Book clubs take many forms—commercial, bookstore-sponsored ones, Oprah ones, themed ones, library-attached ones, grant funded ones. I have experienced many of the flavors of book clubs. The most interesting ones are the cryptic book clubs. Hidden. By invitation only.
In 2005 I had the good fortune to become the head librarian for a public library at the edge of Ansley Park, one of Atlanta’s oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods. Ansley Park meanders around parks designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, architect of Central Park.
A tall, kind lady visited often, placing on hold and picking up prodigious amounts of “real literature” and classical music. It was clear she had a rich inner life. I enjoyed our brief conversations about literature and the arts enormously.
She became my benefactor—she invited me to join the Ansley Park Book Club. The neighborhood has three or four public book clubs, and this one, the classic secret book club. Friends formed it more than 30 years ago, when they were young mothers.
The discussions have a genuine focus—we prepare, we read critics, we read related material. Someone leads each discussion and comes with a game plan. But though it is not one of the purely social, personal clubs, friendship and support underlie it.
I asked the other members how they came to join. Replies came from a beginner and a matriarch. Their words paint a good portrait.
Marcia Klenbort wrote, “I joined maybe five or six years ago, so I am kind of a newcomer. I live in the neighborhood, so I did know some of the folks, maybe half of them. I was impressed, and continue to be, with how this book club has served the original members—sharing children together, then a babysitting co-op, and now caring for each other with various losses, of parents and even spouses. I love ’the seniors’—Elizabeth (whom I have known forever, when she was a leader in Atlanta Public Schools) and Pat.”
Nancy Brittain remembers the beginning. She wrote, “About 30 years ago, a friend began talking to several of us about starting a book club in our neighborhood. We agreed it would be fun.”
The rules were to meet monthly, to choose the book as far ahead as possible, to rotate leaders who would research the author and the book. The hostess would provide both refreshments and reminders. The group agreed to take summers off, according to Brittain. All this original structure is still in effect.
Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, our latest book, has just led to Anna Karenina, because the main character loved Tolstoy. The group devoted a year to understanding the Middle East, reading Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese, and Israeli authors. Azadeh Moaveni’s Lipstick Jihad was one of the more memorable ones. The Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf was brought alive for us by a recording of the poet reading it. The Sea, by John Banville, won the 2005 Man Booker Prize, leading to a Man Booker Prize streak for the club.
Brittain said, “Strangely, the founder of the book club was going through a hard time at that time, and never came to the meetings. The rest of us met at a bookstore the first time and enthusiastically embraced the meetings. We have never missed a month since. (Although individuals miss here and there for vacations, other commitments, etc.) Wine and goodies get us discussing fervently, and even the quietest of us talks!”
In 2005 I had the good fortune to become the head librarian for a public library at the edge of Ansley Park, one of Atlanta’s oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods. Ansley Park meanders around parks designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, architect of Central Park.
A tall, kind lady visited often, placing on hold and picking up prodigious amounts of “real literature” and classical music. It was clear she had a rich inner life. I enjoyed our brief conversations about literature and the arts enormously.
She became my benefactor—she invited me to join the Ansley Park Book Club. The neighborhood has three or four public book clubs, and this one, the classic secret book club. Friends formed it more than 30 years ago, when they were young mothers.
The discussions have a genuine focus—we prepare, we read critics, we read related material. Someone leads each discussion and comes with a game plan. But though it is not one of the purely social, personal clubs, friendship and support underlie it.
I asked the other members how they came to join. Replies came from a beginner and a matriarch. Their words paint a good portrait.
Marcia Klenbort wrote, “I joined maybe five or six years ago, so I am kind of a newcomer. I live in the neighborhood, so I did know some of the folks, maybe half of them. I was impressed, and continue to be, with how this book club has served the original members—sharing children together, then a babysitting co-op, and now caring for each other with various losses, of parents and even spouses. I love ’the seniors’—Elizabeth (whom I have known forever, when she was a leader in Atlanta Public Schools) and Pat.”
Nancy Brittain remembers the beginning. She wrote, “About 30 years ago, a friend began talking to several of us about starting a book club in our neighborhood. We agreed it would be fun.”
The rules were to meet monthly, to choose the book as far ahead as possible, to rotate leaders who would research the author and the book. The hostess would provide both refreshments and reminders. The group agreed to take summers off, according to Brittain. All this original structure is still in effect.
Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, our latest book, has just led to Anna Karenina, because the main character loved Tolstoy. The group devoted a year to understanding the Middle East, reading Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese, and Israeli authors. Azadeh Moaveni’s Lipstick Jihad was one of the more memorable ones. The Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf was brought alive for us by a recording of the poet reading it. The Sea, by John Banville, won the 2005 Man Booker Prize, leading to a Man Booker Prize streak for the club.
Brittain said, “Strangely, the founder of the book club was going through a hard time at that time, and never came to the meetings. The rest of us met at a bookstore the first time and enthusiastically embraced the meetings. We have never missed a month since. (Although individuals miss here and there for vacations, other commitments, etc.) Wine and goodies get us discussing fervently, and even the quietest of us talks!”
