What I learned about Book Circles
A recent Winnipeg trip gave me some lovely surprises and good ideas
Last weekend in Winnipeg I enjoyed the bounty of a church-related potluck lunch at my friend Patricia’s house. Her long table seated around 14 of us, along with lasagna, green salads, garlic bread and wonderfully, deliciously, delightfully one of those salads made from mini marshmallows, coconut and some other goodnesses that I cannot name but did enjoy three times over. Yes, I did. I love churchy potlucks.
The reason for the gathering was a reunion meal for a Book Circle that had read together and by that I mean out loud, and discussed Holiness Here. Let me explain a bit more. When Patricia and I made our latest trek to the Festival of Faith and Writing, we ate our pre-ordered boxed lunch at another long table beside a woman Patricia befriended. She was there as a reader, which is one of the great things about the Festival. It’s not just a bunch of nerdy, needy writers. The Festival is for readers and book lovers in general coming together to celebrate books, and sometimes eating together. There and then, Patricia heard about Book Circles and wanted to try one.
With a Book Circle, there’s no homework, unless you want there to be. Each time they meet, the group shows up and reads out loud, on the spot, one chapter of the book at a time. In this particular Book Circle, each reader read two pages and around the circle they went until the chapter was finished. Then they turned to the questions at the back and discussed them. That’s it!
And because I was in Winnipeg for a writing conference, Patricia brought out the good white tablecloth which her husband Doug painstakingly ironed — ironing huge tablecloths always impresses me — and invited the Book Circle over for lunch. Here’s a long bracket: (Patricia and I wrote Craft, Cost & Call: How to Build a Life as a Christian Writer together. If you’re a writer, click that link to see our attempt at a book launch page from a few years ago! We led a workshop together in Winnipeg on habits to help build a healthy and productive writing life. Email me if you want to learn more about our thoughts on that. We’re happy to share!)
The day of the Book Circle gathering, we ate and visited and then Patricia read questions to me that the members of the Book Circle of Holiness and Deliciousness (that’s what I’m now calling them) had written down beforehand and handed over to her. It was so interesting to hear the questions that ranged from how the cover was chosen, to what I learned during the process of writing, to grief, to joy, to practical steps toward nurturing humility. Your work goes out into the world, and if we’re very fortunate, participates in some work and wonder happening in someone else’s life. Your work joins in with what is already happening. That is truly amazing when you think about it, whatever it is we do. And I saw that again, sitting at that long, beautiful table.
The group gave me the gift of a stack of notecards where they shared what meant the most to them about the book. I read them later and it was extremely moving. Amazing!
I have a few takeaways. First, of course, never forsake marshmallow salad. It’s rare. Grab it while you can. Also, Book Circles where you show up and read out loud to each other are a really great idea. Sitting down with someone on a couch — another adult! — and taking turns reading out loud to each other is the marshmallow salad of literacy. It’s a treat and so few of us get to do it these days.
And to sit at a big, generous table with people who want to discuss a book is always fantastic. We should all do that more often.
And of course, sharing how a book — or any kind of art — impacts you is an act of generosity and I think a kind of compassion to and for the maker, or at least that’s how I experience it. It is a very good thing.
Maybe you want to think about experimenting with the Book Circle idea?
I’ve been thinking about wading into the waters of “book clubbing” in my neighbourhood. It’s an idea I keep flirting with: inviting some neighbours that I don’t really know to a book club in my living room. Do you have any book club tips you’d like to share? And if you decide to go the Book Circle way and read out loud to each other, let me know how that goes! I really do think it’s an awesome idea.
This Friday I fly to Michigan to begin my Doctor of Ministry in the Art of Sacred Writing. I’ve already had one chaotic school-based dream involving all the things those dreams usually involve: being late, being lost, losing my backpack, falling into holes in hallways, and of course, the odd balance beams that pop up in school hallways for us to navigate — all while wearing a child-sized halloween costume.
Our first assignment was due on Oct 1, and after landing on the page to upload it, I realized it said BY Oct 1, which I then frantically googled to find out if ‘by’ meant ‘before’ or ‘on’ or both. I think I just need to get there, understand this is not high school math class, not lose stuff, realize I’m a grown-up and get on with it. I’ll let you know how it goes and what I learn.
On book clubs, during the pandemic, I was on the website of a Toronto church, looking for something else, when I noticed a link to an online book club. Shyly, I emailed the contact person and asked if I could join even if I attended a different church. They let me in, and I love our monthly meetings, which continued by Zoom when the pandemic ended.
Dear Karen,
Since high school in England I have loved reading and being read to our loud!
One of our Christmas family traditions is that I find a funny short story, usually by Stuart McLean, and someone reads it until they can't read anymore because they've decompensated into laughing uncontrollably, and then they pass the book to the next person. I don't know how everyone else in our 14 member family feels about me forcing this on them, but they love me and humour me. I hope they'll remember it with affection in years to come!