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reader's circles
Book clubs I get. Book clubs are very popular in my part of the world, and in theory I like everything about them. I like getting together with people to talk about a specific book, and establishing friendships that way. But, (confession coming) I have never lasted in a book club for very long. I always get impatient with the books chosen, and most usually I can't make myself read something to meet a book club deadline if I have no interest in it. As book clubs are by necessity a democratic kind of institution, I'm just not book club material.
It has been pointed out to me that this has to do with the fact that I taught for a long time (and my classrooms were not models of democracy, I'll admit that: my style was more of a benevolent monarch). Thus, book clubs don't feel right because somebody else is setting the syllabus. Which was a gentle way of saying that I'm too controlling. Or too stubborn or independent or lazy. Any or all of the above.
Maybe I should go back to teaching?
Nah.
July 15, 2004 07:57 AM
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Comments
If I'm reading this right, a reader's circle is a bunch of people who like, say, historical fiction. They get together for appetizers and discuss their own favorite historical fiction books rather than all reading the same book and talking about that.
Sound right?
I think I'd like this if it got started locally. I get impatient with book club choices too -- the local SF book club lost me with a run of talking cat fantasies. Argh. But I did enjoy the part of the meetings when we'd fish around for a book to discuss next time and we all got to plug old favorites or things we were dying to read.
Posted by: Steph at July 15, 2004 07:08 AM
That is probably what they intend, but I can't imagine it actually working. Maybe that's just me. There are no reader's circles around here (I check on their website) and as I am not the person to organize somethign like this, I'll just file the whole thing under things not to worry about.
But then a sci-fi or a historical fiction reader's circle ... nah.
Posted by: sara at July 15, 2004 07:50 AM
I'm with you on the book club issue. I don't want to buy a book and read it if I have no interest in reading it in the first place. My high school, for example, picked the shittiest, most depressing, most pointless, most discouraging books for the kids to read about 80 percent of the time. Who needs to repeat that experience?
Discussion is great, but I don't want to spend the money on something I wouldn't read under normal circumstances. I guess that's what reader's circles are about- there's an assigned genre and you can read and discuss what you want to, maybe pass on recommendations to others, and bypass reading crap just because everyone else is reading it. Not a totally bad idea.
But that said, when I want to discuss a book, I'll just go on chicklit.com and look for a thread about it.
Posted by: Jennifer at July 15, 2004 11:41 AM
My Book Club is this very nice website.
Cynthia in Florida
Posted by: Cynthia at July 15, 2004 01:52 PM