Book Club

I am a member of a book club.  In fact, I'm a founding member.  A friend and I somehow came up with the idea to start a book club and invite a couple of friends who live nearby to join us.  I don't know how the general public feels about book clubs, but my favorite part about the book club is that it gives me an excuse to get together with a few friends once a month.  Sometimes, we even talk about the book we've chosen to discuss.  It often creates stress for me because I can be a procrastinator, and if I don't like the book too much, I find many things I'd rather do than read it.  Recently, it's been particularly hard for me to read because I've been working so hard on the printing and promotion of my own book.  But book clubs are good for reasons other than meeting your friends.

The way we run ours is that we suggest and select the books together.  This means that we all end up reading books that we might otherwise not have chosen to read.  It also means that we may not like the books.  Like English class, we force ourselves to read anyway.  Normally, I would not do this.  I have started many books I didn't like, but I don't finish them.  I have no qualms about deciding halfway through a book that I don't like it, and putting it away, forever.  Finishing the books, or at least trying to, is an excellent exercise for me as a writer.  It forces me to identify what I do and don't like about a book because I will actually have to articulate my feelings at book club. 

In my press release, I offer to join book clubs via Skype or telephone as they discuss my book.  I sure hope I get taken up on my offer, but I also hope that they're both honest and kind.