Ten Books I Discovered Because of Book Club

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic is "Books I Bought/Borrowed Because..." I get recommendations from a lot of sources — friends, podcasts, people I follow on Goodreads — so I don't always remember the reason I borrowed a particular book by the time I read it. My book club reads, however, are memorable for the conversations we have, and also I have a special tag for them in Goodreads. I've been in different numbers of book clubs at different times, as many as four at once; currently two of mine are still active. Here are ten books I probably wouldn't have read if it weren't for one of my book clubs!

1. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
The co-organizer of my online book club did her doctorate research on representations of police shootings in YA literature (sorry, Eli, if I butchered that explanation) and nominated this book for discussion. In some ways it's very carefully crafted to share a message — as opposed to the authentically messy edges of The Hate U Give — but I appreciated how well done it was.

2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Although I struggled with a lot of aspects of this book, it had some fascinating world-building aspects and plays around with gendered language in interesting ways. As mentioned previously, I don't read a lot of sci-fi, so it always pushes me out of my comfort zone when my fellow book club members choose sci-fi books to read.

3. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
This one I think I'd heard of prior to it being nominated for book club, but I don't think I would have picked it up on my own. It wove together several different aspects I greatly enjoyed: discussions of the books Schwalbe and his mother read and discussed at the end of her life, an overview of her very fascinating life, and philosophical musings on life mixed with the practicalities of her end-of-life care. I'm very glad book club pushed me to read this one.

4. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
You guys, this book destroyed me. I thought it would be similar to some other memoirs I'd read from Holocaust survivors, but it was powerful and moving in a way I did not expect. If I remember correctly, this was nominated by someone who never actually came to the book club discussion, and it probably wouldn't have been chosen by any of our regular attendees, but I am very glad that it ended up getting chosen.

5. Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufman
If I'd read the description of this book on my own, I definitely would have skipped over it — who wants to read a whole book about birding? Turns out, it was a great opportunity to learn a lot about a hobby I knew very little about, while also enjoying an interesting travel memoir and getting some valuable philosophical reflections on how we spend our time as humans. These kinds of books are the reason I love my book clubs!

6. Mink River by Brian Doyle
I never ended up getting to go to the book club discussion for this book because I came down with the flu, but I was glad to have read it regardless! It was the first of Doyle's work that I read, and although I never got to meet him when we worked at the same university, I was glad to have read something of his before his sudden passing. I've since read some of his nonfiction, and I like this novel the best.

7. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
This is a profile of the astonishing co-founder of the Partners in Health global health organization. He brings a perspective on the inherent worth of every individual human being that seems almost foolhardy in the field of global health, but it's absolutely compelling. I think this book would be particularly interesting to read again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way that deaths are talked about as an inevitability and a statistic.

8. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
This was one of the first books I ever read for the in-person book club that I've now been part of for more than six years. It's the kind of slow, meandering historical fiction that I don't tend to favor myself, but the writing was beautiful and evocative and the characters were the beating heart of the book.

9. Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild
This book was published right before the 2016 election, so it wasn't written to "explain" Trump's win, but as my book club read it in early 2018 it was obvious why Trump would have appealed to the individuals profiled in this book. It's a hard, hard book if you're a progressive like me, but it did shed some light on why some people disliked Obama so much and why traditional liberal appeals don't work with a subset of people who distrust anyone trying to make them feel a certain way about other people.

10. When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him
Funnily enough, I was the one who nominated this book for book club, but I would never have discovered it if it weren't for that month's book club category, which was books that had won the Oregon Book Award. I looked up the list of winners and then checked them each out on Goodreads and this one looked like the best option. It was the first book I'd read about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia and I appreciated the chance to hear a first-person account from someone who'd lived through it.

Are you in a book club? What books has it led you to discover?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Search Inside Yourself
Five years ago I was reading: These Is My Words, Mary Poppins, Angle of Repose, and Boxers
Ten years ago I was reading: Bird in Hand and Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Top Ten Bookworm Delights

I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic is about book-related experiences in our life that make us happy. Here are ten of mine!

