Slightly off topic but can I ask for your views on book clubs?

[CreatedANewName]

I belong to one.
I joined for social reasons mainly (change in my circs and needed local friends.) But after 2 years I think I've had enough. And no one gets together out of the meetings anyway.

In all that time I have enjoyed about 3-4 books out of all those we read.
It's one choice per month provided by a member.

I feel really disappointed as I love reading and am not short of books I want to read. But I've become tired of reading books I'd never normally choose and am wasting precious time reading them.

Anyone empathise?

I’ve only ever really been in one, which was while I was a doctoral student in literature, and was set up by a post-doc at another local university as part of her research. She chose the texts and it felt a bit more like a market research group — I drifted away after a few months because I felt like a guinea pig.

The other one I was on the fringes of was a village one, and I found it deeply annoying. People seemed to only ever say the same kind of thing about whatever the novel was — ‘Hard work’/‘I couldn’t get into it’/‘I didn’t mind this, actually’ — and then looked expectantly at the next person, after which they talked about their children, or the new person who’d taken over the pub.

I love the idea of them, but not so much the reality.

Have you got a local WI you could join? They often have book clubs but a mix of everything from Richard & Judy recommendations to world authors to biographies. You can dip in and out as you choose because the groups are quite fluid, and there's no pressure to go every single time. There are other social get-together options as well. It takes time to build new relationships, but many members join for the same reasons as you, so they're open to new friendships. You won't necessarily find your new BFF straightaway, but you'll be in a group of like-minded and supportive women who are open to trying new stuff.

I’m in one and I absolutely love it. There are 9 of us and the group has stayed the same size since the beginning although 3 members have left and 3 have filled their spaces.
We meet usually every 4-6 weeks depending on diaries, sometimes out for dinner or other times in houses when people want to host.
It’s primarily about the social aspect though, it’s not a serious literary book club. No pressure to read the book in all honesty, mostly 7 have read it, 1 is halfway through and 1 hasn’t had time to start it but we don’t care, just have a chat about it when we remember why we all got together! The last year, meetings have all been on zoom, it’s been a lovely way to keep in contact with everyone regularly.
It’s very low key.
I was once in a far more serious book club and it felt like an extension of school with one person ‘taking charge’ and firing off intense (book related) questions at people. I left that one because it just wasn’t for me, I wanted something a bit more fun and sociable. My friend wanted to start one so she did and it’s been great.
I’ve read loads of books that I’d never in a million years have picked up and it’s really broadened my reading horizons. Naturally I gravitate to thrillers but I’m more encouraged to pick up and buy other things too. I’ve found some of my favourite books during the last 10 years of it! We are planning a trip away for our 100th book and had a really fancy meal out for the 50th, hired a place with a private dining sort of experience.

I joined a couple of zoom book clubs this plague year, and found them extremely interesting. I've not always liked the books others have suggested, but I've found it very interesting to read them and to pinpoint exactly why I haven't liked them. Hearing other views really helps me understand what didn't like in a book -- and sometimes I've even changed my mind and realised I've misread or misunderstood a book.

Having said that, we've focussed on modern(ish) classic literature -- Wolf Hall, Portrait of the Artist, 100 years of Solitude kind of thing. I think a lot of dross does get published today and I doubt I'd find it interesting having to keep up with that kind of stuff.

I don't love reading enough to be arsed to read books that I'm not enjoying....

So no, I wouldn't join a book club unless it was more about the wine......

I think book clubs are the perfect opportunity to meet people. It is a chance to talk about what you have read, recommend/not recommend a book and have fun.

Plus you can always expand to foreign books in other languages like French for example. Also book clubs are a good way for like minded people to bond over something in common and make friends. You can even debate the wider issues of books and really do a critical analysis of a novel in detail as well.

This is a interesting thread BTW.

I don't understand how you find a book club. I'm in London and the only ones advertised are either full with huge waiting lists, or seem very weird - think hundreds of rules!

(If this message turns out to be in a purple box please could someone explain to me how to make a normal comment with a white background? How feeble of me.) I belong to a group and sometimes I don't read the book and sometimes I wish for a bit more talk about the book, but on the whole I am very pleased I joined as it's introduced me to several good books. It's pushed me in a nice way.

I'd suggest trying to find another book club. Some of my favourite ever books have been chosen by others in the group that I either wouldn't have known about or dreamt of buying after reading the blurb.
There have only been a couple I've read a third of and given up on.
One of the 'rules' in our club is that it has to have been out long enough to be able to get cheap 2nd hand from eBay

@upinaballoon

(If this message turns out to be in a purple box please could someone explain to me how to make a normal comment with a white background? How feeble of me.) I belong to a group and sometimes I don't read the book and sometimes I wish for a bit more talk about the book, but on the whole I am very pleased I joined as it's introduced me to several good books. It's pushed me in a nice way.

The purple box just means it’s your post; it shows up white for everyone else. It’s a handy way of finding your own posts quickly in a long thread.

I have been a member of a couple of book clubs and whilst I find it frustrating that nobody but me really wants to analyse the books and at least one person never reads them because she is "too busy", I accept that their main function is as a get together for a group of women who mostly would not see each other otherwise.

I would recommend Rare Birds Book Club for anyone who wants a bit of variety and likes reading female authors. I've been a member for a few months and it's fab!

