Stefen’s Bookclub Retrospective

One of the secondary joys of reading as far as I’m concerned is being able to talk about the book with someone. I’m lucky that I get to do that at a store level, but a few minutes on the shop floor doesn’t really allow you to get into much. I did notice that I had a lot of people coming into the store that I could happily have chatted to for much longer, so it seemed the logical next step to start a book club and invite them. That decided, I then had to figure out what exactly I was going to do.

I asked a lot of people what they thought of the idea and what they would want from a genre fiction book club. The result was an event that happens in a private room in a pub, once a month on a weeknight with no commitment and the freedom to attend based on availability or interest.

On the subject of the books, most people didn’t want the hassle of making that decision. Instead the consensus was ‘just tell me what it is and if I’m interested I’ll come’. So it’s up to me what the book is, though I do get lots of great input and suggestions from the group. We’ve tried to balance old and new books, as well as a variety of perspectives while trying to make sure that the books are easily available in multiple formats and inexpensive.

Our first meeting was March 2013, and it was a bit of a rough and ready affair, more chaotic than productive. People had a good time however and kept coming back. Over time we got somewhat of a handle on what we wanted to do as a group and how to go about it. I think what we mostly have now are evenings of interesting conversation and a few laughs in a welcoming environment.

We’ve had a lot of really interesting discussions and there are so many fascinating books we’d like to do that I’m pretty sure we won’t be stopping soon. Since we started, nearly fifty people in various combinations have come together to discus books. It’s been great fun and I’ve gotten to talk, and listen to wonderful clever people. I’m grateful to everyone who has attended the book club. You’ve made a vague idea into something worthwhile and rewarding. Every month I learn or think something new, and I have you folks to thank for it.

Here’s the books we’ve read in the order we read them. 

Thanks for playing.
Stefen