With the kids back in school and summer vacations and yard work coming to an end, fall is the perfect time to try something new with your friends. Maybe a book club? If you want to start a book club but don’t know where to start, libraries can help.
The first thing you want to do is invite everyone in your book club to get a library card.September is National Library Card Signup Month, so now is a great time. Already have a card? Next time you visit the library, take a selfie in your favorite section and post it on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtags #GetLibraryCarded and #crcpl.
The Chillicothe and Ross County Public Library (CRCPL) also has a special library card type exclusively for book clubs. So, multiple copies of the same book can be requested at once and each member can borrow a copy with their own card. Request a Book Club Card here: https://www.crcpl.org/bookclubcards
Then choose a book to read. We recommend choosing books that are 2-5 years old. This increases the chances of getting a copy from our library consortium. I also try to make sure that the members of the book club choose books that they wouldn’t choose on their own. If your book club likes his eBooks or eAudiobooks, check out “hoopla Content Club”. Follow his Hoopla link on our website (www.crcpl.org), then find the “hoopla Content Club” link on the Hoopla page. Current and past selections include explanations, discussion questions, and usually an interview with the author. Books from our Content Club collection are also guaranteed to check out quickly, so there’s no need to wait! E-books are also a great option if you’re running a virtual book club.
September 18-24 is Banned Books Week, so consider reading a banned or challenged book with a friend this month. Reading and discussing why certain books are challenged or banned is a great way to celebrate the freedom of reading. With so much discussion going on about books that are often challenged, picking a banned book makes it easy to find a topic. (However, many people are looking for it during the Book Ban Month, so it may be difficult to obtain it.)
Finally, it’s a good idea to prepare some discussion questions for your book club meeting. Sometimes people come to book clubs and say that the moderator doesn’t need to do anything to keep the conversation going. Also, some questions may be helpful. Many books have discussion questions printed at the end of the book, on the author’s website, or on her website for book discussions, such as www.LitLovers.com. Otherwise, you’ll have to get creative and create some questions yourself.
If you want to check out a book club without starting your own, you can also join ours! CRCPL currently hosts two book clubs.
- The Friends of Dorothy Book Club, in partnership with the First Capital Pride Coalition, meets on the first Monday of each month at 7pm. Our next meeting is his on Monday, October 3rd, to discuss Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla.
- The Brown Bag Book Club is held on the third Wednesday of each month at noon at Paper City Coffee (47 S. Paint St). Her next meeting is Wednesday, September 21st, Susan Meissner’s The Nature of Fragile Things. Copies of both books are available in the Main Library and Northside Branch.
- Book clubs are a great way to spend time with fellow readers. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this month’s BannedBooksWeek and #GetLibraryCarded.
Liz Gibbons-Camp is the Enrichment Services Manager for CRCPL. She reads all her book club books in audio format, usually at 2x speed. You can contact her at egibbonscamp@crcpl.org.
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