A New Format For Our Book Club

Last night we had another meeting of the Book Club, with a tasty, filling pot luck dinner. Dessert was scones with all the trimmings. So obviously we would have considered the evening a great success even if the discussion part had been a bust.

This meeting was the most ambitious so far of our new framework. We had been given (actually I think it was my idea) a rather open assignment. Read any book written by Herman Wouk, and as the date of the meeting got closer, I, as facilitator, loosened the requirement a bit. I told the participants that they could even watch one of his books as a movie or see one of the tv shows he had  written or was based on a book of his.

Our custom is to eat first and then talk books. Who can really focus on books when sitting around a table heaped with great food?

As we polished off the scones, we began the meeting. If I remember correctly, first I gave a summary of Wouk's life and discussed his book that I had read, This Is My God, which is a very personal book. Wouk was an Orthodox Jew in a time when it seemed that Jewish Orthodoxy was a dying breed. So we also discussed the state of American Jewry in the mid-twentieth century, which shaped Wouk.

Then I asked everyone to state the book they had read and I wrote it all down. There was only one overlap; two read the Caine Mutiny.  Each member described her book, and what she thought of it. The two who had read Caine Mutiny had a mini-panel discussion. Then we talked about Wouk and what we had learned together. 

We all agreed that this new format is working for us. It's such a relief not to have to search for the same book and/or rush reading so it could be passed on to other members. Our next meeting with deal with a time in history, and we'll all have to find suitable books in the genre.

If you use any of our ideas or are a member of a book club, please let me know in the comments. Thanks

Back To "Pot Luck Dinner" Book Club, Thank Gd

 Last night I hosted our local Book Club.

The meeting was our second post-corona get-together, but the first time we got down to the business of literary book discussions. A couple of weeks earlier we just "partied," ate and hashed out how to best conduct meetings. 

Pre-corona our set meeting meant a book that all of were supposed to have read, usually facilitated by the same member. Some months it worked better than others. Buying, borrowing and sharing books can get complicated, even though a few members read most of their books on kindle. As we talked and ate, we realized that maybe we should change our meeting structure. On occasion we may manage to read the same book, but no longer always.

Our new plan is to choose monthly genres or authors. Each month a different member facilitates and decides on details. 

The member who facilitated last night wanted to read a couple of children's classics, Pollyanna and Anne of Green Gables. I had never read either of them before, not even as a child. I borrowed Pollyanna from her. I surprised myself by enjoying it. There was a lively discussion about the books. Not everyone read both, and a couple didn't read either one. We agreed that even though we liked the books, we couldn't see our grandchildren reading them. The Harry Potter generation can't relate to the low-tech lives and innocence of Anne and Pollyanna.

Next month's book is The Brigade : An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII by Howard Blum. If I don't get a copy of the book, I'll try to research the history of the time.

I must admit that in the early days of our book club, we didn't have the pot luck dinner, and the club wasn't all that successful. Once we added the meal at an earlier hour and extra socializing, it really improved our meetings and attendance. I can't remember how many years our book club has been going on. Members are from Shiloh and nearby communities, and we're grandmothers and great-grandmothers, too.

There are book clubs all over the world which follow various "programs." We've even traded books with a few here in Israel. Not only do I enjoy the socializing and literary talk, but it has been good for me to stretch my reading to books I never would have touched if they hadn't been on our "list." What are your experiences with book clubs?