The Addison Book Club met tonight. We discussed “Washington Black” by Esi Edugyan; I profiled it in my blog post on Nov. 13. I have been in this book club for several years, and we have discussed widely varying type of books. Many times, members will say they would never have read the book if someone else had not suggested it. Plus, I think we are all enriched by the discussion, listening to others’ points of view. Another person may discuss something in a book that you completely missed. That is the beauty of a book club. Most of the time, a majority of the members attending our book club have actually read the book, but not always. We welcome anyone who just wants to listen. There is a book club — or maybe more than one — in the Dallas area where book club members do not read the book. They pay professional reviewers to speak to them about it. Apparently, some of the reviewers can be quite dramatic, acting out parts of the book. Some people become interested in the book after hearing the review and do read it. In the Addison Book Club, near the end of the year we are asked to provide suggestions for the next year’s readings. From those suggestions, a more abbreviated list is developed, consolidating those suggestions that are the same. From that list, we are asked to choose 10 books for the following year. One month we read poetry of each attending member’s choosing and the other month the book is what is chosen by a neighboring suburb — Richardson Reads One Book. We choose it because Richardson brings in the author of that book as a speaker free of charge every year, and we attend the event. Anyway, once members choose 10 books, that list is consolidated to arrive at our final list. Then people volunteer to lead the discussion on a particular book. We average about 10-15 members at every monthly meeting. In my sister’s book club in New York, whoever chooses a book has to lead the discussion. There are many ways to manage a book club. Let’s learn more about them.
According to Wikipedia, a book discussion club is a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read and express their opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. It is more often called simply a book club — a term that is also used to describe a book sales club — which can cause confusion. Other frequently used terms to describe a book discussion club include reading group, book group and book discussion group. Book discussion clubs may meet in private homes, libraries, bookstores, online forums, pubs and in cafés or restaurants over meals or drinks.
A practice also associated with book discussion, common reading program or common read, involves institutions encouraging their members to discuss select books in group settings; common reading programs are largely associated with educational institutions encouraging their students to hold book discussion meetings.
History
According to Audra Otto’s Sept. 15, 2009 article “The evolution of American book clubs: A timeline” at minnpost.com, in 1634 on a ship headed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, religious renegade Anne Hutchinson organized a female discussion group to examine sermons given at weekly services. Eventually condemned by the Bay Colony’s general assembly, the gatherings inaugurated a tradition of women’s analytical discussion of serious texts.
In 1727, Benjamin Franklin organized a prominent Philadelphia literary society called the Junto. Composed of 12 members, the group met weekly to discuss moral, political, commercial and scientific topics of the day.
In the late 1760s, Hannah Adams — who went on to become the first American woman to earn a living through writing — joins a reading circle in her village of Medfield, Massachusetts. The circle read and discussed the belles lettres and shared their own poetry and prose writing.
In 1778, Hannah Mather Crocker organized a similar female reading society in Boston to study science and read the belles lettres. She took the radical position of asserting that formal study of science and literature was more suitable to women’s dignity than the frivolous activities that society deemed suitable.
In the early 1800s, various groups of women in New England begin meeting regularly to discuss serious poetry, nonfiction and publications of the day.
In 1826, the first American lyceum is founded, launching the lyceum movement. Lyceums were voluntary local associations that sponsored lectures and debates on current issues. They attracted such speakers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Daniel Webster, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Susan B. Anthony. By 1834, there were roughly 3,000 lyceums in the Midwest and Northeast.
In 1827, in Lynn, Mass., the Society of Young Ladies is established, initiating the formation of African American women’s literary societies in cities throughout the Northeast, including Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Providence.
In 1840, the first known bookstore-sponsored discussion club in the United States begins meeting in Margaret Fuller’s Boston shop. Fuller’s “Conversations” seminars for women utilized the Socratic method to examine philosophical questions.
According to “The Origins of the Modern Book Club” at writingandbreathing.wordpress.com, Fuller was the first American female war correspondent, a magazine editor and feminist. She saw her club as a meeting place for women to debate “the great questions: What were we born to do? How shall we do it?”
