Read All About It
Book Clubs
by Janine Creager
| Ask a child if he’s read his homework assignment for the next day and he’s bound to roll his eyes and groan. But ask a woman involved in a book club if she’s read the upcoming title, and you'll probably get a very different reaction. |
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The magic of a book club is that it opens doors to new literary worlds and (even more importantly) it also provides a much deserved break from day-to-day life.
Cathy Redfern of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a member of The Fourth Wednesday Book Club, which was started in the mid 1970s and reads works of fiction, with an emphasis on Pulitzer and other award-winning authors.
“What I get most out of book club is the closeness of our associations. I know women who are miles older and younger than I am and I love to learn from them all. I love the lively discussion on topics far beyond what I’d tackle on my own.”
Getting Started
Book clubs are a hidden treasure in most communities. Generally they are formed by women who have something in common. They may belong to the same ward or neighborhood, their children might attend the same pre-school, or they may exercise at the gym together and decide they need a mental workout as well. No matter how the women come to know one another, one thing is certain: they all love books.
“There's nothing like a good book,” shared Joan O’Neil, staff writer for [mormonchic.com]. “A good book is like a good friend that you can visit again and again.”
So just how does someone go about organizing a book club? O’Neil offers the following ideas:
“First, ask yourself, ‘Who and how many people do I want in my book group?’ Most book clubs consist of just a small number of people. Four or five members are adequate for a good discussion; ten or twelve should be the limit. If the group is larger than twelve, it may be difficult for everyone to be able to participate.”
The next step is to let people know what you plan to do. “You need to get the word out,” said O’Neil. “Depending on the scope of your membership you could use word of mouth, telephone, emails, office memos, notices in ward and Relief Society bulletins and newsletters, announcements in Relief Society meetings. Or, advertise in the local paper and post notices at the library, the local copy shops, and book stores.”
Once you’ve determined who the members of your club will be and you’ve set a time and place to meet, you’ll need to address a few important details. O’Neil suggests the following items be covered in that first planning meeting:
1. Decide on the genre of books to be read by your group: mystery, biography, classics, sci-fi, non-fiction, LDS authors, etc.
2. Determine the book costs. You may want to limit your books to paperbacks to keep costs down, as hardcover books can cost a lot.
3. Identify the responsibilities of the members. Are all members required to read the selection in order to attend and participate? Or will the main focus be socializing, with the book discussion simply a side interest?
4. Will there be food? What kind? Who is responsible for bringing it?
5. Along with election of officers, the group needs to decide who will lead the book discussions. One permanent leader might be chosen, you may also decide to have the person who recommended the book lead the discussion.
6. Is there a limit to membership? Can guests come to meetings? Do you hope to gradually expand your membership or will you keep it small?
Moving Beyond the Plot
As the program and event coordinator for Deseret Book’s Time Out for Women program, Laurel Christensen has seen how book clubs fit perfectly within the mission of the program.
“We’ve had women contacting us for several years looking for books for their clubs—books that were safe to read and share,” explained Christensen. In 2002 the Time Out program had become so successful that the company decided to launch a book club program under the same name. Even with no advertising apart from word of mouth, the program took off.
“Just a year after the initial test phase, we have 2,000 women involved in over 150 book clubs, in more than 100 cities,” she said. “Women are hungry. In the book clubs, they’re not just getting together, but they’re also having really meaningful discussions.” It is this hunger that is being satisfied by thousands of women across the globe through book clubs.
Take Yolanda Bryant, for example. An avid book club member, Yolanda has been involved in several groups throughout the country and has seen how these clubs can build and strengthen relationships.
“In New Jersey we had a sister that was battling cancer,” explained Bryant. “One thing Diane could do was read books. We began this club for her sake. We would read a variety of books, but one theme was the same throughout—they needed to be uplifting.” While they fed Diane’s soul with their uplifting discussions, they also used these club meetings as an opportunity to feed her family.
“Each club member that came each month would bring a nice dish of food. We would all share it for lunch, but we always brought enough that it would be extras for Diane’s family for a day or two, since she wasn’t up to cooking during her chemotherapy.”
Opening New Doors
Book clubs provide an opportunity to explore new horizons and learn about different cultures. Bryant has experienced this in her own book club. She remarked, “One member who had been married to a Jewish man got me hooked on books by Chiam Potok. What a wonderful author. Another woman knew a lot about science fiction books and I read authors I’d never heard of before.”
Valerie Harker of The Fourth Wednesday Book Club had a similar experience. “What I get out of book club is that I read something other than topics within our faith. If I didn’t have book club, I wouldn’t push myself in other directions. I wouldn’t see as clearly some of the good that goes on in the world and the marvelous things people are doing. We’ve read a lot of fiction about Japan and China—where else would you get stretched to read those areas? Book club also forces me to finish a book, and with my schedule, that’s saying something!”
Sharing Lives
Talking about and learning from books may be one of the more obvious benefits of book clubs, but it certainly isn’t the only one. “We don’t only talk books,” said Smith. “We talk about our lives, our families, our challenges; so it is book club with a plus.” In an effort to understand what issues were actually being discussed at the book clubs organized through the Time Out for Women clubs, arrangements were made to listen in on the discussions of several groups who discussed a variety of books.
“What we learned is that regardless of the genre, the discussions went back to the same issues,” said Christensen. “Women were talking about things that were deeply personal to them. They went back to the main theme of ‘How can I have more peace and joy and happiness in my life.’ Often we don’t have any contact with other women outside our Sunday meetings. You just want to talk about things that really matter.”
“What I get out of book club,” said Mary Stringham of Calgary, “is a solid set of friends of all ages and of other wards. We tackle books and authors I would never choose, which opens the door to new concepts. I like to learn and in doing so, learn to love the women I associate with. It is even more special to meet in each other’s homes. There we meet husbands, children, dogs and most of all, the hearts of the women in our club.”
LDS Living Magazine
