Book Club Tales

Once upon a time, our community had a book club. The organizer found out I'm an author and talked me into joining the group. We met once a month, as you do. Voted on which books to read. The group always picked two books so you'd have a choice of what to read and then divided the group along the lines of who read what. Then we sat around and talked about them. Indoors. Seated right next to one another. As if we had nothing in the world to fear. It was the before times.

Yeah Covid shut us all done and dealt a fatal blow to the group. Too many of our members were elderly or immune-compromised. In an active community with a population that skews pretty hard to retirees, the book club was a social haven for our neighbors with mobility issues or who are fighting cancer. So even after vaccinations and options to meet outdoors, the group never recovered and there is no book club in my neighborhood these days.

I liked the book club and I disliked the book club.

I liked that one of the books changed a woman's mind about what it means to be transgender. She'd firmly believed it was all nonsense. The book we read got her inside a transgender child's misery and their parents' struggles to comprehend and finally help the child thrive. If a book can engender compassion, that's power and I'm entirely here for that.

I disliked the book club because book clubs only want to read *important* books. You know. Oprah books. Literary books. Genre fiction isn't allowed. I could nominate as many genre fics as I wanted (don't think I didn't). They were never voted for. Not even as alternates. I'd gotten maybe three books into this book club deal and had pretty much decided it Was Not For Me (tm) when the pandemic handled the matter. Though I note that if we'd managed to keep a club going during the pandemic, I'm comfortably certain the members would have been more amenable to lightening the mood with some genre fiction.

My problem is that high school put me off reading literary books. It's just that I paid good money to big pharma and therapists over the years to stop being depressed and literary books depress me. Some of them are brilliant and uplifting and lovely. Water for Elephants comes to mind. But for the most part, literary books aren't invested in character arcs and I want to believe in the power of the individual to change. That's the appeal of genre fiction for me. I have yet to find a book club anywhere that wanted to read Murderbot stories. So I'll stick with genre fiction in my quiet corner of solitude where I can read the happy and the fun. Preferably SF, Romance, Fantasy, PNR, Steampunk - whatever my weird little heart takes a shine to. If I find a no pressure, come as you are book club that wants to stick to guaranteed HEA books, I'd be tempted to join. Until then, Twitter fandoms will be my clubs. 

Book Clubs - Love 'Em or Leave 'Em?

 Introducing my new supervisor: Killian! He loves being present for the podcast, this blog, and morning wordcount, though he has a tendency to fall asleep on the job. Still, I have high expectations and the Cuteness Quotient™ is off the charts. 

This week at the SFF Seven we're talking book clubs. We're asking each other what bookish groups we belong to and what do they provide?

Like KAK, my answer is: none.

Oh, I have belonged to book clubs in the past. I was in one for a while back when we lived in Wyoming - though it was, in part, a thinly veiled subterfuge to get people to read MY newly published book. Which they did! And discussed, which was fun. Mission accomplished. 

Otherwise... I don't love being in a book club. It's fun to chat with people and I love to talk about books. Book clubs are, however, rather noteworthy for not actually discussing the books (or reading them) and devolving into gossip instead. I'm also a steady reader, finishing a book every two-three days, so I don't need incentive to read. I find I don't like "required reading" either. One cool thing about book clubs is they get you to read books you otherwise wouldn't; they also get you to read books you otherwise wouldn't because you don't want to. While I know there are genre book clubs out there, most tend toward the erudite and fashionable books, and not the kind of thing I love to read. 

Besides which, I can always find people to discuss the books I *do* love to read. Or there's always the cats. Killian's reading comprehension needs work still, but he's an excellent listener. 

Book Club: Talking to Me, Myself, and I

 Happy New Year from all of us here at the SFF Seven!

This week's topic: To what bookish groups do I belong and what do they provide?

rubs neck

looks askance

This is a great moment to remind our dear readers that each member of the SFF Seven contributes 7+ topics to our annual programming calendar. This allows each of us to not only ask questions of our fellow bloggers, but also to offer you--our readers--different perspectives based on where we are in our publishing careers, which paths we've taken, and how our genres influence our decisions and experiences. 

Back to the weekly question.

Hi. My name is KAK, and I'm a recluse. I, uh, am not a member of a book club. Neither IRL nor online. AITA? Hope not. I love the concept of book clubs...for other people. Whether a book is actually discussed amongst attendees or if the book is just an excuse to get together, book groups are a wonderful means of facilitating deeper relationships. As an author, to have my book be the topic of discussion would be amazing. To be invited as a guest speaker is quite an honor. As a reader, however, the only conversations I have about a book are with me, myself, and I...okay, and perhaps with the wildlife who have the misfortune of being near whilst I'm in the throes of dissecting plot progression and character development. 

What about you? Do you belong to a book club? Online? IRL? Active participant or lurker? Tell me all, tell me everything...in the comments.