Effective Book Clubs… pt 1 (purpose of club)
By Kristen on Dec 20, 2007 in Effective Book Clubs
Photo by polifemus
While creating my first custom kit, I spent a lot of time considering why some book clubs are more satisfying than others. Even a cursory trip through literary blogs and forums reveal common frustrations that so many book clubs experience. Apparently, in addition to a better appreciation of literature, an effective book club allows a group of readers to learn about themselves and each other, and allows readers to share what is usually a solitary experience — reading. What seems to happen too many times, however, is a group of readers who enjoy each other’s company get together, form a book club, and give it a go — with varying degrees of success.
One of my goals when I create a custom kit is to facilitate a situation where the members leave the book club feeling as if they appreciate a work of literature better, and this largely depends on the existing tenor of the group. So, when a member first requests a custom book club kit, I send them a questionnaire about their club with questions like: What brought your group together? What is the best and worst book, discussion-wise, that your club has tackled? How much time does your group spend on the book vs. socializing? What is the nature of the dynamics of your group?
The last question can be the hardest to answer… Ask any classroom teacher about group dynamics, and you will learn how someone can teach the same subject, to the same grade level, four times a day and end up with four very different experiences! Groups of people who meet with any regularity tend to develop an identity composed of, but still separate from, the sum of their parts!
Outside the classroom, I’ve experienced this phenomenon in the various book clubs I have enjoyed through the years. The question is… why are some book clubs more effective — or satisfying — than others? I think one key is to have a defined purpose or mission as a community of readers. For example — choosing to read the classics! Or, choosing to read works that no one in the group has read before. Or, favorites the members have read before. Or, political non-fiction… chick-flicks… hopeful romances… etc., etc., etc… Recently, a book club ordered a series of custom kits based on Edward Mendelson’s The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life . The seven novels are: Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Between the Acts. By coincidence, I had already created kits on the first three novels and will have the last four completed by spring. According to the answers from their questionnaire, this book club is very effective and satisfying to its members.
Having a theme seems to result in a more successful book club.
The nature of the theme really isn’t important, so long as the group agrees upon it. Personally, I like to be challenged with works outside of my usual milieu, and I’ll read just about anything that is well-written or interesting or ground-breaking. As a writing teacher, content (including plot) is much less important to my enjoyment than the actual writing. However, I have discovered that when someone holds a book near and dear to the heart, “poor writing” becomes insignificant. People just don’t want to believe that they could love a book that was poorly written or insignificant with regard to the world of literature.
So, I suggest agreeing upon a theme to help give your club focus and to help you avoid so many common complaints of book clubs: drifting conversations, avoiding selection, or condescending questions of “merit.” I would love to hear what “themes” or missions other book clubs have. And if you need inspiration, check out my upcoming Instant Classics series coming this spring!
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I’ve never been in a book club, but I thought this was a very interesting post!
Ann M. | Dec 20, 2007 | Reply