I chose to view a Zoom book club meeting of the Read it Forward Book Club on YouTube. The book they discussed was The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. There are three women in the book club: Abbe, Jess, and Emma. Abbe seems to be the leader of the group, or at least she was the leader for this particular discussion. She opened and closed the discussion as well as asked questions to guide the conversation throughout. Each time Abbe posed a question, she gave Jess and Emma a chance to respond before adding her own thoughts. The questions were worded in a way that invited each group member to really “dig in” to their analysis of various elements of the book. A few questions Abbe asked were, What feelings did you get about the fictional town? Could you see the cracks growing between these sisters, initially, in childhood? Do you think either of the sisters regrets her choices? and What do you think the author is saying about the roles that we perform in the world?
All three group members actively participated, and no one person “stole the spotlight,” although Emma may have actually spoken the most. They were all very respectful of letting each other speak when they had something to say. Although the questions were probably prepared ahead of time, the conversation felt easy and natural and the group was clearly accustomed to building upon each others’ comments and observations. Since the book club was meeting through Zoom, it appeared that they were each meeting from home. No snacks or drinks provided for a Zoom meeting, but Abbe and Emma appeared to be drinking coffee.
Read it Forward has its own YouTube channel which features many elements in addition to book club discussions: podcast episodes, kick-a** character highlights, “last minute” book reports, and featured authors. Most of the focus seems to be on popular fiction. The YouTube channel is one part of the Read it Forward brand which is owned by Penguin Random House. I am not sure whether or not all of the books chosen are from this publisher.
My only previous book club experience began a few months before COVID; I started a Cookbook Club at my library. Each month, I assigned a theme such as New Year, New You (something you’ve never made before), Heart-Healthy Brunch (heart-healthy ingredients), and Spring Thaw (must feature at least one frozen ingredient). Group members could choose and prepare any on-theme recipe they wanted as long as it came from a cookbook. Each monthly meeting was like a pitch-in. We got to try everyone’s dishes and discuss the books we chose to work from and why. We also shared any mishaps along the way as well as suggestions and advice. Although the group was open to all adults in the community, all participants were women, and all of the participants were middle-age or older.
When my library stopped doing in-person programming in response to COVID and shut down for several weeks, I moved our club interactions to our existing library Cookbook Club page. After talking with our marketing manager, we changed the name of the club from Cookbook Club to “Cooking Club” and dropped the requirement to choose a recipe from a cookbook. That allowed for more flexibility for the participants and relieved the pressure of having to get their hands on a physical cookbook in order to participate.
As of now, our Cooking Club is only on Facebook. There are two challenges each month, and the challenges (and corresponding dates) for the rest of the year have already been posted so people can look ahead and plan. The first challenge of each month is a "Mini Challenge" which asks participants to post on a specific topic, but it does not require any actual cooking. The second challenge of each month is the "Main Challenge" which asks participants to prepare a dish based on a specific theme and then to create a post to share what they’ve made with the group. The group has had some success. We have 115 members, but only a few people actually participate and interact with the posts. Nevertheless, I enjoy doing it, and I am looking forward to Monday’s theme: “Soups & Salads”!
I chose to view a Zoom book club meeting of the Read it Forward Book Club on YouTube. The book they discussed was The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. There are three women in the book club: Abbe, Jess, and Emma. Abbe seems to be the leader of the group, or at least she was the leader for this particular discussion. She opened and closed the discussion as well as asked questions to guide the conversation throughout. Each time Abbe posed a question, she gave Jess and Emma a chance to respond before adding her own thoughts. The questions were worded in a way that invited each group member to really “dig in” to their analysis of various elements of the book. A few questions Abbe asked were, What feelings did you get about the fictional town? Could you see the cracks growing between these sisters, initially, in childhood? Do you think either of the sisters regrets her choices? and What do you think the author is saying about the roles that we perform in the world?
All three group members actively participated, and no one person “stole the spotlight,” although Emma may have actually spoken the most. They were all very respectful of letting each other speak when they had something to say. Although the questions were probably prepared ahead of time, the conversation felt easy and natural and the group was clearly accustomed to building upon each others’ comments and observations. Since the book club was meeting through Zoom, it appeared that they were each meeting from home. No snacks or drinks provided for a Zoom meeting, but Abbe and Emma appeared to be drinking coffee.
