Monday, October 18, 2010

Do You Book Club?

Tip of the Day: Look who's recommending Kristina's MY FAKE BOYFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS? Meg Cabot!

Lately, I've been wishing I could talk to someone about the books I've been reading. It's wonderful to figure out what makes a book work for me, but I want to know what makes a book work for other readers. I'm always surprised at how different my reactions to characters and plots are than other people's. Wouldn't it be fun to join a book club?

What am I, crazy? I have a million time commitments on my hands: a full-time job, kids, a major house construction, the holidays coming up, and oh yeah, WRITING.

Some local peeps invited me to join their book club about two years ago and I turned them down, tempted as I was, mostly because of the time issue. But also, I was afraid that they wouldn't be interested in my YA recommendations.

There is no denying, though, that I love few things more in life than talking about books with people. So what do you think? Is this worth finding time for, or is it something that will have to wait until I'm older and my kids are out of the house?

Or I could start my own book club that would work under my rules. Bwa-ha-ha. I tried to talk my middle schooler into letting Mom have a book club at her school, like the mother in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and she rolled her eyes and began packing for Alaska. I would love to volunteer my time organizing a book club for teens, but apparently if I do it at my daughter's school, she will drop out of society and join the circus, and I have some sympathy for her point of view.

Kid in a higher grade than my daughter: "Oh, man, that crazy lady going off on sexism in Twilight is your MOM??"
My daughter in response: "Ha ha, no, my real family is way more normal than that. She's just, like, the neighborhood bag lady who pretends to be my Mom."

Okay, maybe I'd better stick to a book club with adults in it. Any suggestions?

-- Kate, Miss Perfecting the Pages

6 comments:

Anabel gonzalez said...

I always wanted to join a book club! the only problem with me is the timing...
If a like a lot the book, well I can read it in a day even while cooking but if I don´t like it a lot I will be slow reading and I am afraid I can´t end it by the others will...
Uff I guess it would be great to have a book club with more time for reading

Lisa_sps said...

Well why don't you create a book club at the high-school then?

icountwords said...

I feel the same way! I wanted to do a book club but I read so much YA I feel like I'd be scorned. I do weekly reviews on my blog and a reader suggested doing a forum internet book club. If that's something you'd be interested in let me know, and maybe you and I could get the ball rolling.

BookChic said...

I just discuss books with my fellow book bloggers and that's enough for me. I get comments on my reviews too and that can spark discussions as well.

A forum is a good idea. Meg Cabot had a book club on her forums in the early days and it was very cool.

Kate Fall said...

It would be fun to do something online. It would take less time coordination, trying to figure out who is available on Thursday night and such. I think the teenlitloop used to do one but I haven't seen it lately.

I'll bet the YA book blogging community discussions are a blast! BookChic, how do people handle spoiler comments on reviews?

DeenaML said...

I'm lucky working at a library where everyone likes to talk about books. We do have a book discussion group for adults once a month that has good attendance. It is held the 3rd Wed every month at 7 PM! This month is THE THINGS WE CARRIED.