No, not our 50-year anniversary (now THAT would be something…) but our 50th meeting. We’ve met faithfully once a month since the fall of 2006, and late last year we had our 50th meeting. I can’t really say “Our 50th Book” because we’ve had a few “Short Story Months”/”Ghost Story Months” thrown in along the way, but we’re closing in on our 50th actual book as well. Our hostess for the 50th meeting collected her copies of all the books we’ve read and put them on her mantle. (picture below) They barely fit! You may also notice the binders she’s made of our short story/ghost story readings (she’s so good).
This is my second ‘serious’ book club for which I’ve had a hand in the founding and administration, the first one lasting maybe 2 years and maybe 20 books. I think it’s hard for book clubs to stay together for a long time; members’ priorities change (we “lost” two members when they became parents), interest flags, other obligations usurp reading time, and so on. We’re fortunate to have five of our original members still with us and some good “new blood” in the form of four new members who have joined us in the past 16 months. Our book club’s web site is now on wordpress too if you’d like to see what we’ve read so far.
I’d be interested to hear from readers about their own book club experiences. Size of clubs, frequency of meetings, how long they’ve been going on, what types of books you read and how you select them. Let me know!
-Jay
