Bookclubbing at the Local Library

I think I've mentioned the book club I started a little over a year ago. It's still tons of fun. We have an awesome group of girls who all love to read and discuss books. 

About a month ago I was asked by the local library to be part of a panel discussion on how to run a successful book club. I was honoured that they had asked me to be part of it but felt like a bit of an imposter. I don't know that there's anything I have done that has made this group successful. I think it has run so well because of who is in the group. However I agreed to do it because it would be a night out talking about books (which I already love to do) and maybe I could help someone in some way figure out how to put a group together. It would also be an opportunity to speak to at least two other book club organizers and get a glimpse of how their clubs run.

I arrived on time (the wonders of getting out of the house without children) to a room full of 3 senior women. The two other panellists arrived, a couple librarians and...that was the group. One panellist ran a club that has been around for over 25 years and has a membership of over 20 at any given time. The other was on a Rogers cable book club show. And me, yeah, I get together with a group of friends and talk about a book...like I wasn't already feeling a little under-qualified!

As we got started our audience of three admitted that they were already part of a book club and were there to find some solutions to problems their groups was experiencing. First and foremost...how do we keep the group on topic? I immediately had an image of chattering elderly women sitting around talking about anything under the sun with these three women at the front calling attention to deaf ears. 

All in all, it was a fun night. If anything it made me realize how special our little group is. We have great conversations that sometimes meander but naturally come back to the book. It’s a very laid back group that welcomes everyone’s comments without judgement or malice. There have a been a few books that half the group loved and half did not and those have been some of our best discussion. I have a feeling that April’s book is going to fall into that category. I personally did not like it at all and it probably would have been one of the few books that I would have never finished.

And at the end they presented us each with a $50 gift certificate to a local book store as a thank-you for participating. The pressure is on...what book do I consider worth buying?