Once upon a time, there was a city with many book clubs. The book clubs met once a month to discuss the previous month’s selected reading. Some book clubs were new, some had been around since the dawn of time (better known as the 1980s); some had rules about actually reading the book, others were more lax and enjoyed socializing. Some book clubs had members who were in their 20s, while others reached their 90s. Some allowed just men, others only women.
While the book clubs had many differences, they all shared a love for reading (and eating snacks).
While we’re sure many more book clubs exist in Concord, we talked to representatives from seven of them. They shared their deepest, darkest book club secrets and offered advice for some fledgling groups.
We’re sure you’ll be utterly engrossed by their responses.
The Katie List Honorary Book Club
Club ambassador: Pete Bowman
Years running: Three
Age range: 23 – 40
Does your book club have a name? It not, what would it be called?
Well, since our founder moved away, we have christened our group the “Katie List Honorary Book Club.” It used to be called “The Katie List Memorial Book Club,” but this seemed to upset Katie, since it implied that she is dead. She is definitively not dead. She is in Texas. There is a difference.
Are you accepting new members?
We welcome any and all to the club. There are no criteria for admittance, although we’d prefer not to have complete jerks in the group.
What do you do with the folks who preface every sentence with, “Now I haven’t read the book, but . . .”
I don’t mind it, really. If someone has bothered to show up when they haven’t read the book, that usually means that they are interested in the topic and will be likely to participate in subsequent meetings.
However, if this person was particularly obnoxious, or showed up at every meeting not having read the book, they might be quietly dropped from the list.
Are people using new technology like the Kindle or iPad?
Well, there is one member in particular (you know who you are) who is a big Kindle user, but most everyone else is still stuck the dead tree world.
What sets your book club apart from all the other book clubs in Concord?
Well, I don’t really know anything about any other book clubs in Concord, so I couldn’t really say. But if I had to choose, I would say it’s our sexy, swinging attitude! (That is a joke.)
Heritage Heights Area 7 Ladies Book Club
Club ambassador: Jean Robbins
Years running: 2
Age range: 80s – 90s
How was your book club born?
Several women in our area decided we needed a vehicle to bring us together on a regular basis. Book discussion groups are a great way to build community and learn about each other.
What are the criteria for choosing a book?
We ask for input from all members, but a few of us seem to take the challenge of recommending books to read.
What tips do you have for a novice book club?
Try to limit your membership to 10. In our case it’s difficult because when new residents move into our area we want to include them.
Is it possible to revive a dying book club?
I think there are times you have to let go.
What sets your book club apart from the other book clubs in Concord?
Our years have provided a myriad of life experiences to bring to our discussions. We have members who have traveled broadly. . . . We have a former hospital nurse, a travel agent, a teacher, a minister, a cosmetologist (who heard all the dirt), a school principal, a chief nurse for the World Health Organization, a legal assistant, an occupational therapist and one member who’s still working. What stories we have to share!
Gibson's Book Club
Club ambassadors: Deb Baker and Michael Hermann
Years running: 12
Age range: Teens to seniors
What are some of best/worst books you’ve read?
Best: Sebastian Barry’s “A Long, Long Way,” Worst: “American Bloomsbury”(by Susan Cheever).
Is it always the same people who decide what to read next?
Our August meeting is for deciding the next year’s books, and anyone can recommend one. It’s a very organic process, and we just talk until we have a consensus.
How do you ensure people stay on topic?
We usually don’t get off topic until we’ve been talking for an hour or two about the book. When we start solving the world’s problems, we know it’s time to wrap up and go home.
How often do you meet?
Second Monday of the month at 7 p.m. Next meeting is July 12.
Are people using new technology like the Kindle or iPad?
As booksellers, we sure hope not!
Book Friends
Club ambassador: Anne Wilkinson
Years running: 11
Age range: Early 40s to 60.
How do you choose your books?
We get input from members, recommendations from members or things we have heard about (from) book lists . . . bookstore recommendations, and we’ve read all of the Concord Reads recommendations.
How do you ensure people stay on topic during discussions?
Part of what makes our group special is that we talk about family, work, travels, children, grandchildren, parents, porces, deaths – it is all part of our group.
What tips do you have for a novice book club?
Be good participants – listen and talk, get books that have interest for all, take the time to read the books so you can participate. Use the guides that often come with the books or (the) internet.
Do you allow new members?
We do allow new members. . . . We talk about it beforehand.
What were some club favorites?
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society,” (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows); “Peace Like a River” (Leif Enger); “When the Emperor Was Divine” (Julie Otsuka); “The Kite Runner” (Khaled Hosseiniand); a few of us loved “Anna Karenina”(Leo Tolstoy).
