Book Club

At the beginning of the semester, I looked at all the assignments that I had to do throughout the semester. I like to keep ahead of those types of things, even if I may need some time to work on an assignment early. When I saw that we had to observe a book club, I made sure to look around in my community right away. In Hobart, there is this awesome bookshop called the Green Door. Every book in there is a dollar! A dollar! It’s totally my kind of place. I liked their Facebook page and kept up to date on their happenings and newsletters.

When I found out that they were starting a book club, I jumped on the bandwagon immediately. Michael, the owner of the store and moderator of the book club, decided to choose books that have released within a year or so. He purchases the books for the club and offers them at a discount, rather than purchasing them at a retail bookstore or superstore. In “Reads Well With Others,” Bill Goldstein explains, “reading groups can be a powerful tool, boosting a book's sales by eight or a dozen copies every time they select a title” (32). By endorsing a book club, the Green Door hopes to improve their sales by providing new titles. Most of the products available at the Green Door are used and are at least 2-3 years old. By integrating new books into the shop, the sales will hopefully improve and bring more people into the book club. Our first book was titled, Little Fires Everywhere. My husband and I decided to read this book together and attend the book club session. We read it out loud together, which was a fun and exciting experience in it of itself. The book club was divided into two sessions because of scheduling and how many people wanted to attend. My husband and I decided to attend the second session.

At the start of the book club, we introduced ourselves. It was a little awkward at first, but that is normal. Michael, the moderator, began the session with asking questions about the book in general - did everyone read it? Did you like it? All the book club attendants agreed that they liked it. We spent some time remembering the characters, plot, and setting of the story. To get back into the story of the book, Michael began to ask questions such as: Who is Izzy, Mrs. Richardson, Mia, etc.? The questions follow in suit of the Facilitating Discussion guidelines at I Love Libraries, by “Choose one question at a time and toss it out to the group” (2015). Our discussion was not bombarded by many questions, but one after the other. It flowed nicely. The character questions led to other conversations about the plot. Michael had a list of questions he wanted to ask the group and followed them accordingly. I could tell that some of the questions were spontaneous and on-the-fly, depending on which way our discussion went.

I was surprised at how much I talked about the book. In school, I was the type to never speak out because I felt every word would either be stupid or completely wrong. This book had very unique and deep themes, such as unwanted pregnancy, adoption, and motherhood. Some questions asked were:

• Does a mother have a right to take her child back after giving him/her away?
• Shaker Heights, the setting, was a character in the novel, explain.  
• Which mother-daughter relationships did you find the most compelling?
• How does Pearl change throughout the novel?
• Who should raise May Ling/Mirabelle?
• Discuss the Richardson children.

These questions expanded to other conversations between the participants. Some brought their own life experiences to the table, while others drew directly from the book. I think the attendees did a good job of asking questions about the book as well. There were two or three people who dominated the conversation and it was difficult to get a word in edgewise. However, I felt that I did talk a fair amount, compared to my usual, quiet self. I hope I didn’t dominate the conversation, but I felt I contributed to the summary, character, and setting discussions.

Michael did participate in the discussion as well as answering the question, but he did not dominate. He offered guidance and opinion, which was refreshing. About four of the eight people actively participated. There were some people that didn’t participate at all, just listened. The only male participants were my husband and Michael. My husband felt a little odd at first but got comfortable once we began talking about the book.

Our book club is held in the storefront of the Green Door. Chairs are placed in a circle, right in near the front door. All of the sessions take place at 7 PM, where we can occasionally see people walking up and down the storefront. The bookstore is closed so there won’t be any interruptions. At the first book club session, we had cookies, coffee, and water. At our second book club session, coffee and water were only provided. Little Fires Everywhere is a general/realistic fiction novel. At our February book club, we discussed Lincoln and the Bardo, which is a historical fiction/paranormal novel. The next book we are discussing is The Woman in the Window, which is a suspense/thriller novel. I haven’t read it yet, so I’m not sure what genre to put it in. I think that the Green Door book club does a great job of choosing books, similar to the guidelines at the I Love Libraries website. It states that book clubs should “mix genres, explore themes, and choose 2-3 at a time” (How to Structure a Meeting). It seems that all of the choices are decided by the group and by those who really want to read and stretch their reading genre choices. This book club has a warm and comical atmosphere. We aren’t afraid to share our stories and laugh together about the book and our own experiences. This book club shares a love for books and a continued passion for reading.

References

(2015). Facilitating Discussion. Retrieved from http://www.ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/bookclub/facilitate-discussion.

Goldstein, B. (2005). Reads Well with Others. Publishers Weekly, 252(21), 30-34.

(2015). How to Structure a Meeting. Retrieved from http://www.ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/bookclub/structure-meeting.