For years, starting in childhood I have read books aloud to one other person at a time, a friend, my sister, a girlfriend. I used to measure the time of my significant relationships and friendships by the number of books that we read out loud to each other. We discussed the books, our feelings, what we thought the point of the book was, chapter by chapter. It is the most intimate kind of book club whether we were reading a book of essays, poetry, or novels. I suggest to book lovers everywhere that they engage in such a book club; you will not be disappointed.
For a few years, a small group met quarterly to discuss a specific theme. I researched and provided a suggested bibliography to include fiction, nonfiction, biography including print and imagery usually via YouTube. A few of the topics I recall were: The Roaring Twenties; The 1890s; Communes/Cults; The Depression; Fads and Fashions of the 60’s; First Ladies.
We probed the depth of these topics, each reading/viewing our own choices. I provided starting questions that enabled us to search for commonalities and “essential learnings.”
Very enjoyable discussions and learning. Alas, I moved out of state!
25+ years ago, I was in a small Indiana book group. We read Susan Howatch’s novel “The Wheel of Fortune” that she wrote in 1984. The host of the meeting suggested that we all dress up as characters from the book and play their parts. Much of the 800 page book took place during the Victorian era. Our host lived in a Victorian home on Main Street in our town. She served tea and we role-played our characters. I was very uncomfortable. Looking back on this experience, I can say that from all of the 30 years of book clubs/groups that I have participated in, this was the most memorable and I still love the book to this day!