Friday, June 25, 2010

Book Club Members?


I was in a book club once. We chose, read and then discussed the books. We formed friendships and encouraged each other to read genres outside our usual favorites. I looked forward to each meeting, whether I'd finished that month's book or not. (I had small children, okay? It wasn't always possible!)

Sometimes, when the book included club discussion points at the end, we'd imagine bringing the author to our meetings. We were a small group in a remote area, though, so that's as far as it went. We never contacted anyone directly. Not even Amy Tan, a group favorite.

How about you? Have you been in a book club? Did you ever host the writer? If so, what did you like/not like about it?

There is a trend now for authors to use skype instead. I love this idea. Would this appeal to you, as a reader? Do you often have questions for the author after reading a book?

Chime in!

6 comments:

  1. On Facebook you said you have A question... I see 5 up there! SO much pressure!!! I would love to be poignant with some really cool answers, but since I don't belong to a book club I'm not sure if I can. What I can share is when I was able to meet Anne Lamott and talk to her about one of her books, it was a wonderful experience. Also, I think Skype is a gift from the heavens, and it appeals to me enough to join a book club!

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  2. You met Anne Lamott?! Luckyyyyy..........

    The kids and I went to a Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg book signing once. Felt like total groupies. Due to the size of the crowd, no one could pose and have their picture taken with her as they went through the line. Luckily one of FC's teacher was also there, so we took pix of each other getting our books signed. Action shots. No arrests were made:)

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  3. I don't belong to a book club, but if I could meet any author Anne Lamott would probably be among my top choices - so I was surprised to see this posted reply by Nancy!

    I have written to a few authors about their books, but never received a reply :(

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  4. After reading Mennonite in a Little Black Dress earlier this year, I wrote to the author, Rhoda Janzen, on facebook. I got a reply and wanted to frame it:) She's brave, brilliant and hilarious.

    A pox on those who never wrote you back, Jan! Haha!

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  5. I always have questions for an author, but I would be afraid to sound stupid. I would probably want to ask questions more about the creative process than the meat of the story.

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  6. Alicia, What a great idea about contacting the author. I can't believe I've never thought of this before! I'm currently meeting with a group of 20 fantastic women who are studying the works of Caroline Myss's "Entering The Castle". We're not a club as such, but one of the members contacted all of us and invited us to delve into this treasure with her. It's fantastic.

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When someone dies, (other than attending the service), I do this for the family-