Book Club Experience

This week, I attended a book club sponsored by a local church (East Union Christian Church) that was housed in the church’s fellowship hall. The members discussed the book Spring Brides, which is a collection of novellas that feature wedding stories based in three different months of the year: March, April, and May. The three novellas were written by Rachel Hauck, Meg Moseley, and Lenora Worth. This collection is a part of a larger series called A Year of Weddings that has a novella for each month of the year written by a variety of authors. I had read these novellas a year or so ago, so I was able to actively participate in the discussion. All the participants had read the book, although some needed refreshing on a few details since they read it at the beginning of the month.

Upon entering the fellowship hall, I observed that it was a relaxed atmosphere, with chairs circling a round table. Including the leader, there were 10 women in attendance. Men from the congregation are invited to attend but have not chosen to at this time. Snacks and drinks were available, and participants spent the first ten minutes or so chatting and eating. I am a member of this church, but an unable to attend regularly due to distance, so I explained why I was attending, and participants were excited to be a part of this assignment. They welcomed me immediately and tried to include me in the discussion. I was the only new attendee, but from observations, can infer that new participants would be welcomed with open arms into this group.

For this month, the collection was Christian Fiction. They do not always do Christian-based novels but tend to gravitate towards clean reads. Novels in the past months have included The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, and next month will be The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. The books chosen are from a variety of genres that appeal to the participants. Since, thus far, participants have been women, the book choices appeal more to women than men, but the group is open to other gender-neutral options as well. Normally, the leader chooses the book of the month, but is open to suggestions. Before beginning discussion of the book, the leader asked participants what some of their favorite books/genres were and wrote down suggestions for future options. This showed me that the leader is not trying to dictate what participants read, but instead wants to choose books that the participants will enjoy.

During the discussion, the leader was the one to ask the questions. This novel included Book Club Discussion Questions, so she referred to these, but the books do not always have questions included. When there are no questions included, the leader will plan questions in advance. The discussion portion started out with a vague question about what insights did participants get during reading. A participant asked if anyone else noticed the brides being forced to do something they didn’t want to do. Others didn’t observe this, and some didn’t agree at all, but the discussion was non-judgmental. Those who disagreed with this insight refuted the point in a kind manner, showing that the group has developed a respect for one another and their opinions.

After asking a question, the leader gave an appropriate amount of time for participants to answer. She only answered when others asked her opinion or there had been a large amount of silence. This showed me that she wanted others to participate and not make herself the star of the show.  Most of the questions were open-ended, but there were a few personal connection questions that required a one-word answer, such as when if your anniversary (to determine any connections to Spring weddings as in the story). The questions in the Discussion Guide ranged from deep, spiritual questions such as “how can we be more like Jesus” to more surface level like “how did you and your spouse meet?”. Participants were less forthcoming on the deeper questions so only a few participated during those, but all participants were willing to share on questions regarding their personal connections to the story. The Discussion Guide has the deeper questions at the beginning, and this is the order that the leader asked them. However, it may have been beneficial to the group to start with the surface level questions to get everyone acclimated and more comfortable so that discussion could have increased during the deeper, spiritual portion.

The group did get sidetracked a lot during the discussion, but the leader (or other participants) were always able to relate the conversation back to the stories. Kirchoff (n.d.) reminds leaders, “If you notice that it seems stilted or has veered off topic, ask a gentle, pointed question or two to shut down the side chatter that crops up whenever a conversation goes off the rails.” The leader of this book club was able to veer the conversation back to the book. This showed me that, first, the leader has a solid grasp of the featured book and how to lead a book discussion, as well as showing that the participants are comfortable with one another to have conversations outside of the actual book. Since the side conversations didn’t overtake the overall discussion, I did not view this as a negative aspect. I felt that it was helpful in building rapport and relationships among members. I have been to a book club before that only answered questions about the book with no personal interactions outside of the discussion questions, and it would often have a good amount of uncomfortable silence. This was not an issue with this close-knit group. It is important to include both kinds of questions, as well as encouraging outside interactions among participants, so that they feel more comfortable discussing deeper issues.

Overall, I enjoyed participating in this book club. The participants were welcoming and friendly. The atmosphere of the group was fun and lighthearted. By not focusing too much on trying to have deep, philosophical discussions, participants were able to feel comfortable with one another and newcomers could come into the fold without fear of judgment or inadequacy. The books chosen had appeals and characteristics that would appeal to a variety of readers and all participants were able to find some connections to the stories. The leader was able to guide the discussion so that everyone had a chance to participate if they chose, and all participants were respectful of other’s opinions.

Resources:

Kirchoff, L. (n.d.) Lead a book club. Retrieved from http://ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/bookclub/lead-book-club