I used to be a huge fan of book clubs, and loved running them when I was a practicing librarian. Over the years, my reading habits had become much more solitary and personal, where I’d read exactly what I wanted and that, my friends, is dangerous reading.
I found my reading so limited, generic, and easy that it wasn’t interesting anymore. I was reading in one lane and it was not only unchallenging but also insulating me from things happening around me. I know many people were in emotional overload and cocooned themselves after the Annus Horribilus of 2020. That’s where I was when 2021 began.
At the beginning of 2021, I decided to change my reading habits to include more challenging and unusual books. That continued through 2022, and was boosted considerably when I joined the Fantastic Strangelings Book Club, run by author and bookstore owner Jenny Lawson. You might know Lawson as The Bloggess or through her bestselling books like Furiously Happy. She also owns and operates the Nowhere Bookshop in San Antonio TX.
The Strangelings Book Club is entirely virtual and you can choose when and how to participate. Lawson selects and sends out one book a month, then will usually post her thoughts on social media, which results in lots of commentary and discussion from other Strangelings. Lawson’s selections are unusual and diverse; reading them has been uplifting, uncomfortable, and irresistible. Here are the selections I read in 2022 – all of them are recommended!
There are many other ways I could have connected to these books, but the Strangelings Book Club worked for me. I found the selection eclectic, thoughtful, very emotionally evocative, and a little bit strange. I learned about countries and cultures I knew nothing about and read genres I’d avoided. What I also rediscovered is that there are threads of living that are the same no matter who you are and where you live. Family relationships – parent and child, siblings, extended family, spouses and partners – are the common threads that bind us all together.
If you’re looking for a book club experience in 2023 and you live in the Rochester NY region, there are plenty of opportunities through the Monroe County Library System. There are also book discussions and plenty of author readings offered in Rochester’s indie bookshops. You should make a point to check out two of my favorites: Akimbo Books at 318b East Avenue in downtown Rochester, and Hipocampo Childrens Books at 638 South Avenue.
If you’re looking for something virtual, the Strangelings club is great, but there is a monthly fee for the book. I do also recommend the Litsy app, where you’ll find lots of virtual book clubs, challenges, and other fun reading activities.
Whatever process you use to select your next book to read, make a point to dip your toes in uncharted waters. Learn about other people and cultures and traditions. Revel in the glorious diversity of stories out there. And make sure to get and use a library card!
From the Publisher: Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues–a bee, a key, and a sword–that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth.
This article in the New Yorker
A couple weeks ago, I 
Recently, local reporter Erica Bryant wrote about a “reading crisis” in Rochester, expressing outrage and alarm over the apparent lack of reading skills among Rochester residents. Bryant proposed creating a “gigantic youth literacy initiative” as a gift in honor of Frederick Douglass’ 200th birthday coming up in 2018.
Raising a Reader has been successful in introducing young children to reading for pleasure, but it has also opened doors for parents who are ready and eager to improve their reading skills. As reading becomes important to the parent, it also becomes important to the child.
Here’s an unusual factoid about Readers: not only do we love to read, we love to read about reading. There’s all sorts of books about books and reading, but Guinevere de la Mare has produced one of the loveliest little books-about-books I’ve seen in quite some time. She alternates a luscious variety of images – drawn, painted, collaged, photographed – with three heartfelt and earnest essays by Maura Kelly, Gretchen Rubin, and Ann Patchett. The images and essays blend into one delightful little book (and it is small enough to slip into a pocket or purse).
It's All About the Book 