1. BOOK CLUBS
I'm in two book clubs. I used to be in four book clubs but two of them stopped meeting. I have to prevent myself from joining more book clubs because I will never have time to read what I want to read otherwise. But I love talking about books so much! Unless you read a super-popular book, it can be hard to find other people who've read the same book you just finished and want to talk about it.

2. Being asked for book recommendations
I love giving people recommendations. I prefer when they have a specific genre in mind, because otherwise I end up going, "Here are 15 of my favorite books!" because hey, I don't know which ones they've read before or what they're going to be in the mood for! Being the go-to person among my friends for recommending good books makes me super happy. More than one person has told me that books I recommend always go to the top of their to-read list!

3. People following up later about books I recommended
Even more than recommending books, I love when people already read the books I recommend and then tell me what they thought! It's nice to have that follow-up anyway, and then we can actually discuss the book (which is my favorite — see #1). Even if they didn't like it as much as I thought they would, talking about it lets me know how to better recommend books to them in the future.

4. Getting a personal book recommendation that is actually spot-on
I read a lot, and so I know that the range of books that other people love and want to recommend can fall anywhere from true love to utter hatred for me. People have such different tastes that I can be skeptical about getting recommendations from someone who doesn't know my reading style that well and just thinks I'll like what they like. That's why it's such a joy when someone personally recommends a book to me and it turns out to be one that I love!

5. Finding someone who shared my feelings (love or hate) about a book
When I finish a book that I have strong feelings about, I need the validation of knowing that I'm not the only one who feels that way. Goodreads is great for getting that validation, but even better is finding someone in person who's read the book I'm talking about and knows exactly what I mean about it.

6. Finding someone who likes the same lesser-known author I do
Do you know how excited I was the first time I found someone else who not only knew who David Eddings was but was a fan of his books? As much as I love introducing people to a great author they've never heard of, it's even better when I find someone who already shares my love for that author's work.

7. Getting my library to buy a digital copy of a book I want to read
Reading in digital formats has caused me to read way more than I did before, and I'm more likely to start a book if I can download it. When I discovered that OverDrive has a feature that allows you to recommend which books your library should have in its digital collection, it was basically life-changing. They don't buy every book I recommend (obviously), but they've bought almost 90 different books because I recommended them, which is amazing!

8. Finishing a book in the nick of time
I squeeze a lot of reading in around the rest of my life, but it's so frustrating when I only have a few pages left in a book and I have to stop reading. On the flip side, it's satisfying when I have only a few more minutes and then find myself on the last page of the book — then I can leave the world of the book behind and focus on what's next in my day without wondering about how everything ends.

9. Reading every book on a list of recommendations
It was fun to finally check off the last book on the list of classics I'd had since middle school. I haven't found another list on Goodreads or List Challenges where I've read every book, but on many the only ones missing are on my to-read list, so I'll get there eventually!

10. Fan art about reading or favorite books
Sometimes you just have to share your love of reading with the world. Some of the things on my birthday list for this year are this custom ideal bookshelf print (assuming I can confidently settle on the list of books), this Borges quote T-shirt, this "I Heart Books" T-shirt, and this Dillard quote poster. So fun!

What delights you as a bookworm?

Ten Books I'd Love to Read (or Have Read) With My Book Club(s)

I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for another Top Ten Tuesday.

I didn't mean to take a long break there, but it turns out taking care of a baby takes up lots of time ;) Also I went out of town last weekend. Also I got sick. So, you know, life.

This week's topic is books I would love to read with my book club. As I've mentioned, I belong to multiple book clubs, each with a different focus. I'll share some books that my book clubs have read, some that I've suggested for future reads should my book clubs choose to vote to read them, and others that I think would be good for discussion.

1. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Two of my book clubs have read this, although I missed the second one's discussion because I was sick. Not only is it an excellent book, but the variety of stories that interweave to make up this book mean that it's likely there will be something that resonates with each person. There are a lot of great themes to discuss: family, promises, class and privilege, culture.

2. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
I haven't read this in a long time, but I loved it and I bet it would be great for discussion. It takes place in a small town at the turn of the 20th century, and the characters have interesting and complex relationships that would be wonderful to talk about.

3. "Does Jesus Really Love Me?" by Jeff Chu
This is a journalistic exploration of the many ways people have handled the intersections of faith and sexual orientation, from ex-gay therapy to celibacy, from mixed-orientation marriage to same-sex marriage. Chu manages to be (mostly) nonjudgmental, even when interviewing someone from Westboro Baptist, and this book helped me and the members of my book club be more open-minded to different people's life choices.

4. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
This is another favorite of mine somewhat similar to Cold Sassy Tree. It deals with some darker subjects (animal abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse), but it's actually a really heartwarming (and heartbreaking) story. I want to reread it, but I'd love to have other people to help process all the emotions this time around.

5. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
One of best books I read in 2014, this is a compelling story, plus one of the main characters is based on a historical figure (Sarah Grimké). The characters' choices would make for a great discussion.

6. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
This is my favorite book, and two of my book clubs have read and enjoyed this book on my recommendation. A surprising number of people felt deeply connected to the characters for one reason or other, and you can talk both about the characters' various decisions and about the larger themes permeating the book related to trust and family.

7. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
I don't think anyone in my book club had heard of this book before, but they all said they liked it after we read it on my recommendation. Through Marcelo's experiences as someone who struggles with social cues, the reader is forced to question why we have certain unspoken social expectations, and whether doing the right thing is always as obvious as we like to think it is.

8. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
This is another book that deals with heavy subject matter — the narrator stopped talking after a terrible thing happened to her — but it is rich with opportunities for good conversation. Anderson's ability to steep the book in symbolism without it ever being heavy-handed was amazing to me. I'd love to reread this with a book club.

9. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
This was originally recommended to me by someone in one of my book clubs. I've shared my love for this book previously on here and have recommended it to more than one of my book clubs, but we've yet to read it as a group. After the Slate Audio Book Club had a great discussion about it, I'm sure it would be good fodder for any book club.

10. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Another favorite of 2014, this book would be excellent to read with my book club that's made up of women in their 20s and 30s. Moriarty is the master of capturing the drama of everyday life, and this book deals largely with how relationships (marriage, friendships, family) develop over time, not always for the best. Big Little Lies would probably be great as well, but I'd recommend this one for discussion first.

What books should I recommend to my book clubs next?

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What Makes a Good Book Club?

Last week I wrote about my four book clubs and how they're organized. Before settling on these, I tried out some other local book clubs that ultimately didn't work for me. By now, I have some opinions on what makes a book club work well — and what makes me peace out after only one meeting.

Picking a good location
Finding the right location can be difficult, particularly if you have a large group. Many places with private rooms charge for the use of them, and you may not want to have to charge dues to members in order to afford use of the space every month. For my local book club who recently had to move after the restaurant whose back room we'd used for years closed down, one of the organizers negotiated with a local restaurant for use of their private space every month in exchange for a minimum $5 purchase from each participant. This is not ideal, but it's better than nothing. I've attended book clubs that just met in a regular restaurant and got a table for the 10-15 people who showed up, and it was so loud and everyone was so far away from each other that having any sort of coherent discussion was next to impossible.

I prefer having a consistent location for every meeting vs. meeting in a new location each time, but that may be because I personally find it stressful to go to a new place where I have to find my way, figure out parking, etc. It's also nice to find a place that has good, reliable service and not have to take a risk every time. After the one club's meeting spot closed down, we tried a new place a few times, but they were rarely ready for us, the service was slow, and the last time we went they charged everyone the wrong amounts. If we hadn't changed locations again after that, I was ready to quit.

Actually discussing the book
This is the No. 1 reason I haven't gone back to several book clubs I tried. If I take the time to read a book in order to discuss it, and then commit an hour or two of my time to a book club meeting, I want to talk about the book! Yes, it's nice to get to know people, but once everyone's settled there needs to be a call to order and an intentional start to the discussion. I went to one book club meeting that was almost two hours long (from the time I sat down until the time I paid my bill and could leave) and we spent 5, maybe 10 minutes of that time actually talking about the book. Other than that, it could have been any happy hour get-together, with people talking about their lives, their favorite places to eat, and so on. If I wanted to make small talk for two hours, I would have sought out some other social group, not a book club.