Here's their website if anyone wants to find out more: www.rarebirdsbookclub.com ❤️

I am in one and struggle with it to be honest. There is one person who takes over and gets a bit shitty if her recommendation is not agreed to Every Single Month. It has become a bit angsty at times. There is another member who writes essays on whatever book and insists on reading them to us like it is a book report in High school. And the ethos is if you do not read the book all the way through then you are not welcome. last year when I was trying to homeschool 2 DCs, plus work full time plus plus plus and sometimes I could not actually finish the book. It was considered extremely bad form to then turn up on the night.

I am thinking of dumping the club to be honest.

My sister is in one and they meet up in the local pub (pre covid) so there is no pressure to provide food or have a clean house, which would suit me. I am thinking of setting one up in my area and i like the idea from a pp of us all bringing a book we have read to discuss and then swap, even for the first couple of sessions, that sounds like more fun than everyone reading one persons pick. I am not sure where to start though.

@BlueLobelia

I am in one and struggle with it to be honest. There is one person who takes over and gets a bit shitty if her recommendation is not agreed to Every Single Month. It has become a bit angsty at times. There is another member who writes essays on whatever book and insists on reading them to us like it is a book report in High school. And the ethos is if you do not read the book all the way through then you are not welcome. last year when I was trying to homeschool 2 DCs, plus work full time plus plus plus and sometimes I could not actually finish the book. It was considered extremely bad form to then turn up on the night.

I am thinking of dumping the club to be honest.

That sounds more like a university seminar. I would knock that one on the head for sure.

@myfuckingfreezer

I don't understand how you find a book club. I'm in London and the only ones advertised are either full with huge waiting lists, or seem very weird - think hundreds of rules!

@myfuckingfreezer have you tried looking on Meet-up? 🙂

@languagelover96

I think book clubs are the perfect opportunity to meet people. It is a chance to talk about what you have read, recommend/not recommend a book and have fun.

Plus you can always expand to foreign books in other languages like French for example. Also book clubs are a good way for like minded people to bond over something in common and make friends. You can even debate the wider issues of books and really do a critical analysis of a novel in detail as well.

This is a interesting thread BTW.

@languagelover96 I completely agree with this 👍🏻❤️

@OnwardsEverStridingOnwards
Yes meet-up was full of weird rules one, or ones who never approved my joining! It's a mind field!

[quote myfuckingfreezer]@OnwardsEverStridingOnwards
Yes meet-up was full of weird rules one, or ones who never approved my joining! It's a mind field![/quote]
@myfuckingfreezer yeah, that can be a problem on there. The girly book club is a good one. I was a member for a couple of years (our branch disbanded and we formed a smaller group) there's a branch in London.

Here's the link if you want to find out more: uk.thegirlybookclub.com/london/ 🙂

Appropriate Adult, thank you for explaining my purple box perplexity.

I love my book club but we have ended up with a few too many people now so it turns into more of a gossip session and less about the book. The original founding members (including me) are trying to pull it back a bit by asking book club questions, which is a bit geeky, but otherwise it's not really about the book. We all take it turns to chose a book and either do it in a bar or someone's house/garden. I love the ones where I haven't enjoyed the book that much but then talking about it and heating other people's views, makes me look at it differently.

I'm in the perfect book group for me.
We meet in a pub. It happens to all be women, all but one have kids. We are all roughly the same age (late 30s-50s). The women who wanted to read it and have read it turn up and chat for about an hour about it, the characters etc. Sometimes some people turn up who haven't read/finished it, but they're not precious about spoilers.
Then we all stop book talk and just chat. Several of them are old friends but they welcome newcomers. So far the book suggestions have been 80% what I might have read anyway.
If I don't want to read the book I turn up for a pint or don't go.
It's not too literary, not much interpretation of the text or analysis of themes etc (none of us are up for that) and much more 'God remember the bit where... [gasp]'

As I say, it's perfect for me, but not to everyone's taste.

I've never been part of an official book club, but may join one one day! I find I am very particular with what I read, so a book club would force me to branch out. My DM was part of one where only about half the people (including her) read the book, and it was mostly chat, but they were mostly already friends.
Having said that, I was part of a two-person book club, if you can call it that. A friend and I found we had similar fiction and nonfiction interests. It was towards the middle of last year and gave us something to look forward to during the pandemic: we would speak on the phone, talk about our common book as part of the conversation but move onto other things. I really liked it. There was no pressure. I knew that because we both agreed to the book, we would hold ourselves accountable for reading it, but at the same time, if one of us hadn't finished one of the books yet it was no big deal, we still had plenty of other things to talk about. I would highly recommend it!

I'm in a very easygoing one, we spend more time chatting than actually discussing the book. there's been a couple of books I haven't been into but mostly I find it a great way to discover books I might not otherwise read and have read additional books by some of the authors.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot

I'd suggest trying to find another book club. Some of my favourite ever books have been chosen by others in the group that I either wouldn't have known about or dreamt of buying after reading the blurb. There have only been a couple I've read a third of and given up on. One of the 'rules' in our club is that it has to have been out long enough to be able to get cheap 2nd hand from eBay

We also have a rule that it has to be out in paperback or be on a kindle special offer. We don't go for anything brand new in hard back.