Book Club Reflection

Monday this week, I visited a branch of the Indianapolis Public Library to attend a book club that was reading the book, This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel. I couldn't find very much information on the website about what kind of book club it was besides being tagged for adults. I also found it interesting that the book club takes place from 4:30 PM-5:30 PM as this seems like an odd time for working adults to attend, but also later in the day than most seniors would want to attend. 

I was able to listen to the book ahead of time and take some notes for discussion. I really enjoyed the novel, which is about the parents of five boys, the youngest of which they gradually realize is genderqueer. 

The book club took place in a meeting room at the library branch and there were four attendees including me. The other three were middle-aged to older women. The librarian leading the club was a younger woman who had us all introduce ourselves, though the other three women were regulars. It turned out that the librarian had also gotten her MLIS through IUPUI several years ago, so she was excited I was there!

First, tea and coffee were offered, then we were given a short presentation about the author, Laurie Frankel, including a short interview clip of her discussing her writing process for the book. Then each attendee was prompted to give a short "review" of the book. After that, the librarian had prepared a slide show with ten open-ended discussion questions, to get a loosely structured chat going. Each of us had a good opinion of the book and things to say about it, so there were not too many lulls in the conversation. The questions went over topics such as themes in the book, comparing characters, and the broader philosophy the author is trying to get across. One of the women in the group has a transgender child so it was very interesting to hear her perspective on the book. One of the women was less talkative than the others, but no one dominated the conversation, and plenty of space was given for everyone to contribute. 

After the discussion ended, the librarian announced that the next book the club would read would be Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. This being nonfiction, I was having a little trouble nailing down what kind of book club it was. Afterward, I was able to talk with the librarian for a couple minutes and found out that she focuses on picking "diverse reads" of any kind, branching into any genre. She gave me the schedule for their monthly meetings this year and it features books such as The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, Transcendant Kingdom, and Frankenstein. 

I enjoyed my visit to this club, but it felt a bit formal for my personal preference. This format really works for some people, but I would love to get involved in a club that meets outside the library, in a coffee shop or bar, and has maybe some patrons close to my age. But I do really enjoy the subject of this club. It is loose enough to be able to include a broad range of books and genres, even nonfiction, yet its primary goal is still to highlight stories of marginalized people, in whatever way.