Having a discussion plan
Some books are going to lend themselves to immediate discussion topics, but most will need a kick to get the discussion started. Hearing everyone's initial reactions (which could be as simple as "would recommend"/"would not recommend") is a good way to make sure everyone gets to contribute, and also lends itself to follow-up questions about specific elements that people liked or didn't like. A good organizer will have some discussion questions ready to throw out if needed and will also know when the discussion has been exhausted and it's time to wrap up.

Maintaining good communication outside of meetings
There are a lot of tools for organizing a book club (two of mine use Meetup.com and two use Facebook groups), but the main thing is that needs to be one place where people can go to find out 1) what the group is currently reading and 2) when the group is meeting to discuss said book. Whether books are selected by a group vote or a executive decision by the organizer, it should be clearly communicated so new members know how/when/where they can suggest new books to read and whether there are any restrictions on the genres or number of pages the group will read. Also important to communicate is if the group meets at the same time every month or if that month's meeting time is decided by consensus (or if the group meets more or less frequently than once a month), and if people needs to RSVP in order to attend.

These are the main attributes of a quality book club, in my opinion. I want clear communication about what we're reading and when we're meeting, I want to meet in a place that is conducive to conversation, and I want a facilitator who's going to get everyone talking about the book and keep the discussion moving.

How does this fit with your experience? What would you add?

Four Ways to Structure a Successful Book Club

I belong to three book clubs. (I sometimes attend a fourth if they're reading something interesting or something I've already read and enjoyed.) I've tried and abandoned at least two more, and one I joined never got off the ground.

It never occurred to me to join a book club until I read MWF Seeking BFF and realized that it was the most obvious possible way for me to meet people. I love reading and I love talking about books, and if I'm looking for someone with common interests, where better to find them?

So I tried out a few local book clubs and found one I liked. Shortly thereafter one of my online communities decided to start a virtual book club. And then, a few months ago, the local chapter of an organization I'm part of decided to read the executive director's book and discuss it, and we liked doing a book discussion so much we've been doing it every month since.

Being in multiple book clubs is feasible for me because I read 2-3 books a week, so I'm able to get through all my book club reads plus some of my own picks every month. I like that book clubs introduce me to books I probably wouldn't have read on my own, and hearing other people's perspectives on a book helps me to see it from new angles. I also like having the chance to introduce other people to some of my favorite books and hearing their thoughts on it (though this can be really nerve-wracking!).

My three book clubs (plus the fourth I sometimes attend) are all structured very differently, so I thought I'd give a brief overview of each of them for anyone looking to create one of their own or evaluate their available options.

Book Club #1:

• Group makeup: This book club has been in existence for probably over a decade now, so we have members who have been coming for years but always have some new faces every month. Most of the members are older than me, but lately we've had more folks in their 20s and 30s attending.
• Organization and meeting setup: The book club is organized via Meetup.com. We meet at the same time the last Sunday of every month, in the same location, although we recently had to move after the restaurant whose back room the club had been using for years closed down. We usually have 10-20 attendees. It takes about half an hour for everyone to get settled and get food or drinks ordered, and then we spend about an hour discussing.
• Selecting books: Every two months the organizers open up a forum thread on the Meetup site for book nominations, then close it and open up a poll where everyone can vote on the next book to read, with the top two vote-getters as the picks for the next two months. It used to be that the only rule was that you could nominate anything but romance novels, but recently a new rule was instituted that books need to be around 350 pages or less because people were having trouble getting through super-long books in a month. We sometimes have special themes, like July is Classics month, and for November everyone gets to bring in two favorite books to share, which you then pick from for your January read. Also there used to be a rule that you couldn't nominate a book you hadn't read, but that has since been abandoned.
• Discussion format: After one of the organizers gives a brief introduction, we go around and introduce ourselves. Then the person who nominated the book starts off the discussion by saying why they nominated it and what they thought of it, and then we go around the circle so everyone has a chance to share their thoughts. After that, if there's time remaining, we open it up to general discussion.

