Our neighborhood is opening up and getting back to normal. I was invited to join the book club by a neighbor.
Most of the women have been members for the length or our neighborhoods existence, which is 15 years. A couple of us are new and moved in during the shutdown.
The book I’m supposed to read is called “The Arctic Fury” by Greer MacAllister.
The copy on the back of the book says:
“Eccentric Lady Jane Franklin makes an outlandish offer to adventurer Virginia Reeve: take a dozen women, trek into the Arctic, and find her husband, Lord Franklin, and his lost expedition. Four parties have failed to find him, and Lady Franklin wants a radical new approach: put the women in charge.”
The book is based on a true story of Lady Jane Franklin’s tireless attempts to find her husband’s lost expedition.
Now here’s the problem. I have never been to book club before. I don’t know what to expect. I’m not getting into the book. I’m going to push through, but it’s not my cup of tea.
At least I know how to spell the word “Arctic.” Maybe it’s the title I don’t like, because when my son was in second grade he had to name the continents on a map. He didn’t get 100%. I talked to the teacher and wanted to know why she marked him wrong for “Artic.” Yes, I had him practice spelling the word wrong — and I argued with the teacher.
What do you do at book club exactly anyway?
Are you the member of a book club? How is it set up? Who selects the books? What do you do when you don’t like them?
I’ve been in a book club and ran book clubs at the library. Sometimes the discussion is better when someone didn’t like the book. In my personal book club, we took turns picking the book, but the meetings were less about the book and more about the social part.
That’s encouraging to know that not liking the book makes the discussion interesting.
Not getting into the book is kind of why I believe I’d enjoy a book club. It would feel too much like homework.
Does everyone have to agree on the book? Or does a new person pick a book each month?
I don’t know how it works. It is just starting up after being shut down for two years.
Can’t wait to hear all about it. 🙂
I’ve wondered those same things about book clubs. I mean, I love reading but not sure I want to analyze every book I read like that.
I’ve declined book clubs in the past, but changed my mind after moving. I figure I’ll meet some neighbors and if I don’t like the club, I can quit.
I’ve been in many book clubs over the years. Some are more social gatherings than book discussions. I prefer a good discussion (with some yummies to eat and a glass of wine) and actually like them more when people differ in their ratings of the book. I encourage you to finish the book, take some notes and be ready to discuss the book, including why it didn’t appeal to you. You may find that others agree with you. I developed a five-star rating system that I use to help me consistently rate the books I read. I almost blogged about it last week… maybe I should finish it and post 🙂
Thank you for sharing your book club wisdom with me. I was thinking about taking notes.
I’ll be interested to see how it all goes and what you think. I will still open an older book on occasion and find the section on book club discussion questions in the back. Some of those would be like answering a really involved essay. I hope you find it to be welcoming and fun!
I was told it’s not in a “classroom” format but an open discussion. The woman who is hosting it, moved in during COVID after us and wants to meet people. I clicked with her talking about different books we love.
Variety is the spice of life. I have come to appreciate this as a result of the discussions I’ve been involved in in various book clubs. If you don’t like the book or don’t think you’d get anything out of the discussion, you don’t have to go.
The book clubs I belong to vote on all the selections. Sometimes we use weighted voting. Some of them require that whoever recommends a book should/must have read it first.