Book Club Experience

I observed the Three Rivers Book Club which meets monthly at the Arrowhead Community Center in Channahon, IL. The park district and library work together to make this book club possible (http://www.trpld.org/library-book-clubs-2392). If you can believe it, this was my first experience participating in a book club, and I really enjoyed it! 

Members gathered in the community room 15 minutes before the facilitator arrived. The room was covered in windows on two walls and relatively spacious. I introduced myself to one of the members who told me her name was Cricket. She was exceptionally friendly and welcoming and answered a few of my initial questions. There were no tables, only chairs, and they were arranged in a large circle that expanded the entire room. The participants were all regulars (I was the only newbie!), mostly retirees, but there was one young mother in the group. In total, there were 18 participants, including 3 men. There was no food or drinks, although a member jokingly expressed an interest in incorporating wine into the evening (that would have been ok with me!). The facilitator arrived a bit after 7pm, apologized for being late, and greeted me enthusiastically. She humbly told me that she is not the best facilitator, so this might not be the ideal book club to observe. I knew I was going to love it anyway because the group was so lively and friendly.

The facilitator of this club, Lori, is a librarian at the Three Rivers PL, and she did a very good job (in my opinion) of moderating the session. The group was discussing "The Bandit Queens" by Parini Shroff. Lori asked the questions, but she allowed free discussion and encouraged organic flow of conversation. Once participants had exhausted a topic, she would go on to the next question, which she read from a sheet. Questions were open-ended and discussion based, including:

"How does the setting play a role in the story?"

"Discuss the role of the caste system to the story."

"Are you familiar with any other caste systems from around the world? How do they differ from the system highlighted in the story?

"Discuss the ending."

 Lori also read a quote from the book and asked members to discuss it. 

The conversation was lively, and club members seemed to take deep interest in the characters, themes, and social issues that the book presented. While there were a few dominant voices, each member showed respect to others (one member politely said to another, "Those are very good points you make."), and everyone had an opportunity to speak. Only a few members remained quiet, but not for lack of opportunity. They appeared to enjoy just listening, they were engaged, and often nodded their heads in agreement and acknowledgement. Lori participated in the conversation and summarized points made after everyone spoke. I noticed that there were storytellers in the group. It is so interesting to observe how stories in books resonate with peoples' lives and experiences (certainly what drives so many to read in the first place!). Several members brought in anecdotes and personal experiences that informed their understanding and interpretation of the book. 

After an hour of spirited discussion, Lori wrapped things up (somewhat to my disappointment...I was really enjoying this!). She had copies of next month's read available for checkout - "In the Upper Country" by Kai Thomas. The club had previously read "The Woman They Could Not Silence" by Kate Moore. Members vote on books to read each month, and selections include both fiction and nonfiction titles.

I came away from this book club experience with a newfound interest in discussing books. My previous experience had been limited to classroom discussions about books assigned to me (and that I may or may not have really liked). The library book club offers a casual and fun environment to share interpretations, ideas, and experiences with a wide variety of people where your opinion is respected (hopefully) and you are encouraged to grow in your attachments to reading.