Gotta be honest; I'm disappointed no reader noticed there was no annual book club report published this time last year, looking back at the fifth full year of the No Wine or Whiners Book Club.
And though I'm tempted to combine both year five and year six in this post, I know that would be pushing my luck. Consequently, what follows are some highlights for year six only. Best news: Except February, 2022 - when there was a slight uptick in Covid-19 - all of our meetings this past year were face-to-face. Sweet.
Top prize for fiction: Bewilderment (2021) - Richard Powers. Powers has recently ascended into my top tier of authors, making the club's warm embrace of his most recent novel gratifying for me, given I select most of the books we read.
Top prize for non-fiction: American Baby (2021) - Gabriele Glaser. One thing I like most about my club is how many of our members are discerning readers. This unqualified winner was recommended to me by one of those members. I knew immediately while ramming through it that it would generate a rich discussion. That discussion far exceeded my expectations.
Including our first meeting in 2023 - discussing I Am, I Am, I Am (2017) by Maggie O'Farrell - the club has now met sixty-four times. Five of the six charter members are still fully engaged, our attendance has remained stable, and I intend to maintain the guideline of never repeating an author. I welcome hearing about any book club you're in, especially how you benefit from your involvement.
I continue to find your book club interesting, engaging, stimulating. Most of the books are ones that I appreciate with a few exceptions. You probably know what I am talking about! LOL. Thanks for including me over these many years which has led to many great discussions. And always new learnings and perspectives. What could be better than that?!
ReplyDeletePat I love your book club! Great selections, interesting discussions, fun people, and excellent facilitation. I'm especially appreciating it after attending a zoom book club meeting that was disastrous, led by someone I had high hopes for but was disappointed.
ReplyDeleteInes & Kim; Given you two are both members of the "charter" group mentioned in my post, obviously your support and participation since the first meeting in January 2017 has been a big part of the success of the club. That aside, thank you both for your gracious comments AND for reading my blog.
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