Week 9: Book Club Experience

    

    Only once have I attended a book club as a non-librarian civilian; the club was called Banned Books Club and the book of the month/evening was Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle. As the name implies, this group would read books that had been banned or challenged at any point in time and some other titles this club had read included The Bluest Eye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, so the range of genres could be very wide.

    During the meeting, the leader- who was a branch manager in my library system at the time- opened the meeting by very casually asking, "so did you love it or did you hate it." From there people opened with short input such as "I liked it, but I felt bad for the main character," or "I liked it but it was kind of sad and there was so much trauma." The leader would then probe some people and ask them to explain more which in turn would illuminate something for someone else and they would then share their thoughts or a similar experience with the text or a story from their own upbringing. One patron in particular mentioned how the author's mention of one of her sisters reminded her of her own sibling relationship and I was surprised by how vulnerable this person was willing to be as it was also their first time at this book club. If someone was shy during the meeting, the leader would ask a question to the person by name, but if they were still pretty shy the leader would typically let them enjoy being a "listening" participant and not a "talking" participant. No attendees swooped in to steal the spotlight during this meeting, but some were more comfortable sharing their opinions in a more direct way. Also, since there were about 13 people at the meeting and we were seated at a long table there would occasionally be two conversations happening simultaneously. I don't think this took away from the meeting, but kept it fresh and exciting by letting the conversation flow naturally.

    Overall the atmosphere of the discussion was casual. This book club meeting took place in a bar and didn't start until 8pm, so that helped it feel casual. The discussion was great, but I think the location deterred further conversation, since the meeting took place on a Thursday night and this bar also had live music on Thursdays that started at 9, so the music was really loud as we were trying to wrap up the meeting and choose the book for the next one. Obviously there were alcoholic beverages available  and a limited food menu as well, and I sometimes worry that by primarily holding book clubs at places where it is assumed that alcohol can/will be consumed if we alienate people who are sober/seeking sobriety. Yes, the patronage is good for this dive bar, but there are other spaces to hold a meeting that are just as unique.

    At the end of the meeting, the next book was chosen by popular vote. A few people recommended titles and everyone but the leader closed their eyes and voted. Many people left in a good mood and asked for clarification on the next meeting date. Now, this would seem to imply that the book club is pretty strong, but if introduction did not hint strongly enough, this was not a recent meeting: in fact, the Banned Books Club has since been disbanded due to staff turnover and to meet the needs of the library. It is not uncommon for many books clubs to just fizzle out after sometime: attendees have life and schedule changes, book club leaders may leave or lose interest, or it might be hard to pin down a venue. There is absolutely a lot of value in book clubs for creating connection between attendees, promoting local businesses, or promoting literature and unusual titles, but no one should feel like a book club is a burden: it should be fun and multidimensional!