According to Iris Nelson’s Aug. 25, 2019, article “Sarah Atwater Denman: An Enduring Legacy” at hsqac.org, Sarah Denman’s drive to enhance the intellectual and spiritual development of local women friends led to the formation of a study group, Friends in Council, that was formalized by charter in 1869. Its first meeting was in November 1866 when she invited 11 ladies to her home at 903 Broadway in Quincy, Illinois to prepare a study plan that would allow each member to develop a philosophical point of view of herself. Denman was the guiding force for the study of classic works primarily in history and philosophy. In her own words, Denman regarded it as the club’s “duty to emancipate ourselves from party-spirit, prejudice and passion, cultivate a love of truth, tolerance and patience.” Her belief was to awaken the “full power of woman” as a force in the world and gain a broader outlook on life. The group intensely studied Plato for two years before moving onto other areas of interest and enlarging its membership.
Friends in Council remains of historic interest not only in Quincy but across the country as the oldest continuous women’s literary club in America and the only one to have a meeting house of its own, a gift from Denman in 1878.
According to Julie L. Mellby’s June 10, 2009 article “A Book by Bookish Men About Books” at princeton.edu, the Cadmus Club was organized in the fall of 1895 at Galesburg, Illinois. There were no officers, and its membership was restricted to twelve, in honor of the twelve months in the calendar year. The purpose of the club was “good fellowship among the members, the encouragement of good reading in the community and the publication of literary products that possess a local interest.” Cadmus, the Father of Letters, became its patron saint. The club held regular meetings, hosted lectures, and shared its own knowledge of all aspects of bookmaking and book history.
Early in 1897, the club published “Cadmus His Almanack,” which was “a book by bookish men about books.” It was printed in an edition of 365 copies, one for each day of the year. Other publications by the Club include “Epithalamia” in 1896, “An Analysis of The Social Structure of a Western Town” by Arthur W. Dunn in 1906 and “The Moral Sentiment of the People … An Address by Edgar A. Bancroft” in 1905.
According to Audra Otto’s Sept. 15, 2009 article “The evolution of American book clubs: A timeline” at minnpost.com, in 1926, copywriter Harry Scherman founded the Book-of-the-Month Club, a mail-order business that offered customers a new book each month. An editorial board of judges was responsible for recommending and promoting only the most noteworthy books in any category.
In 1927, Samuel W. Craig establishes The Literary Guild, a competing mail-order book club. The Literary Guild offered lighter reading selections than the Book-of-the-Month Club, whose titles were deemed more literary.
In the 1950s, the Great Books movement sweeps the country. Originated in 1929 by Robert Maynard Hutchins, who developed a curriculum based on a canon of famous Western works of literature and philosophy, the Great Books Foundation was established in 1947 and the Great Books Program developed. In 1952, “Great Books of the Western World” was published in a 54-volume series by Encyclopædia Britannica. By the end of the 1950s, more than 50,000 readers were registered with the Great Books Program, and countless others were following the curriculum.
In 1974, the Book-of-the-Month Club launches its Quality Paperback Books offshoot. In the 1980s, discount chain bookstores make books more widely available, diminishing the need for mail-order book clubs.
In 1984, Helen Hooven Santmyer’s “And Ladies of the Club” becomes a national best-seller after being chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Centering on members of a longstanding book club, Santmyer’s novel inspired the formation of book groups across the country.
In 1996, Oprah Winfrey launches her televised book club, creating a massive book-club boom across the nation. The trendy book-club explosion she spurred continues today.
In the late 1990s, online book clubs emerge as an alternative to traditional face-to-face groups. Members of clubs no longer need to meet regularly at an appointed place and time.
In the early 2000s, book-group activities become more and more encouraged and mediated by publishers, book retailers and libraries.
Today, it’s estimated that there are more than 5 million book club members in the United States. Most clubs have 10 or more members. Seventy to 80% of clubs are all-female.
Organizations
According to Wikipedia:
- BookBuffet is a website directed toward book groups and avid readers with literary news, book reviews, author podcasts, technology tips, and vetted resource links. Members register their group to use a set of tools where they can maintain a joint calendar, communicate, and keep track of books their group has read as well as rate books and share reviews. Book group moderators (people who lead book groups) can keep track of all their various client groups, communicate, and share information in chat forums. There is also a "find a group" feature for people looking to join an existing group. Founded by Paula Shackleton.
- New Zealand's only nationwide book group specialist is Book Discussion Scheme.
- Association of Book Group Readers and Leaders or AGBRL — also known as the Association of Professional Book Club Facilitators — is a cooperative information clearinghouse for avid readers, both individuals and those in book discussion clubs. Its founder and director is Rachel W. Jacobsohn, author of “The Reading Group Handbook.”
- Reader's Circle is a book club where people attend with whatever they're reading. The only structure is if participants decide to have an “optional book.” Otherwise, people just bring their own books, articles, magazines and conversation goes from there.
