Hello friends,
As we approach the 15th of the month and our next discussion of The Briar Club, we can see that our July 15th BOTM selection may need more support. Our last three discussions were likely too taxing and not well-timed, so we apologize for our mistake here.
Here is a question for you all: shall we pause our BOTM discussion for July and skip to Aug 15th for our next BOTM discussion? We can leave all three current suggestions and votes in place and revisit the list on May 15th for the Aug 15th discussion.
In addition, we’d like to remind you that we are very open to feedback and that nothing here is set in stone. We are extremely flexible in planning and execution, and can even reschedule anything that is already planned. We are very aware of the increasing demands for your time and energy from current events. This book club is your book club, so please do not ever hesitate to send us a note about anything.
Happy Sunday, everyone. We hope you are all having a wonderful day.
I can only do one book a month; otherwise, I do not have enough time to read other books that I have read about and want to read. How about alternating a LP book one month and a voted book one month, rather than trying to do two in some months as it is now in May and July? I will consider other suggestions.
As Nancy said, I will consider any and all suggestions! I felt challenged to keep up with three discussions last month even though I was only reading one book for the first time, ie “On Tyranny,” and rereading “Still Life” and “The River We Remember.” That may have been because “On Tyranny” was not in my category of a “lite” read and considering it in light of current U.S. and world events meant reading carefully and thinking before commenting. I think May’s book of the month will be similarly challenging to digest and discuss.
Two discussions seems less demanding in some ways, especially when we are revisiting Three Pines. Having said that, a summer break seems reasonable to me also. Maybe we should try a hiatus in July-August?
I also like the idea of a “pop up” book discussion. Although that is how the discussion of “On Tyranny” was categorized, the term could apply to any book that captures enough interest.
My vote would be to leave July as a discussion of “The Cruelest Month” which, in my view, has a lot of material for discussion, select a new author/work for August and revisit the schedule with the option for a spontaneous “pop up” if there is the bandwidth for that.
Clear as mud, right?
I like Nancy’s idea, simply because I find myself much more consumed by news these days. I am finding it more difficult to focus on fiction. But I also like Jane’s ideas, particularly the broadening of pop-ups to any book that captures enough interest. I am happy to follow the majority here.