Caution! Contents Under Pressure
Posted by: Neil Hollands
I was talking with my colleague Andrew Smith, who ably leads several book groups at Williamsburg Regional Library. From a librarian’s point of view, we agreed that perhaps the greatest challenge for book groups is chemistry.
To draw an analogy, bringing readers together in a group, especially a new group, is kind of like assembling the vials and bottles of a chemistry set. While these elements might each have some remarkable characteristics, the real question is what’s going to happen when they mix together. You might get a wonderful new compound with fabulous properties. Then again, you might get a surprising explosion that leaves you unable to raise your eyebrows in amazement because they’ve been singed away.
Unfortunately, when book groups are randomly assembled, as when libraries make the attempt, the combination is much more volatile. It’s hard to get a sense of the readers and how they will interact before the fact.
What are the lessons to be learned? Perhaps book groups that form from some common ground–an age group, a neighborhood, an established set of friends–are most likely to succeed, but I hate to give up on others. As we join groups, we should not expect everyone to have the same tastes and opinions as ourselves. We should come prepared to appreciate other views and diversity in people. While an unusual mix of people may be tough sledding at first, it will make for a better group in the long run.
For those organizing book groups, make sure to build some getting-to-know-you icebreaker activities into early meetings. Listen to what your new members reveal about themselves and look for common ground that might suggest some good book selections. The first library group I tried to form was a thematic group, with themes varying each month. My first theme was English settings and it proved immensely popular. Unfortunately, future themes didn’t draw the same crowd and the group eventually faded away. In retrospect, I should have gone with the flow and considered organizing a group that read British writers and settings, at least until the group coalesced.
Here’s my final chemistry lesson: Be patient with new groups. If you only get two or three solid members at first, enjoy your small meetings and keep hunting for new readers who will blend with those you have. Better a few readers who get along well than a roomful of folk who are frustrated each other.
