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Read On! In Praise of Book Clubs

October 12, 2021

I got to attend October’s Books & Brews Club meeting at the new Fat Toad location. It was my first Books & Brews Club meeting in quite some time thanks to my life imploding in various ways and a pause in meetings due to COVID. Despite the length of time away and the new location for the meeting, going back was easy and comfortable and warm like an old sweater.

Book clubs are many things for their members: an excuse to get out of the house, a reason to read outside normal genres/comfort zones, and/or a way to exercise critical thinking and discussion skills. For me, book clubs are more about fellowship and friendship than reading and discussing. Books & Brews is no exception. Our members are a mix of ages, genders, religious backgrounds, political beliefs, and Oklahoma college loyalties. Such a variety doesn’t often help a group of people mesh, but at the Fat Toad table sharing a meal (that’s pretty delicious, by the way) and a drink (either alcoholic and not), we’re family.

The Library started Books & Brews Book Club three years ago with a very strict two-hour format: we talk about anything BUT the month’s book in the first hour, then in the second hour we talk about the book for as long as we want before getting back to other conversations. This format allows us to catch up and break the ice before we get into the book discussion and it ensures anyone who didn’t read the book for whatever reason feels comfortable coming to our meetings anyway.

Our next meeting is Saturday, November 6th from 1 – 3 pm at the new Fat Toad (3882 W. 530 Rd.). If you want to read the book we’re discussing, check out “The House in the Cerulean Sea” by TJ Klune. We’ve got a copy in the Library, on Overdrive, and Chris has some at the Book Exchange. If you don’t want to read it, stop by anyway.