Book Club Experience

For this book club experience, I had the opportunity to observe a book club that a group of ladies in my town began about five years ago.  This group consists of a group of 10 women that range in ages from mid thirties to retirement age.  I think that it began as a group from church, but has evolved from there to include friends and mothers & daughters.  The group meets monthly and alternately meets at a few of the member's homes.  On the day I visited, one of my friends was hosting, and I was thankful that they allowed me to not only observe, but also participate.

The atmosphere of this book club was very light.  The current group of women have been meeting together for over a year now, and everyone seemed very comfortable with each other.  There were snacks available throughout the evening, and the meeting started off with a time of catching up on each others lives before delving into the book discussion.  On this particular evening, there were seven ladies in attendance plus myself.

There are two women that take turns leading this group.  On this particular evening, Sue lead and did a fabulous job of keeping control of the discussion.  She provided great open ended questions and was able to draw the discussion back in to the topic at hand when needed.  It was obvious that she has done this many times, and has a "leader" personality. Typically, Sue would pose a question and the rest of the group would discuss.  She only added thoughts or insights into the discussion when the conversation lagged.  While they do not read one particular genre, they do limit their book selections to fiction.  In looking over a list of books that they have discussed in the past, it seems as though they tend to lean towards bestsellers.       

The book that was being discussed this month was The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  All but two of the women finished the book before meeting. Overall, the discussions was steady and everyone was respectful of each others thoughts and opinions.  There were definitely opinions both ways on this book, with some liking the story and others really disliking the characters and the writing.  One member, who is definitely not shy,  expressed strong dislike for the characters and the novel as a whole.  She is a lively lady full of opinions and humor.  I think I would have enjoyed just listening to her thoughts on this book for the full hour!  While this person did have a lot to say, it did not feel like she dominated the discussion.

I really enjoy this book club discussion.  I think that this particular group is a great mix of personalities, and I experienced what an ideal book discussion should look like.  I am a little disappointed that they are not looking to add any new members at this time, because I would really enjoy being a part of this group on a regular basis.