"I love to share my passion for reading, and feel that a book is better if you have someone to share it with. What could be better than sharing and discussing it with a group of people who have read it, too?" - Kim Libby, Librarian
The Kezar Falls Circulating Library is inviting community members who are interested in joining a book discussion group, to come to their meet-and-greet on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, at 6:30PM.
The purpose of this meeting is to bring together all interested community members to plan and design the group. Discussion topics will include:
how to format meetings (regarding the length)
ground rules
group name
book selection
best day and time to meet
All who are interested in joining the group are encouraged to attend the meet-and-greet. This is your chance to be involved from the very beginning. Have you ever thought "I'd like to join a book club, too bad they don't ______"? This is your opportunity to share your ideas, or simply come to the meet-and-greet to learn more about the future group.
Learn more or keep in touch with the Kezar Falls Circulating Library, which serves Parsonsfield, and Porter, Maine, via their Facebook page here.
Reading and book clubs
A note from the publisher...
Do you remember reading circles as a kid? I have a vague memory of sitting with a group of my peers and each of us reading a sentence, then letting the next kid in line take over, or maybe it was a paragraph, I'm really not sure. One memory about reading that is clear as day to me has to do with wooden tokens. Our parents started to homeschool us when I was in the 6th grade; not so odd now, but at the time it was. They were always looking for ways to encourage us to learn, especially learning about responsibility and earning privileges.
Once a few of us were at the age of wanting to go out with our friends more often than not, my mother came up with this idea. We could earn our free time by reading. It would be easy, just read a book, write a paragraph about the book, and you would earn a wooden nickel. I am sure there were more details in regard to how many pages, types of books, and whatnot, but you get the idea. I already had developed a love for reading, and our gracious librarian was always great about keeping Nancy Drew and R.L. Stine books on the shelves. We could walk to the library, I read fast (not as fast as my middle sister), and could write up a paragraph easily. Piece of cake. I didn't miss much time with my friends, but I finished the young-adult-mystery section pretty quickly and started to struggle with finding new books to read. Not that we didn't have a ton to pick from, but I didn't know what other types of books I would enjoy. I would randomly pick something off the shelf and hope that it was entertaining. Once I picked up a medical terminology book then thought to myself, "how the heck do you write a paragraph about that?" and set it back down.
I started asking my friends what they read. Some would laugh - they weren't really bookworms, some would have recommendations, and some would lend me books to read. With time, I started learning more about what types of books I like to read and which ones I didn't really care for. I always enjoy hearing another persons take on what I just read. It's neat to see how perception changes, and how you may not have picked up on something that another person noticed. I've re-read certain books after discussing them with friends and had a totally different reading experience.
Book clubs not only offer different perceptions, views, and opinions but also offer a place for community members to get to know one another better. Everyone needs a good reason to get out of the house during our winter hibernation routines. Even better, join a book club with a friend and you'll always have something to talk about!
By Cristina Forsyth