- Great Books Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization established in 1947 that publishes collections of classic and modern literature for use in book discussion clubs. It also offers workshops in conducting book discussions.
- Library of Congress Center for the Book is a program of the Library of Congress' Library Services division that promotes community-wide book discussion groups through its "One Book" project.
- BookSurfing is a social network-based book discussion club that uses Facebook as its platform to organize and set up meetings. A moderator sets up a Facebook event and selects eight people who meet at one of the participant’s house for a "Surf." Every participant reads the text he brings out loud to the entire group. The participants may use any readable text, but it must not exceed 450 words. In every "Surf," at least one of the participants must be new to BookSurfing. Among the participants there should always be some people who don't know each other, and every surf must have a moderator. The texts and reasons for choosing them are then discussed. Booksurfing was founded in Tel Aviv Israel in 2013 by Raz Spector and now has groups in various countries.
- isthisabook.club is a decentralized and mysterious book club organization that popped up in early 2018 across many cities in the US. According to its source code, it may have had earlier meetings, has been passed down through oral tradition and uses the principle of stigmergy to mutate.
Social media for readers
- GoodReads is a social media network for readers. Users can keep track of what they're reading, shelve books, write reviews, rate titles comment on friends' progress. The site also includes literary quizzes, book lists to find more titles to enjoy, various book discussion groups, author interviews and more.
- Library Thing is a social media resource that helps users to catalog and keep track of what they're reading. Rate, review, and discuss books with others.
Book club resources
- LitLovers is a literary resource for all things regarding books and book clubs. Get tips on how to start a book club, find summaries, discussion questions, author biographies, book reviews, reading guides and more to help begin or aid your book clubs.
- Book Movement is an online book club resource that provides book guides, book reviews, book ideas, new books or club communication tools, and more to help organize and expand your book club.
- Book Series in Order is an online resource that provides detailed lists of book series in their proper order. Searches can be made by title, author, or series title.
Book discussion clubs in literature
- “The Stepford Wives” in 1972, a novel by
- "...And Ladies of the Club" in 1982, a
novel by Helen Hooven Santmyer
- “The Book Class” in 1984, a novel by
- “Bloodhounds” in 1996, a novel by Peter
- “Coast Road” in 1998, a novel by
- “The Book Borrower” in 1999, a novel by
- “The Book Club” in 1999, a novel by
- “The Dead of Midnight” in 2001, a novel
- “The Used Women's Book Club” in 2003,
a novel by Paul Bryers
- “Vinyl Cafe Diaries: in 2003, a novel by Stuart McLean
- “The Reading Group” in 2003, a novel by Elizabeth Noble
- “Little Children” 2004, a novel by Tom Perrotta
- “The Jane Austen Book Club” in 2004, a novel by Karen Joy Fowler
- “The Mother-Daughter Book Club” in 2007, the first book of a series by Heather Vogel
- “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” in 2008, a novel by Mary Ann Shaffer
and Annie Barrows
- “The Lost Temple” in 2015, a novel by Vishesh Sharma
Book discussion clubs in films
“Scent of Love,” a 2003 South Korean adaptation of the novel by Kim Ha-in directed by Lee Jeong-wook
“Little Children,” a 2006 adaptation of Perrotta's novel directed by Todd Field
“The Jane Austen Book Club,” a 2007 adaptation of Fowler's novel directed by Robin Swicord
“Book Club,” a 2018 romantic comedy directed by Bill Holderman
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” a 2018 adaptation of the novel directed by Mike Newell
Book discussion clubs in television
"Books," a 2001 episode (season 1, number 2) of the British situation comedy “The Savages”
“The Book Group,” a 2001-2002 British situation comedy series
"Wedding Balls," a 2002 episode (season 4, number 22) of the American situation comedy “Will & Grace”
"About a Book Club," a 2003 episode (season 1, number 5) of the American situation comedy “Hope & Faith"
"The Book Club," a 2004 episode (season 1, number 4) of the American children's series “Unfabulous”
"The Book of Love," a 2004 episode (season 5, number 12) of the British situation comedy “My Family”
"Breaking Out Is Hard to Do," a 2005 episode (season 4, number 9) of the American animated series “Family Guy”
"A Tale of Two Cities," a 2006 episode (season 3, number 1) of the American drama series “Lost”
Book discussion clubs in video games
“Doki Doki Literature Club,” a 2017 visual novel about a high school book discussion club
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