The benefit of
working at a library and working on my MLS is that many assignments I work on
correlate directly with what I do already, as well as ideas and projects I plan
to do at the library. That being said, this assignment lined up with my
ambition to start a book club for teens. I do not want to do a book club where
everyone reads the same book. I prefer open book chats. You do not have to worry
about reading a book you may not like. Most of the book clubs hosted by the
library or advertised by the library are book chats that promote people discussing
what they are reading rather than reading a single book. Open book chats also
have the ability to feature books that you have never heard of before. There is
a book club at a branch I used to work at hosted by patrons, and they usually
do what is popular. This is of course great for those authors. As the article
“Read Well with Others” by Bill Goldstein states, “a title popular with book
groups has an extended life, and sales may even increase over time”
(Goldstein). I rather hear about books I would never think to pick up or ever
see lying around.
The book chat I
participated at for this assignment was one of the library branches that hosts
a book chat every first Monday of the month. I let the branch manager and book
chat leader know I will be attending and that I wanted to shadow so I can learn
how to set up a similar program for teens. I was told the majority of those who
attend this book chat are retired women, and most are regulars to the book
chat.
The person and
leading the book discussion was a library assistant who worked at the branch. This
book chat was different than her normal ones because she had a guest speaker
from IU South Bend come and speak about a few of the books she has written.
Because of this special guest, we did not get to the actual book chat until
about 45 minutes later. It’s only an hour program but it went on for about 75
minutes due to the guest. However, the guest sparked much discussion among the
attendees during her time. Besides asking about how the author wrote her books,
they asked questions about the books themselves. A couple of the attendees had
read the book and shared their thoughts on the book. One attendee mentioned how
she loved the book because it tackles the issue of women not being allowed to
have the voice they want, and that the book was such a fun, easy read. This
sparked a mini discussion about this topic today.
After
the guest speaker was finished, the leader opened the floor to anyone who
wanted to share what they have been reading. An awkward few seconds went by
before anyone said anything. The first attendee to speak up discussed a recent
novel by Jonathon Kellerman. Another attendee who also recently read a few of
his books chimed in, and somewhat overpowered the discussion. After the
discussion on that first book was over, that same patron who overpowered the discussion
said, “Well, since I am talking I guess I’ll go next.” She mentioned how,
besides also reading Kellerman, she read a book called Pax by Sara Pennypacker. She said she purchased it thinking it was
an adult novel, but later realized it was for kids. I was delighted to hear
this because this is a book I read back in S571 Materials for Youth. I was able
to chime in by saying I also read it, as well as what I thought about the book.
I was worried I would have nothing to add to the discussion since I am not a
huge reader at the moment. I followed up by mentioning another great children’s
book for adults is The War That Saved My Life
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. This same women at the end of the book chat also
asked if anyone read The Women in the
Window by A.J. Finn. Again, I was excited to hear this because I just read
that book for this class two month ago! She asked me if it was worth finishing,
to which I replied that it was because the intensity builds and it will be made
into a movie, so it’s great to read it now before everyone else starts to read
it.
The leader was
very good about moving the discussion along, asking if anyone else had a book
to share. When the guest speaker was there, I could tell the leader did her
best to wrap up her time because she did speak longer than the leader had
planned. Of the 10 or so people there, about 7 participated. I noticed that
everyone did not bring a book to discuss, so I imagine people come to listen to
what others are reading. As Bill Goldstein states, “clubs have become a potent
network, organized loosely by their shared need for information about the books
they are reading and for suggestions on what to read next” (Goldstein 32). I
heard interesting stories about several books that I probably never would have heard
about or considered.
The leader participated when she had something
to add, but she let people freely discuss whatever was presented. People mainly
spoke about what they liked about the book they brought to discuss, and people
agreed or disagreed with their statement. It was all very friendly even if
someone did not like a book mentioned. That being said, the atmosphere was
extremely friendly and stress-free. You can tell these women got to know each
other through the book chat, and it was essentially a fun hangout.
Snacks and drinks
are not provided at this book chat. However, she does have two tables set up as
one long table to hold reading recommendations and library promotional
materials. They appear to talk about any book, whether it’s fiction or
nonfiction. The host takes notes about books discussed at the meeting, and then
pulls a bunch of these books to be displayed at the next meeting. She also has
a copy of her notes available for people to take home. Overall I had a great
experience! When I complete my studies in May I hope to read more and to join a
couple book discussions my library features.
Works Cited
Goldstein, Bill. "Reads Well
with Others." Publishers Weekly, vol. 252, no. 21, 23 May
2005, pp. 30-34. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=17114088&site=ehost-live.
