So many books, So little time.

The book club I attended was very small. It actually took me a while to find one, but of course I ended up at my local library. The book club normally consisted of 5 people. Two of the branch’s librarians and three patrons. However, when I went, one of the librarians had to be elsewhere in the library at the time, and one of the loyal club goers was away on business. So, there was just three, four including myself. I honestly don’t look at that as a bad thing though. I’m sure some would because it is such a small group, but I find that to be incredibly personal. You are all able to discuss your views on the book in length and not really have to worry about making sure everyone else gets a turn.

When I looked up the book club and where it would be, they typically set up in the meeting room. However, this time, a larger group needed access to the room, so we met in a small conference room in the back. Since the room was changed, there was no coffee readily provided. The leader of the book club did offer, whose name I will leave out because she happened to also be the branch manager, but I didn’t want to trouble her for it. However, when one of the regulars came in, she was disappointed to no see any coffee there. The leader did go get a cup for her and there were also lemon cookies provided. Nothing fancy, for I think they were used to having the small group, so they just had the one snack just in case someone wanted something while they chatted. However, by the end of the book club, the leader did suggest a rotation of people bringing snacks for the club, so they didn’t have the same thing every week. I thought that was a nice gesture.

The leader was very accommodating for having a new person for book club. She gave me a reading list for the year with all of the meeting dates on it. After reviewing the list, she mentioned how they structured the list for the year. Every month was a different genre and they flipped back and forth from fiction to non-fiction. There was also a free for all month that I assume they pick at the meeting prior to give everyone a month to get the book read. So, I asked if she picked the list for the year or is it a communal effort? She said that at the end of the year, everyone brings a list of suggestions and they do their best to accommodate everyone suggestions into the list, but ultimately, it’s a vote. I thought this is nice because not only does it give people a chance to read the books that they want but it’s not just one person picking the books. If it were just one person, there might be some bias when picking the books for the year. It also nice to see a book club that isn’t just reading that month’s bestsellers, or what is popular at the time. That might attract more people to the club, but it doesn’t do much as far as variety goes.

Speaking of attracting people to book club, I think one of the largest flaws for the book club I attended is the timing. They have book club once a month, which I think is perfect, but they have it at 2pm on Tuesdays. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m at work at that time. It makes it very difficult to attend a book club that is in the middle of a work week, in the middle of the afternoon. That might be why the book club is so small to begin with because most people can’t attend unless they have a very flexible schedule or are retired. I had to leave work early to attend this book club. Although, everyone was very welcoming and advocating for me to come back, the timing is just not possible for me to become a more permanent member. I expressed that to them, and they conveyed their disappointment, but nothing more than that.

As for the actual discussion of the book, there were no formal questions asked or ones specific to the content of the book. They were more generalized, leaving the group to discuss the book however they wanted. There weren’t any “yes” or “no” questions, other than the leader asking if they liked the book or characters. Which is funny because one of the ladies commented that “this is the first one in a while that we have all liked.” I asked them how long they have been doing book club to get an idea of how many books they might have read that they didn’t like. Both patrons commented on being a part of book club for about a year. I wanted to ask which book was their least favorite just out of my own curiosity, but I didn’t get the chance.

The leader directed the conversation when there were lulls, but there weren’t many. One lady, Phyllis, was far more chatty than the other two. She seemed to have an opinion on everything and constantly compared the book to her all-time favorite. I think she said the book was titled Hawaii, or something about Hawaii. She mentioned it a lot, as if nothing could compare to it. Regardless, they were all very welcoming. They still tried to include me into the conversation in some way, even though I didn’t read the book they were discussing (The Moon Stone by Wilkie Collins). It kind of worked out though because they started comparing the book to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. There I can comment because I have read those stories, so the conversation may have diverted slightly because of that. Overall, I found the experience to be a pleasant one, even though I doubt I will be returning.