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Susan Huffman Brown, a 2001 alumna from the UNC at Chapel Hill School
of Information and Library Science, is a readers' advisor at the Cameron
Village Library in Raleigh. Read about how she is helping local book reading
groups:
September 14, 2003
The News & Observer
Books offer an avenue for self-discovery
Author: J. Peder Zane; Staff Writer
Edition: Final
Section: Arts & Entertainment
Page: G4
Oprah Winfrey is publishing's Johnny Appleseed. Since she began her famous
book club in 1996, her passion for literature and fellowship has spread
to millions of living rooms across the country.
At a time when popular trends have the staying power of spotted bananas,
the book club craze she ignited has demonstrated remarkable staying power.
Her bountiful harvest was on display this month at the Cameron Village
Regional Library in Raleigh. Eighty representatives from Cranial Crunch,
Meeting of the Minds, Novel Reads and other local book clubs gathered
to share ideas and get pointers.
"We organized this conference because book groups are such an important
part of the local reading scene," said Susan Brown, a librarian
at Cameron Village. "We wanted to find out how we could
better serve these groups and let them know about some of the ongoing
programs we have for them."
Brown said anxiety is a common problem among book club participants: "They're
often afraid that they won't be able to really explain what the book is
about, or lack the background knowledge to discuss a particular author."
In response, Cameron Village has started a pilot project that it hopes
other local libraries will pick up. So far the branch has developed reading
group kits for 20 popular books. Usually available with 48 hours' notice,
they include book reviews, author interviews and biographies for such
classic works as "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and "The
Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath and recent favorites including "Balzac
and the Little Chinese Seamstress" by Dai Sijie and "Snow Falling
on Cedars" by David Guterson . The library has multiple copies of
each of those titles, and to build its collection, it is asking book club
members to donate their used copies.
Brown added that the staff is happy to help readers find background material
on works for which complete kits are not yet available.
Given the opportunity to speak to the group, I also addressed the crisis
of confidence that strikes many book club members. I reminded them that
books are not mathematical equations that allow only one correct answer;
they are canvases created by artists who rely on readers to add colors
and textures. Books don't live on the page but in the minds of readers
who give the words meanings the authors might never have imagined. What
we bring to books is at least as important as what they offer us. Some
people can read more closely than others -- most books do have themes
and ideas that might elude some readers. But our heartfelt, and hardheaded,
responses are always worthy.
That said, mere opinion does not go far enough. I told the crowd about
the wise mantra a journalism professor pounded into me years ago: Your
opinion is the least interesting thing you have to share; how you arrived
at that opinion is the most interesting. The art of reading is the process
of self-knowledge. We read not only to inhabit the minds of imaginative
writers and the wondrous characters they create, but by pushing ourselves
to think deeply and playfully about that experience to learn something
about ourselves.
The other point I touched on was the relatively small number of titles
that so many book clubs embrace. Favorites such as "The Secret Life
of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd and "A Lesson Before Dying" by
Ernest J. Gaines are fine works. But it is clear that readers' lack of
confidence also explains their popularity: Afraid of selecting a bomb,
book club members stick with the tried and true.
They could consult local librarians and bookstore owners to expand their
repertoire or check out a few books about books. "The New York Public
Library's Books of the Century" offers 150 brief descriptions of
stellar works published during the 20th century, from African-American
classics such as "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. Du Bois
to works of fantasy including "Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar
Rice Burroughs and children's books like "Charlotte's Web" by
E.B. White. "The New Lifetime Reading Plan" by Clifton Fadiman
and John S. Major, "The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to Classical
Education You Never Had" by Susan Wise Bauer and "Great Books"
by David Denby also offer invaluable introductions to worthy works.
One fun twist would be to use a book of author interviews -- such as "Shop
Talk: A Writer and His Colleagues and Their Work" by Philip Roth
-- as the basis for a discussion. Read Roth's dialogue with Edna O'Brien,
then use it as a starting point for discussing one of her novels.
Book clubs might also begin with book reviews by admired writers. "A
Writer's Eye: Collected Book Reviews" from Eudora Welty might inspire
readers to explore works by William Faulkner, S.J. Perlman, Colette and
others. What does Welty have to say? What do you think? Why?
Book clubs are one of the happy phenomena of popular culture, filling
our minds with great literature -- and our stomachs with homemade biscuits.
The passion and interest expressed by attendees at the Cameron Village
conference suggests the best is yet to come.
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