Book Club Observation

The book club I attended was a very friendly affair held in the local library’s meeting room that centered around Stephen King’s body of work.  There was joking, plenty of snacking (snacks provided by a member), and even some planning for other social events outside of the library.  The atmosphere, as can be imagined, was very informal with no clearly designated leader other than the librarian in attendance who allowed others to run the discussion, though she was still clearly there as a resource for planning, book acquisition, etc.  The librarian actually bordered on not participating in the discussion, but this was perceived as an effort to make sure all of the members (there were nearly 20 in attendance) had ample opportunity to share.  Members took turns proposing questions, some of which were yes or no, but most of which led to further discussion.  Members also recounted favorite scenes in the book and compared the book (Firestarter) to the film.  Plot twists were dissected and overall impressions were voiced.  There was an element of “close reading” to many of these observations in which specific sections of text were used to support members’ ideas about the motivations and limitations of characters (“Starting a Book Club,” 2015).  There were varying degrees of participation in the discussion by members with some being very voluble.  In a shorter meeting this could have meant some members never got a chance to talk, but I felt that for the most part in the hour-long session there was time left for everyone to have been given a reasonable chance to share.

I liked the focus that the group had chosen because there was clearly some ardor involved with Stephen King’s works.  Members seemed to really want to be there to talk about a favorite author even if the chosen book was not something they had particularly enjoyed.  There didn’t seem to be any real pressure to have finished the book and all of the discussion was “gracious” in nature; practices encouraged in “Starting a Book Club” (2015). 

Interestingly, sort of related to Goldstein’s article about the power of book clubs with publishers and authors (2005), one of the key events of the meeting I attended was the reveal and passing around of a signed copy of one of Stephen King’s newest novels.  In many ways this book club is actually a fan club with the celebrity of Stephen King giving the needed emphasis to encourage members to attend.  The power of this “theme” could wane over time, but it definitely seems to have enough draw right now to go beyond the “3 or 4 months” recommended by “Starting a Book Club” (2015).  The good news for the group is that Stephen King writes mainly in such a popular genre (Horror), but also in a variety of other genres, that there are lots and lots of read-alikes out there.  If the “theme” of King ever started to lose power it would be easy for the group to work from their well-established rapport to branch out to other books.  Another positive aspect of having such a narrow theme is that it contributes to the “gracious” attitude those who finished the book can extend to those who did not.  My meaning is that since the members are less there for a specific book and more for a specific author, as long as someone has read some Stephen King, or even just knows who he is, that someone is welcome (even if for mainly proselytization purposes).

Lastly, I thought the popular nature of the club worked really well.  Sometimes book clubs lean towards, or at least have the reputation of leaning towards, books more along the lines of Literary Fiction.  This can intimidate new members or visitors who can feel that some quality of their intellect is on trial.  Stephen King writes in a way that is accessible and inclusive.  All of us have probably enjoyed a good scare or two in our time.  It’s easy for a club built around King’s works to not take itself too seriously and to have a good time joking and snacking.  What a positive pastime to pursue after a long day at work on a Tuesday.

Works Cited:

Starting a Book Club. (2015). Retrieved March 08, 2018, from http://www.ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/bookclub

Goldstein, Bill. (2005). Reads Well with Others. Publisher's Weekly, 252(21), 30-34.