There was an article in yesterday's Sunday Styles section of The New York Times that made me laugh. It's about book clubs, and why some of them just don't work out - incompatible taste in books, different expectations for the level of discussion, etc. Those of you in book clubs will probably recognize some of the challenges you've experienced.
I wrote about my own experiences with book clubs for Books on the Brain last May - here's my post. I am very happy with my current book club - it's online, it's low-key, and I get to choose the books!!
I'd love to hear about your book club - what makes it work? Any nightmare stories?
I don't belong to a book club but I did read the article online over the weekend and wondered if someone would link to it on a blog. Very interesting and kind of reaffirmed my decision to not seek out a club.
Posted by: Mary | December 09, 2008 at 06:23 AM
i loved the article. i have a book club and there is one lady who runs her mouth...ugh
Posted by: feener | December 09, 2008 at 08:53 AM
I love my book club. We have been going for 12 years strong and are just now beginning to have some problems.
Our club is hosted by the Public Library which means that anyone can join. This has never been a problem because we have the core group and every once in awhile a floater or two but they never come back to a second meeting!
However, we have this one lady now that has insulted a few of the members and is now sporting a bag full of religious material to each meeting. The leader asked her not to come back after a bit of a fall out but since it is public, she shows up at each meeting.
The sad thing is that she is pretty well spoken and well read, so if she just did without the religious talk and was somewhat normal, she'd have a lot to offer.
Our holiday party this year which is not held at the library was interesting because a brand new member showed up. Not sure what we'll do.
Posted by: Ti | December 11, 2008 at 11:45 AM