Book Club Experience

I was really excited about this week’s assignment because I had never attended a book club before. I had to find a book club that fit my work schedule which was honestly the most difficult part of this assignment. I work in the afternoons and evenings, so I had to find a book club that meets in the mornings. This led me to a book club hosted by a library in Indianapolis (I will omit the name of the branch for the sake of anonymity). Before this experience, I had never been to this specific branch before, so I was a little nervous and did not know entirely what to expect.

The book club meets once a month and discusses a different book each month. I am not 100% certain but I am pretty sure the books are usually fiction. The pick for March was Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. I had read Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng a few years ago so I was familiar with her work. I read the book beforehand so I could participate in the discussion. Our Missing Hearts is a dystopian novel that discusses themes relevant to today’s society. It was obvious to me that this novel (written in 2022) was largely inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic. After reading the novel, I was really interested to see how this conversation would go because the novel brings up some pretty heavy topics.  

The book club was hosted in a small conference room with tables arranged in a square. This allowed participants the ability to see everyone during the meeting. The group was entirely women who all seemed to be of retirement age. I expected this outcome because of how early the book club met. It was a small group of nine people including myself and two librarians. There were not any snacks or drinks included but there was a table located in the front of the room that held a sign-in sheet, a sheet with discussion questions, a bookmark with future book club dates printed on it (along with the month’s book titles) and a stack of next month’s book pick. I found this setup to be well-organized and helpful for someone new to the club. The only person who officially greeted me was the librarian moderating the meeting. I was given a paper nameplate so I could display my name in front of me (everyone in the book club had one as well). 

Once everyone was seated, we pretty much jumped straight into the discussion. I was a little disappointed that introductions weren’t made because while everyone already knew each other, it was very obvious that I was a newcomer. I felt a bit awkward for the first ten minutes or so and did not know how to seamlessly incorporate myself into the conversation. I eventually decided to get past my nerves and contribute to the conversation. I chimed in a few times during the hour-long meeting, but I didn’t want to overpower the conversation, so I mostly observed and listened. There was a sheet of discussion questions provided which the moderator used in the beginning to start the conversation, but they did not stick to these questions throughout the meeting. Everyone participated in the discussion of the novel, but two members dominated the conversation. One woman, in particular, would go on rants throughout the meeting and the librarian in charge of the book club did not do much to steer the conversation back on track. After the meeting, she did tell me that this group of women tend to get off track a little and because of that, it may not be your typical book club. She and I did agree that sometimes this can make the conversations more natural and it's not always a negative thing. I also found out that it was the librarian’s first time hosting the book club by herself (she previously would attend but not lead) so I do not want to be too critical because I can imagine moderating a book club is something that takes time and practice. 

Even though sometimes the conversation would get off track, the discussion surrounding the novel was insightful and engaging. The book has some pretty strong political themes throughout so I was nervous that the conversation may steer in an uncomfortable direction, but everyone for the most part was respectful and had some really insightful comments about the book. The general consensus was that everyone enjoyed the book and liked that the ending was a bit open-ended and up for interpretation.

At the end of the meeting, I stayed after to talk to the librarian moderating the book club and the other librarian who was in attendance. I told them how this was my first book club experience and that I am a graduate student in the Library and Information Science program. This sparked more conversation and they seemed genuinely excited when I mentioned this was for a Reader's Advisory class. They both invited me back for next month's meeting which I really appreciated. I'm not sure this book club is the perfect fit for me but I might attend again if my schedule permits it!