Looking for/interested in a local book club

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Looking for/interested in a local book club

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1firefly7522
Nov 15, 2006, 5:14am

I live in Auburn, AL, and was wondering if anyone knew of any book clubs in the area, or how to go about finding a book club here. It's kind of a smaller town, so it may be harder to locate, but I'm very interested in being in one. I've never been in a book club, and would love to start.

Any help or advice anyone could give would be great! :)

2avaland
Nov 15, 2006, 8:48am

1. Check with your local library. If they don't have a book group, they might know who in the community does.
2. Check with your local bookstore. Again, if they don't have a book group, they might know the people who do.
3. Ask about it everywhere you go.
4. Start your own. Working with the library or the bookstore would be the best way to start if you are new to the area; if you're not new, two other friends or coworkers who might be interested, would be a good start also.

3firefly7522
Nov 15, 2006, 9:29pm

Thanks! I'll check out these options.

4HelloAnnie
Nov 16, 2006, 9:30am

I like her suggestions. When I first moved to Lawrence, all the book clubs I found wouldn't take new members or had these weird "junior memberships", which was just too much for me. I finally found one and after meeting about 3 times we read a work of historical fiction. After that the group decided to only read historical fiction, so I (and about half the group) left.

A short time later I started my own book club. I posted flyers in the library, bookstores, university, coffee shops, etc. I posted ads in community pages in livejournal.com. This was over a year and a half ago, and we're still going strong. It allowed me to meet a lot of new people and read great books I probably wouldn't have picked up on my own. Now some of us get together outside the book club for movies, dinners, etc. I've met some great people!

5firefly7522
Nov 17, 2006, 8:11am

This sounds good. I've thought about starting my own, but I didn't really know how to go about doing it. I live in a college town, so I don't know how well one would go over, but if my local library and bookstore can't give me any information, I may seriously look into forming my own. I need to meet some new friends, anyway! :)

6avaland
Nov 17, 2006, 12:14pm

tunarubber adds some great experience. If you decide to start your own group, the flyer idea and postings in appropriate places are a great idea. By "appropriate" I mean - if you have preferences to the kind of people you'd like to form a group with (young mothers, twenty-somethings, retirees), post in areas that will reach these kinds of people. If you have an idea of the kinds of things you'd like to read; say, fiction only, then put that on your flyer. Meet in a public place the first few times and try some a few no-brainer good reads the first month or two as you get to know each other. It does sometimes require patience and persistence.

I leaving the bookstore soon and am thinking of ways of continuing to see the many great readers I've met over the last decade (many who are in their own bookgroups and some here at the store); so I'm thinking of starting a dinner group for readers. We can have a great meal and casually talk about what we are reading. It's a different idea than a book group proper but who knows where it will go...

7firefly7522
Nov 17, 2006, 2:01pm

I like that idea, too. Thanks for the tips. I haven't had a chance to get to the bookstore or library yet, but I plan on making a trip there in the next few days, so I'll see what I can find out. If they don't have anything, then I'm definitely going to look into starting my own. Anyone in the area who's interested, feel free to join! :)

8mypcjen
Editado: Nov 20, 2006, 3:50pm

Avaland, great ideas! Firefly, you'll definitely be on the right track with that advice. But even if you have to start your own book club, it's not hard. That's what I'm doing this January - starting off with Einstein's Dreams and moving to a "winter winds trio" - Gone With the Wind, Wind in the Willows, and The Shadow of the Wind. If any of you are in the Los Angeles area, please look me up!

Don't forget - you're welcome to post any of your book club events on our website, MyPeopleConnection.com. It's FREE, it's easy to use, it's just for friends, and it manages all your RSVPs. Just email me & I'll get you hooked up with event-posting access. You'll just fill out a form with where to meet, time, etc., and boom, it gets posted on the site. We currently have 20,000 members and growing word-of-mouth as a grassroots community effort, and we're committed to staying free.

The great news is we just launched a global calendar so you can post events anywhere in the world. We're volunteer-run and post lots of different events including poetry slams and book clubs.


A quick aside: I just returned from a fantastic trip to Flagstaff, Arizona - and if any of you are ever in the area, please check out my new favorite independent used book store, Bookman's. They seemed like an awesome place to both buy books and host a book club. There's cozy seating in the front just for that purpose. Here's a photo of the store.

-Jen

9aluvalibri
Nov 20, 2006, 10:30pm

I WANT A PLACE LIKE BOOKMAN'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

10mypcjen
Nov 21, 2006, 3:17am

Me, too, Paola!! My husband and I found it just by chance, driving down the main drag in Flagstaff, and we agreed it was the nicest used book store we've ever been in. There's nothing quite like it where we live.

Some used book stores are musty, dusty, cluttered, unfriendly places where you want to grab the books and run as fast as you can away. But this place actually encouraged patrons to linger. They had a little independent cafe, a cozy big area with half a dozen overstuffed couches.

I just realized today after looking at their site that Bookmans has multiple locations - Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson. I'm bummed we didn't know that before we went to Phoenix. That location looks even bigger and has tons of funky events in their big community room - from free yoga classes to D&D adventures to book clubs and knitting. Wahhh! I want one here!!

11NightAngel
Dez 11, 2006, 2:12pm

Hiya Firefly. First off I love your name! Any connection to the TV Show? 2ndly I am an Auburn Alum. I am sure as big as that school and library is there is something of that nature. Check out Opelika libraries too.
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