Thursday, June 25, 2009

Book Club Welcomes Everyone

By Nora Curran
Bookworms Book Club
      The Bookworms Book Club at the Esther Bone Library recently marked its six-month anniversary. Setting up the club would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of the librarian, Rob Nankin. As a newcomer to New Mexico, I walked in one day to have a look around after the library's renovation and to ask if there was a book club. Nankin told me he had been trying to find someone to run the club, and like a true Brit, I volunteered.
       We soon managed to gather a loyal band of followers. We have covered a variety of topics and genres, from historical fact, to fiction, to apocalyptic, to autobiography and travel.
       What makes a book club successful is a forum created in which people have the freedom to express views and opinions without fear of being ridiculed or slapped down. Of course the usual rules of good manners and etiquette apply, but not liking a book or finding fault with the author's viewpoint is not reason for not saying so and expressing one's own reservations.
       Each bookworm has the chance to recommend a book, and he or she then has the opportunity to introduce it and open it up for discussion. If we have too many books on offer, we can take a vote or defer them until the next semester (six months). The book for July is the 1960 Pulitzer Prize winner “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
       Usually the books we choose are fairly new, but if a member wants to go back to a favorite and share it with us, then we are glad to do so. We also have plans to view movies made from some of the books we've read.
       There is still room for new members, and we welcome anyone interested in joining us. We meet once a month at 4:30 p.m., usually the first Thursday of each month, at the Esther Bone Library, 950 Pinetree Road, Rio Rancho. Call 891-5012 for more information. Because of the July 4th holiday, next month we will meet the second Thursday of the month, July 9.
       

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