Book Talking

Posted March 23, 2013 by Emily Boyd

Last week was spring break, so I took the week off from blogging. Most of my break was spent catching up on schoolwork and working, but I was able to escape home to Vermont for a couple days of much needed relaxation. One of my favorite parts of my trip home was visiting my local public library and attending a meeting of the “What is on Your Nightstand?” book club.

The premise of this book club is that it is not a book club, at least not in the traditional sense. There is no chosen book for each monthly meeting. Instead, on the second Tuesday of every month, anyone who is free to talk about books is welcome to come to the library and share what they are reading. The librarian running the meeting keeps a list of all the titles discussed and the conversation is always lively and interesting.

Before moving back to Boston to start school in January I was home in Vermont for eight months and had the opportunity to attend almost every monthly meeting during that time. Although there is no set book, there is a core group of women who attend every meeting and we have developed a nice sense of camaraderie. I am the youngest member of the group by a decade or two and I have come to look up to the women in the group as role models. I can only hope to have one day read half the titles discussed in our club.

Regardless of the theme that emerges during the meeting, be it memoirs and biographies, World War II fiction vs. nonfiction, spy stories, or audio books, I always leave feeling invigorated and excited to read more. I love the free form of the meetings,  the fact that all are welcome, and no pressure to have finished a certain book. Although, it has been discussed that just once it might be fun to all read the same book and have a traditional book club discussion. I miss having the monthly book club meetings to look forward to and hope to one day start my own in Boston!