Book Clubs... Yes or No?
Welcome to the Garden. I cannot believe it's May and getting close to summer. Wasn't it just yesterday that it was Christmas? It seems that time just flies. Anyway, grab some goodies and pour yourself your favorite beverage. Once you're seated let's discuss Book Clubs.
Are you in a book club? I had always wanted to belong to a book club. Alas, I was never invited so I decided to start my own book club and invited four non-writing friends, it's grown a bit, but we've been together for four years now.
As a writer it's been one of the most beneficial things I've done for my writing. I have a group of readers who tell it like it is, what they liked, what they didn't like. I've read books outside my comfort zone. Very good books that I would never have read otherwise.
It's also a lot of fun, good food, and good wine.
I've kept a Pinterest board of our books, I wanted to make sure we knew what we'd read. Also, I wanted to see what genre we favored. I'm not sure what the genre is, but our books are an eclectic mixture. From romance to horror, women's fiction to the classics. I can't say that I've enjoyed every book, but at least one person did out of the group each time. The books that everyone had different reactions too, had the best discussions.
I've also learned from these readers what absolutely not to do, and that is not to have a goal or point of the story. Make sure there is a reason for every scene. I found with these readers, if the author loses their reader's interest, then the book is set down and if it wasn't a book club book, it would not have been finished. Truth be told... sometimes they weren't finished.
I have had such fun and read such good books and had such success with my in-person book club, I have started an online book group. You're invited to join. We just started a new book. You can check it out here. The new book is: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini We'll be meeting on 7:30 pm (MST) June 14 through June 15 7:30 pm (MST). We leave the discussion open for 24 hours to accommodate time zones. And I've started a Pinterest Board for the group also.
Mary's Web site.
As a writer it's been one of the most beneficial things I've done for my writing. I have a group of readers who tell it like it is, what they liked, what they didn't like. I've read books outside my comfort zone. Very good books that I would never have read otherwise.
It's also a lot of fun, good food, and good wine.
I've kept a Pinterest board of our books, I wanted to make sure we knew what we'd read. Also, I wanted to see what genre we favored. I'm not sure what the genre is, but our books are an eclectic mixture. From romance to horror, women's fiction to the classics. I can't say that I've enjoyed every book, but at least one person did out of the group each time. The books that everyone had different reactions too, had the best discussions.
I've also learned from these readers what absolutely not to do, and that is not to have a goal or point of the story. Make sure there is a reason for every scene. I found with these readers, if the author loses their reader's interest, then the book is set down and if it wasn't a book club book, it would not have been finished. Truth be told... sometimes they weren't finished.
I have had such fun and read such good books and had such success with my in-person book club, I have started an online book group. You're invited to join. We just started a new book. You can check it out here. The new book is: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini We'll be meeting on 7:30 pm (MST) June 14 through June 15 7:30 pm (MST). We leave the discussion open for 24 hours to accommodate time zones. And I've started a Pinterest Board for the group also.
Mary's Web site.
Comments
And as I said I really get inside the readers head. It's really helped me.
Good luck,
Mary
It's called public transit to and from work. Otherwise I'd never have time. But I do enjoy it!
Thanks for dropping by!
Mary