Epic Curious! Book Club
Ambassador: Dot Fournier
Years running: 4
Age range: 34 – 55-ish
What are some of best/worst books you’ve read?
We vote annually for the best/worst books and have decided that the worst included “My Happy Life” by Lydia Millet and “The Last Chicken in America” by Ellen Litman. The best included “A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry and “Kavalier & Clay” by Michael Chabon.
How do you choose a book?
Each member takes turn to choose the book and to host the meeting. The book must be one that no member has read previously.
How do you ensure people stay on topic during discussions?
We don’t! We free associate all meeting long!
Let’s talk food: What are some of your book club’s favorite snacks?
Each meeting is centered around a meal inspired by the book, e.g., “A Fine Balance” inspired a delectable, sumptuous Indian cuisine to die for!
Are there any books that have nearly killed your book club?
No, even an awful book is made better with a great meal – and every meeting has a great meal!
South End Men’s Auxiliary Book Group
Group ambassador: Tom Fredenburg
Years running: 12
Age range: Mid-50s – 60s
Do you allow new members? Is there criteria for letting them in?
We haven’t had a new member in about 8 years, and those two guys are still on probation – there is a strong reluctance to upset the balance we’ve achieved. I once brought up the name of someone who wanted in, and the idea was promptly shouted down – that person went on to form his own group, which we refer to as the junior varsity.
How/when was your book club born?
About 12 years ago, when several husbands in Concord’s desirable South End saw how much fun their wives’ book group was. . . . We celebrated our hundredth book a couple of years ago, and were mocked by our wives for counting our books.
How do you ensure people stay on topic during discussions?
What a ridiculous idea – if we’re talking about something interesting, who cares if it’s on topic? No one yells “digression!” We gossip for a just a few minutes at the beginning, until someone brings up the book.
What are some of your group’s favorite snacks?
Is there a reason for anything other than chips and dip? . . . Host buys the beer. If possible, we try to find a beer that relates to the book in some way. We always have some Pabst’s Blue Ribbon on hand, as anyone who admits to not finishing the book is assigned to drink PBR (but just one) as penance.
What do you do with the folks who preface every sentence with, “Now I haven’t read the book, but . . .”
Don’t remember that ever happening. I once tried to fake my way through a meeting when I hadn’t read the book – it took only a few references to “theme and exposition,” and “symbolic as distinct from allegorical,” before they caught me.
Are people using new technology like the Kindle or iPad?
Two members brought their Kindles to a recent meeting – unfortunately, one fellow’s Kindle was bigger than the other’s, and for guys (in case you didn’t know), that can cause significant friction.
What sets your book club apart from the other book clubs in Concord?
We’re all guys, of a certain age – for the most part, we don’t socialize outside of book group. In 12 years, we’ve had heart attacks, cancer, layoffs, retirements, and for most of us it’s one of the more meaningful interactions in our lives.
The Couples Book Club
Club Ambassador: Lynda Lamarre-Vincent
Years running: 23
Age range: 45 – 60-ish
How/when was your book club born?
It was either the Age of Aquarius or a dark and stormy night on the cocktail circuit, when a pregnant pause fell over the dangling conversation and someone blurted out “You just have to read . . .”
Do you allow new members? Is there criteria for letting them in?
No one has been willing to cough up the price of admission in years! But seriously, we allowed in new members in 1984, 1987 and most recently 1994. There is an optimal number for living room conversation that is somewhere between 7 and 12.
What are some of the best/worst books you’ve read?
With an average of 9 books a year for over 25 years it’s impossible to select the books that we would collectively select as the “best.”. . . As to “worst” books we find that even the duds provide great opportunity for spirited and intense discussion (at least most of them). And then there’s “Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals” by Robert Pirsig.
What tips do you have for a novice book club?
Decide on two or more books in advance, set the date, send out a notice immediately. During the meetings ensure that the shy Norwegian farmers in the group get air time during the discussion. Record names of books not chosen – they have a way of coming up again and again. Don’t be afraid of Russians, economists, philosophers, feminists or Cormac McCarthy.
Are there any books that have nearly killed your book club?
Books don’t kill book clubs, but cocktail chitchat and superficiality do. We are tougher than any book – and are willing to concede defeat if we can’t get collective momentum around a discussion. We joined together to read, to discuss and argue (without animosity) and to be intellectually challenged by ideas. Our creative disagreements deepen the respect we have for each other and add invaluable reality and energy to the evening.
Is it possible to revive a dying book club?
Book clubs on life support should have Do Not Resuscitate orders. Get over it. Move on. Start a new group. Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug!