Read it Forward has its own YouTube channel which features many elements in addition to book club discussions: podcast episodes, kick-a** character highlights, “last minute” book reports, and featured authors. Most of the focus seems to be on popular fiction. The YouTube channel is one part of the Read it Forward brand which is owned by Penguin Random House. I am not sure whether or not all of the books chosen are from this publisher.
My only previous book club experience began a few months before COVID; I started a Cookbook Club at my library. Each month, I assigned a theme such as New Year, New You (something you’ve never made before), Heart-Healthy Brunch (heart-healthy ingredients), and Spring Thaw (must feature at least one frozen ingredient). Group members could choose and prepare any on-theme recipe they wanted as long as it came from a cookbook. Each monthly meeting was like a pitch-in. We got to try everyone’s dishes and discuss the books we chose to work from and why. We also shared any mishaps along the way as well as suggestions and advice. Although the group was open to all adults in the community, all participants were women, and all of the participants were middle-age or older.
When my library stopped doing in-person programming in response to COVID and shut down for several weeks, I moved our club interactions to our existing library Cookbook Club page. After talking with our marketing manager, we changed the name of the club from Cookbook Club to “Cooking Club” and dropped the requirement to choose a recipe from a cookbook. That allowed for more flexibility for the participants and relieved the pressure of having to get their hands on a physical cookbook in order to participate.
As of now, our Cooking Club is only on Facebook. There are two challenges each month, and the challenges (and corresponding dates) for the rest of the year have already been posted so people can look ahead and plan. The first challenge of each month is a "Mini Challenge" which asks participants to post on a specific topic, but it does not require any actual cooking. The second challenge of each month is the "Main Challenge" which asks participants to prepare a dish based on a specific theme and then to create a post to share what they’ve made with the group. The group has had some success. We have 115 members, but only a few people actually participate and interact with the posts. Nevertheless, I enjoy doing it, and I am looking forward to Monday’s theme: “Soups & Salads”!
It sounds like you had a really interesting book club experience! I have to say I was more intrigued by your Cooking Club, that sounds like an absolute blast! I attended a "Cookbook Club" at my old library prior to Covid and it was such a fun time - lots of talking, laughing, and general hilarity! I miss it so much :( But I have to say I didn't really think of it as a book club (more like a cooking club, like yours) because we never really consulted a cookbook, but really I guess that it was!
ReplyDeleteI will have to check them out on YouTube it sounds like an interesting book club to follow. I love the cookbook club idea. My book club would have a special month when we picked our favorite cookbook to discuss and made a recipe from it. That’s great you have 115 members apart of the group and was able to move towards a virtual option for the club by just changing a few things.
ReplyDeleteNicole,
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed reading books but I never really had much of an interest in joining a book club. I suppose I grew up more introverted and just wanted to keep my thoughts on the books to myself and just enjoy the stories for what they were. Overtime, I began sharing thoughts with some of my friends on various topics and that, naturally, led to me letting them borrow my books and me borrowing theirs. It was a nice dynamic and we would discuss it over lunch or at each other houses. Looking back it, I suppose that would count as a type of private book club. This would have been my first public book club I attended and the experience was interesting and walked away interested to possibly attend more in the future. The individuals that attend are unpredictable but it gives it an interesting factor as you can hear opinions from angles that are often foreign to your own.
I love the Cooking Club idea for a book group! I have noticed that a lot of traditional book clubs have embraced using different formats for material to discuss since the pandemic has changed how we have to interact with each other and the world. I love seeing the possibilities for expanding on topics of interest to the community! I also think that opening discussion to more materials outside of the physical book encourages more people to join the conversation. I really enjoyed reading about your Book Club Experiences!
ReplyDeleteAt my library we tried a cookbook club but we didn't have crazy success with ours - I'm glad yours is still thriving and you are having people interact virtually! Great write up on two completely different book clubs. Full points.
ReplyDelete