And….we’re off!

Last night saw the first book club meeting, and what a success it was!

There were ten of us altogether (including our lovely host who kept our drinks topped up and provided us with the most delicious cake).

After initial introductions, we began discussing how we would like future meetings to be held and whether we think there should be any particular rules outlined. This is what we decided:

• There will be no page limit to the books we choose – it would be a shame to exclude some brilliant books simply because they are a little on the long side.
• Any genre and any format is welcome – many people have joined the club to expand their reading; pushing beyond those normal comfort zones may mean you discover a whole new genre that you wouldn’t have tried before.
• The person who chose the book that we have read that month will prepare discussion points to bring with them to the meeting.
• Future meetings will be on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7-9, and there will be an optional social meeting on the second Tuesday of each month – this gives people the opportunity to get involved with the current month’s read if they were unable to make the previous meeting; get to know each other better; discuss how they are getting on with the book so far, and enjoy more cake!!

 

This week in the book world it is Banned Book Week:

 Celebrating the freedom to read

This is happening primarily in America but I decided to adopt this theme to decide upon our first read.

I did some research around the subject of banned books and was surprised to discover how often books are being challenged due to their content, even in the modern day. The reasons for being challenged range from there being sexist content, to conflicting religious views. Interestingly, The Wizard of Oz was challenged in one state in America for it’s “ungodly influence” and, “depicting women in strong leadership roles”…oh dear!

I discovered that many of my favourite books have either been challenged or banned at some point, and provided a choice between two books to be this month’s read.

My first choice was “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote, which was banned in Georgia for sex, violence and profanity. It follows Truman investigating the murders of the Clutter family in Kansas in 1959 – the murderers, (Hickock and Smith) were put on death row for five years, and the book was published after their execution. Unfortunately, this book was not selected, but I most certainly recommend it if anybody has time this month to read another book, and I would love to hear other people’s views on it.

My second choice was “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger. There are still frequent challenges about this novel, and it has been banned in various states in America on numerous occasions due to the content being anti-white, pre-marital sex, alcohol abuse, and profanity. The book gained even more notoriety in 1981 when Mark Chapman produced The Catcher in the Rye from his pocket after shooting John Lennon.

This book was selected by the group to be our first read – many have already read the book (some way back at school) and wanted to re-read it to see if their thoughts differed.

 

The book club ran till about quarter to nine, which was great, especially since we did not have a book to discuss. There was plenty of conversation, including Harry Potter conspiracy theories (yes, really) and people’s favourite books and authors. I have no concerns that there will be awkward silences in future meetings as we all appear to love talking!!

I have requested that people think of two or three books that they would like to select for when it is their turn to choose a book. For those that will be attending the social (Tuesday 14th October, 7pm at Wagon’s), please try and have your selection ready for then, and those that are unable, either contact me separately or comment on this post if you are able to do so.

Thank you for reading, and it was lovely chatting to you all last night! If anybody knows anyone that couldn’t make it last night but would like to join, please bring them along to the social, or the next main meeting – new people are always welcome.

Rachael 🙂