Friday, September 20, 2019

BOOK CLUBS!


by Bea Tifton

Do you belong to a book club? I actually belong to two of them, both very different. My first ever book club was more about drinking wine than discussing the books.  It fell apart as people got married, had small children, and basically moved on. 

Do you belong to a book club?

Now, I belong to one that has been together for twenty years. Each month a different hostess chooses a book and a restaurant. The first time I attended, I had read the book and even prepared some discussion questions. 

We met and chatted for a bit when I asked, “Aren’t we going to discuss the book?” which was met with laughter all the way around. 

One charter member turned to the other and said, “She read the book. How cute. Newbies.” 

We do discuss the books most months, for about fifteen minutes.  It’s a delightful group of women with interesting stories so I can’t complain.  They’ve known each other so long that there’s always a lot to talk about.

My other current book club is a little more intense. Those ladies meet in the back room of a local restaurant each month and everyone has read the book. We discuss it at length. The discussions are thought provoking and I’ve read some books I never would have read otherwise. When the much loved leader recently retired and moved away, yours truly volunteered to continue the tradition. Whew! No pressure there.  I like the women a great deal, have been friends with most of them for years, and think that it’s fun to eat at this restaurant in my favorite part of town each month. I think about things in a different way after book club.

I often think about things in a
different way after book club.


If you don’t belong to one, or have access to one, start one yourself. I have some guidelines in mind.

1.      How will the books be selected? Decide whether the leader is going to choose the books or the members are going to take turns.  Some book clubs even have nominations and vote on which ones will be included. For the one I’m leading, I chose, “Strong Women through the Decades.” We have books set chronologically from the 1700s to modern times.

2.      Where will you meet? Are you going to meet in people’s homes, in the same place each month, or in varied places? It’s nice not to meet in people’s homes so there’s not as much pressure to entertain, but some people love the intimacy. Choosing different restaurants adds variety, but being a regular is fun, too, and the restaurant will usually be accommodating if they know you will be returning each month.

3.      What norms do you have? Are mature themes okay? Is it acceptable to use salty language during the discussion? Are kids okay? What age groups will you include? Will you have men and women? Will you stay away from politics and religion? (Always a good idea unless you absolutely know you all think in the same vein.)

4.     Who will attend? Is the leader the one who personally extends each invitation or can members bring friends?

Going to book club, whether we discuss the book or not, is a vital part of my socializing each month. Those women are my support system. We’ve seen each other through life’s highs and lows. We respect each other. We can be vulnerable. It’s okay to be smart in a book club. You don’t have to compete in a book club. We don’t have to agree on everything or like the same exact things because we have the book in common. Maybe that’s part of the mass appeal. I plan to continue to be a member in both of mine for years to come. Heck, I’m even going to read the assigned books.

I'm even going to read
the assigned books.


Bea Tifton is currently working on her first book, a cozy mystery with silliness, shenanigans, and maybe even a book club. She lives in Texas with several spoiled pets and is eagerly reading her next book club selection.


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