Category: Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club

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February 12 Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club

Hello, reader friends!

Popping in to share the topic of our next Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club event. We’ll be meeting in person at the Beaman Memorial Public Library in West Boylston, Massachusetts on Thursday, February 12 at 6:30 pm, but you can join us virtually by reading and sharing your thoughts here.

Our topic this time around is ‘The Other.’

In a time when our world feels divided, let’s use books and our own intentions to bring it a little closer, shall we? Find a book outside your own culture or your own experience, read it, learn from it, and then share what you find with the rest of us.  I kicked off my own reading for this session with #NotYourPrincess: VOICES OF NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN, and was drawn in by vivid art and compelling words. I was also blown away by Dashka Slater’s THE 57 BUS. And I’ve got a copy of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME on deck in my reading pile.

Explore. Read. Learn. Then join us to spread your (book) love.

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Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club: Humor

At last week’s Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club meeting, we discussed funny books. As usual, participants brought a wide range of styles and genres. Here are just a few:

I Feel Bad About my Neck, a collection of essays by Nora Ephron

The Far Side: Unnatural Selections, a collection of comic strips by Gary Larson

Born A Crime, an autobiography by Trevor Noah

Polar Bear’s Underwear, a picture book by Tupera Tupera

We’re loving the variety!

Consider joining us for the next meeting, won’t you? It’s set for Thursday, August 23, 2018 at 6:30pm at the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, MA. Our topic for the quarter is—drum roll, please!—PLANTS. Choose any book in any genre that is in some way related to the topic of plants … read it … come tell us about it in August.

Here’s a sneak peak of the plant book I’ve chosen:

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Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club: ART

Last week, the Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club held its second meeting at the Beaman Memorial Library in West Boylston, MA. Unlike most book clubs, we don’t choose a book to read. Instead, we choose a topic, and then we invite anyone who has read a book related to it–any book, any genre, any age group–to join us and share. (For a little more on how the book club started, read this post, or this one.)

For this meeting, our topic was ART. What a variety of titles showed up! We had some children’s books, of course, both biographies:

          

 

We had some fascinating adult nonfiction on the topic of graffiti art:

          

 

And also some popular art-themed adult fiction:

          

One book clubber was listening to her book, the audiobook of this title:

 

It’s always interesting to see what people chose to read, watch our conversation stretch, and to leave the library with new ideas and great book suggestions. Our next topic is HUMOR. Think funny, people! Read far and wide and bring your favorite funny reads to the library on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 6:30pm. I hope to see you there.

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Insects, Insects Everywhere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night we held our inaugural in-person Fill-in-the-Blank Book Club (if you don’t know what that is, read this post), and it was a joy, especially if you happen to love books, reading and … insects. Displayed at the top of this post are just a few of the titles folks brought along to share. I was thrilled to see a variety of fiction and non-fiction, as well as books for adults and for kids!

Our discussion was interesting and wide-ranging and, as I’d hoped, a clear demonstration of how books can connect and engage us. At the end of it all, our small group shared ideas for the next Fill-in-the-Blank subject, which I’ll share as soon as I clear a date for it at the library. Stay tuned.