In this 21st installment of In Praise of Book Clubs, we hear from Melanie over at lit*chick, where she writes about books, naturally, but also about life with her 3 boys. Three must be her number- here she writes about her 3 different book clubs!
I am afraid I suffer from a bit of reading schizophrenia or multiple reading group personality disorder. I enjoy the pleasures of being a participating member of a book club, an honorary member of another, and running an online book club. Each of these variations satisfies different parts of my book nerd world.
The honorary membership serves my non committal/rebellious side. I get their book list, can follow along, and pop in when I can. I found that having to read a book can sometimes cause me to desire anything but, surely I’m not alone here. They manage to welcome me without judgement, whenever my schedule allows. And this book club has completely different selections than the other that run more to my taste. It should, my cousin started it so there is a family connection too. But what can I say, I like being included.
Finally, the online book club, feeds my desire for control. I choose the books, and the questions, and steer the discussion. There is also flexibility here – while I have monthly choices, I can also post questions for books whenever I feel like it. I don’t have to wait for my turn to present selections or even wait until next month. The internet has been a wonderful vehicle for me to spill all the book stuff I’ve had bottled up. I have met lovely people and for some reason, they choose to return again and again to talk books with me. The online book club speaks to the part in me that says: “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” (C.S. Lewis) That and the cool factor of having friends spread all over the world who read.
For previous volumes of In Praise of Book Clubs, click HERE
For more info on starting your own book club, click HERE
For fun ways to make your book club better, click HERE
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