Book Club #2:

• Group makeup: This book club has been around for a little over a year now. Because of the online community it came out of, we're all in our 20s (as far as I know) -- at least the people who have actually attended the discussions -- and almost all women. We have attendees from all over the United States, plus one in the UK and one in Ireland who sometimes attend.
• Organization and meeting setup: We use a closed Facebook group for organization and use Google+ Hangouts On Air for our discussions. The group went from Open to Closed because 1) we had a ton of people join and vote on books but never attend the discussions and 2) we had a person join the Hangout one time who just wanted to harass people and had to be quickly banned. Now you can join only if someone personally invites you to the group. We use a Doodle poll to find a time for our discussion each month, though we quickly narrowed the standard options down to the first two weekends of the month following when the book was read. Generally 2-4 people join the Hangout; I think 5 is the most we've ever had. The discussion lasts for about half an hour up to an hour.
• Selecting books: We have a document on the Facebook group that anyone can edit to add new books to the list. (We recently added the requirement that you have to put your name next to your nomination.) Every two months the organizer uses a random number generator to select five books from the list and puts them in a poll on the group page, and the top two vote-getters are the books for the next two months. We don't currently have any rules on what kind of books can be nominated, except that you can't nominate a book we've read in the past two years.
• Discussion format: After we find an agreed-upon time with the Doodle poll (which can sometimes be difficult with people who can't figure out how to calculate time zones), the organizer posts a Google+ Hangout link on the Facebook group at the appointed time. Once we're all there (or we don't think anyone else is going to show up), the organizer turns the Hangout "On Air" and we start the discussion. Generally we'll find a list of discussion questions for the book and, after everyone shares their initial thoughts on the book, we'll use the list for ideas about what topics we'd like to discuss.

Book Club #3:

• Group makeup: So far the meetings have consisted of only me and two other people. We are trying to get more people from the organization to join in, but it's only been a few months, so we're hopeful it will grow.
• Organization and meeting setup: One of us will pick a local restaurant we want to try (requirements: relatively inexpensive, has vegetarian options) and then will post a notice on our chapter's Facebook group with the date, time, location, and book we're reading. Since there's only three of us right now, we just get out our calendars at the end of each meeting and pick a discussion date and time for the next month, and then we Facebook message each other if we need to reschedule.
• Selecting books: We read books within a pretty narrow topic field. So far we've just thrown it open for suggestions at the end of each meeting and someone will recommend a book they've read or heard about in this field. We discuss and agree on what to read for next time.
• Discussion format: We have no specific format for discussion. Generally we end up discussing how the information or stories in the book relate to our own personal experiences, which can sometimes lead the discussion away from the book itself for a while, but that's OK.

Book Club #4:

• Group makeup: This group is part of a larger Meetup group geared toward young women seeking friendship in the local area, so it's all women in their 20s and 30s. This means it's the best option for me to actually make a friend, which is why I attend occasionally even though I'm not crazy about most of the books they pick.
• Organization and meeting setup: Meetings are posted on the Meetup page. The group usually meets at the same place every month, although they just decided to move to a new location for next month. Unlike Book Club #1, there are no pre-arrangements made for a separate room at the meeting place (a restaurant or bar), so it can be a little loud to have a good discussion. The few times I've gone there were about a dozen women there, so it was hard to hear people at the other end of the table.
• Selecting books: At the end of the meeting, the organizer asks for suggestions for books. Ultimately she decides what book will be read next and posts it with the meeting description. This usually means it's just a book she's been wanting to read, which is why I'm not always that interested in the selections.
• Discussion format: The meetings I've attended haven't had any specific format, although the organizer has a list of discussion questions to fall back on if the discussion peters out.

As you can see, there are a lot of different ways to put together a successful book club! Having experienced so many different ones, I have some opinions about what makes a good book club, but I will save that for another time.

Are you in a book club (or more than one)? In what ways is it similar to or different from these?