’ll get some tips!
I’ve never been in a book club but on my last vacation I brought three copies of one book. I like to read poolside but I didn’t want to be anti-social. I offered my extra copies to some people with whom I was vacationing. Two women ended up reading the book along with me. It was a blast! We had a great time discussing it all week long!
What fun!
Don’t get me started on the subject of bookclubs, LOL! I’ve been in three of them. The first one focused solely on African-American novels. We had a few good meetings, but, then people simply stopped coming.
The second book club lasted for about a year? We took turns choosing the books. For some reason, attendance just faded away (only myself and one other person was coming, just like the first book club in which I participated).
The third one – well, it’s at my day job. We vote on books every six months for our reading lineup. I didn’t enjoy the last few books, so, I have not been back for the last several months. If they should happen to choose a book that I might enjoy, then I’ll go back for that meeting. They meet once each month during lunch break.
Oh my goodness, your entire post made me think “#ALLTHETHIS!”
I’ve never joined a book club mostly because the book clubs I know of are all tailored to non-fiction or mass-market fiction. Now, I love a good non-fiction…particularly memoirs and biographies. (Currently reading/listening to George Bush’s “41”.) But there have been very few general market books I’ve read simply because I know that there is little to no hope in them.
I love suspense, action, and mystery, but nothing competes with a good Romance. Yes, I love it when my heart flutters at the two characters falling in love. But more, I love crying through a story because God is speaking through the characters to me. That is the ultimate romance. <3
Hey! I just dropped my book club the other day. Why? Life’s too short to read books I don’t really enjoy. And the women were (mostly) nice but all friends with each other outside of book club…I was asked to join to fill an empty seat and provide “literary comment.” The latter requirement truly sucked. Okay, I was the only one who’d studied literature in university, and I was undoubtedly the “best read.” My husband’s a retired prof and so are most of our friends. But who wants to sound like the club pedant? To choose the most “literary” books only a couple of other people enjoyed at all? It was a bad fit. Plus, about 2/3 of the time was spent by the friends-outside-of-club talking about their mutual acquaintances and activities. It was like reliving a bad day in high school, one night a month.