Last night I attended my very first book club meeting at Broadway Books, run and hosted by the lovely and knowledgeable Pam McIlroy, also known as @pamreader on Twitter. I first met Pam at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate last year and have kept in touch with her over the past year and enjoyed another weekend in her company at the festival this year. Though saying that, she knows so many people, I didn’t actually see that much of her this year!
Anyway, back to book club. I went with fellow Tweeter @sadielgreening and met for the first time, another tweeter I have been chatting with recently, @EMAldred. This is always nice when you get to put a face to a name a to conversations you have been having. Both Sadie and Elaine are great and I suggest you check them out and maybe give them a follow.
Walking in to the meeting felt a little awkward as Sadie and I were about five minutes late. We had both come to the meeting straight from work and had attempted to get something to eat before heading in. We didn’t have as much time as we thought we had. Our tardiness could also have had something to do with the circles we had driven in while attempting to find a parking space!
The walk in to the meeting room was amazing. It was like walking into some bizarre crime
fiction novel setting. The club is based in a cinema complex building and to get to our room we had to walk down a long corridor lit from above with multi-coloured lights. It felt a little like we were going to walk in to some red velvet room at the end, with a couple of cold corpses waiting for us to discover them. It was brilliant and I just had to take a photograph!
I didn’t feel awkward for long though. Broadway Books is an active group and the members are lovely. The meeting started and everyone had an opinion. What was great, was that everyones opinion was valid and heard. Reading is subjective and this was completely acknowledged here. No one spoke over anyone else, there was room for everyone to be heard.
I hadn’t read this months read, The Somnambulist, by Essie Fox as it was a fairly late decision that I was going, but it was interesting listening to the club discuss their thoughts and feelings on reading the months choice.
Having never been to a book club meeting before, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The people were friendly and chatty and are obviously passionate about books. It’s great to find, and be amongst a group of people who understand my own love of books. Admittedly my reading range is a little slim, but by continuing with the club and reading the monthly, voted for choices, I will widen my reading horizons and sample some of the other great books out there rather than just crime fiction and chic lit which I have tended to stick with.
I am looking forward to next months book club where I will be able to participate, having read the months book club choice.
Next months already voted read is East of Eden by John Steinbeck.
I am hoping that Pam will do a guest blog post for us in the future, to include, what drove her to create such a group and to tell us about how it has grown and flourishes.
Do you attend a book club and if so, what do you get out of it? For me, I know I am going to find myself reading some great books, I may not have otherwise read.
If you haven’t attended a book club before, do you know if there is one in your area? Would you go? You might be surprised how much you enjoy it.
Rebecca – Thanks very much for sharing your first book club experience. It sounds as though it was a terrific evening and I’m glad of that. There are book clubs in my area and for writers, book clubs can be a very effective way to get to know readers. I know authors for instance who’ve been invited to address book clubs and it can be a great experience.
I really did enjoy it Margot and as well as being a great place for readers, i do think they are great places for writers who read. We all love to read don’t we and that’s what it’s all about 🙂
What a wonderful experience Rebecca! It sounds like you had a great evening. I’ve never been to a book club, I guess I’ve always worried I won’t get the book finished in time, then this week I got an invitation to talk to a book club in a nearby town. It’s not until October but, after reading your post, I’m feeling quite excited! Thanks for sharing:))
That really is exciting Jane and I look forward to reading about your experience on your blog when you’ve been.
As for reading for the club. You have a month to read the book, so it’s plenty of time. I’m hoping so anyway!
Thanks for the wonderful review, Rebecca. I’m so glad that you both enjoyed it. That corridor down to the Studio is very atmospheric!
I’m also happy that you felt everyone’s opinion was heard, that’s very important in a book club. Not everyone is going to agree about a book and reader’s must be able to express their real feelings. Very often this has led to deeper insights.
Margot – we are one of those book clubs that invite authors to come and talk. So far we’ve had fabulous visits from Nicola Monaghan, Mark Charan Newton, Chris Nickson, Eve Makis and David Belbin. Book club members have been known to bake cakes especially for author visits!
I loved it Pam and I’m definitely going to love it if someone bakes cakes! 🙂
I’ve never attended a book club! Which is a weird realisation as I love books and my home is a fire hazard thanks to the volume I own.
One of the nice things that came out of the launch of Gunshot Glitter last week was a few people telling me they were going to suggest it as a read for theirs, which was wonderfully flattering.
My library is currently closed for refurbishment, but it is something that I will definitely consider attending. I remember a librarian showing me the forthcoming list of titles and making some suggestions to add to it.
I read East of Eden in my teens, I can’t recall much about it except that I liked it. I remember seeing the movie with James Dean in it, as I was going through a Smiths’ phase and checking out Morrissey’s idols!
I’m glad your visit as a fly on the wall was an enjoyable one. I enjoy anything that lets me express feelings and opinions; book clubs are a great way to get people involved with books beyond a personal level, that’s a good thing in my book : )
Having been in the book club meeting, I’m not sure I’d want to know what they thought of one of my books to be honest. the feelings on the book was so mixed. It’s always going to be because our tastes vary so much. I’ll let you know what I think of East of Eden!
I think it is just great that you are attending a book club. I always wanted to, but I just never had the guts.
Murees, you should go to one. I have always wanted to and now I have, I’m wish I had started earlier.
You should go for it Murees, or start your own. I have a friend who can’t make our meetings regularly due to her working hours. She started a book club I her home after attending mine and it’s doing really well. Have a look at http://www.newbooksmag.com they have a great starter kit for anyone wanting to start a book club.
I am so jealous! I’ve always wanted to join a book club but I don’t live anywhere near people who could participate. Thanks for your post.
Maybe you could start your own Clarissa?