Celebrate National Reading Group Month - For Book Club

 'Tis the good reader that makes the good book; in every book he finds passages which seem to be confidences or sides hidden from all else and unmistakably meant for his ear; the profit of books is according to the sensibility of the reader; the profound thought or passion sleeps as in a mine, until it is discovered by an equal mind and heart. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I had every intention of staying home all day. I had a wonderful adventure Monday, new bridge, new restaurant, new coffee house and even a new easy access park. Then flipping by the news on T.V. I heard them talking about an award winning book, The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Bitter. During a brief interview, the author mentioned he would be on a panel of authors tonight at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. So I looked up the information on the store's website:

Celebrate National Reading Group Month

Hear 5 experienced authors give their perspectives on author/book club meetings.  Come with questions – and enjoy refreshments, book club tips and lists, and literary stuff!  Authors will sign their books, too.

Nancy Pearl - Moderator
Jamie Ford – Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Diane Hammond – Hannah’s Dream
Stephanie Kallos – Sing Them Home
Jim Lynch – Border Songs
Garth Stein – The Art of Racing in the Rain

Working on the intermittent premise that spontaneity is good for me, I decided to go. Why I even missed the fact it was National Reading Group Month so I should definitely go to celebrate. After all, I do belong to a fabulous group.

It turns out the event was sponsored by the WNBA, Women's National Book Association, first established in 1917.  We have a chapter here in the Seattle area now that's two years old.

There was a surprisingly large turn out. So I was left with seating far from the stage or a great table near the stage with no view. I chose the great table. I was able to hear the authors, but I didn't see them til after the event. I want to share comments made by the authors that I enjoyed. However, I won't be able to connect the comments made to a specific author, and some of the quotes will be paraphrased due to my difficulty in reading my notes and lack of speed at "dictation".

Question to the authors. "What makes a good book club book?"

Answers:

"What's important is the dynamic of the group rather than the books. The book should not only entertain, but engage the reader."

"Some book clubs are breezy and some meticulous. It is good to have a book that is a light read, yet the reader can, also, go deep."

Comments on writing:

"Novels should not be answers to questions, but should create them."

"There has to be room for readers to exercise their art."

"Reading and writing are all about a dialogue."

Author shared a quote from a cafe in Bend, Oregon:

"Don't judge a book by it's movie."

Question to authors: Recommendation of book for book club:

"One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - read the book and see the movie. Talk about how the book was translated into the movie."

"We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, heart wrenching"

"Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, brilliant"

"Anything by John Steinbeck, the novel The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter which is told in the first person by characters ranging in age from 19 to into their 70's"

"Poetry"

I was, of course, glad I went.

Of the books they mentioned, I have read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, saw and the play and the movie. We are going to read Olive Kitteridge. I am thinking about reading The Feast of Love.

I decided to look up the WNBA. Here's their reading recommendations from their site:

National Reading Group Month Announces the 2009 Great Group Reads

NEW YORK — September 24, 2009 — The National Reading Group Month Selection Committee has chosen nine books, eight novels and one memoir, as this year’s Great Group Reads. The books are:

Appassionata by Eva Hoffman (Other Press)
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (Other Press)
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë by Syrie James (Avon A)
The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey (Harper Perennial)
Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz (Voice)
While I’m Falling by Laura Moriarty (Hyperion)
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (Picador)
Cost by Roxana Robinson (Picador)
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (Picador)

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body." - Margaret Fuller

bookish room cozy yet full
reading writing exchange of minds
language is a lovely tool

May your home nourish your soul