The Book Club Chat

Since Oprah started her book club years back, the growth of book clubs has exploded. Some five million Americans gather regularly in face-to-face book clubs. Among American women who read one book or more a month, an astonishing 56% belong to book clubs. Tens of millions more join discussions in online book clubs, and the number grows daily. Online clubs now offer exact focuses. Dieselpunk science fiction, paranormal romance, gardening, you name it, it’s out there.

A few years ago, my thriller novel, Brigands Key, was published in hardcover. My next-door neighbor told me how much she liked it, and asked if I wouldn’t terribly mind speaking to her mystery book club. She had already gotten her club members to agree to my book as their selection of the month. I mulled this over for a nanosecond and said, “Heck, yeah!”

I always sniff out opportunities to do presentations on writing, whether to promote my own stuff, or to give instructional talks on the craft of writing. I like to think I’m okay at it. This offer was a bit different, in that I would be talking about one novel to a group of writers that had read it in advance.

The appointed day came. The mystery book club meets at our local library, the same venue in which my writers group meets, so I knew the staff and layout well. Comfy place to give talks.

This particular meeting of the book club marked a departure for them as well. They typically select a national bestseller in the mystery genre, usually a current or recent one, but sometimes from years, even decades, past. It’s a well-read group that knows its genre, so there’s no faking it. The biggest departure, of course, was not selecting a famous title or bestselling author. I was there because my neighbor coerced the group into reading something her idiot neighbor wrote.

Going in, I harbored a sneaking suspicion that maybe only a few had actually read the book, and the rest would either not show up for the meeting at all, or sit on their hands and watch the clock. Anyway, I yammered on about myself and some background of the novel, the genesis of the plot, the characters, and such.

Near as I could tell, the members had all in fact read the book. The discussion plumbed details one couldn’t know just by reading the cover. Deep tissue stuff. So we talked about setting (current-day Florida, perfect for a Florida book club), motivations, characters, plot twists, and technical details. I’d given presentations about the book before, but only to audiences unfamiliar with it. Promotional talks, in other words. Talking to the book club allowed me to get down to the nitty gritty. You don’t worry about giving away spoilers.

As it turned out, it became one of my most enjoyable experiences as a writer.

One great thing about book clubs, besides being populated by engaged and enthusiastic readers, is that they treat the gatherings as social events. This one was no different; they brought home-cooked dishes and desserts, and we consumed them heartily as we chatted. I’m pretty sure I waxed poetic with crumbs on my face and shirt.

At the time, the novel existed only in hard cover, and therefore was a bit pricey. Fortunately, the library stocked a couple of copies of the book, so the pressure to buy was relieved. Much as I like sales, I like even more that we have these cultural miracles called libraries, portals to the past and future, offering for free the collected thoughts of humanity to patrons. The book club members were able to borrow and read. If you talk to a book club, arrange for a couple of copies to be available to them.

Book clubs, as mentioned, are comprised of book people. And not just casual, occasional readers. These are the readers you need to cultivate, the ones that want to talk books, the ones that share with friends what they’ve read, the ones marketers call “influencers.” If you get a chance to talk to a book club, do so. I can almost guarantee you won’t regret it.