Community: Featured Book Clubs

Featured Book Clubs get: the "cheap-but-drinkable" white wine of your choice, cheese & crackers and an evening shopping in our Lincoln store after close on a Tuesday or Wednesday. You have the bookstore all to yourselves - shouting with glee about the books you find is encouraged!

After you've finished shopping, you'll be treated to slices of pizza at Yia Yia's Pizza, just around the corner (at 1423 O Street), where you can spend the rest of your evening talking about the treasures you found - or discussing your book of the month. (We request that you purchase your own beverages - Yia Yia's has an impressive wine/beer list - and tip your bartenders/pizza chefs.)

If you'd like to be one of our featured book clubs, please email us.  We'll choose a new book club every couple of months!

Current Featured Book Club: Midtown Village Book Club

"Midtown Village Book Club" visited our store on Wednesday, January 11, 2011.

Chosen beverage: Pinot Grigio

A few favorite books: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World ("that had a GREAT story - we talked a lot about that").

Their club: Midtown Village Book Club is relatively new, having started up in 2011. They meet once a month and usually alternate reading Fiction and Non-Fiction. Decisions are made by "arm wrestling and hair pulling!" (They laugh & say that, "no, no, it's actually a very calm process.")

They, of course, enjoy snacks and wine while they talk about their books - and say readily that some of their best discussions have started with a book but spiral widely to include a range of related subjects - "and that's really fun!"

Tips & Tidbits: Because Midtown Village Book Club is new, they joke that they don't have lots of advice yet. "We're kind of like the first season of 'Seinfeld' - it's funny, but it's a whole different show now! We're evolving!"

If you are interested in more information about the Midtown Village Community, please get in touch with these ladies: Midtown Village Lincoln

Current Featured Book Club: The Swede and Friends

"The Swede and Friends" visited our store on Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

Chosen beverage: Archer Farms Italian Sodas

A few favorite books: Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon ("Good Mystery!), Tortilla Curtain by T. Coraghessan Boyle ("Great...but horrible. Tough subject matter.") Devil in the White City ("Some of us really liked that one."), Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson ("Oh, yeah...that was a really sweet book. We loved that!")

Their club: The Swede and Friends started up around 2000. Says Kate, "I think I was 10 - Ha ha!" Most members are women who connected through Union College. Four of the original members remain active.

They have meetings once a month - "always with FOOD!" In the beginning, the hostess would prepare a full buffet table but in recent years, they've adopted the habit of co-hosting, which is less overwhelming. Food is so important to this club that they even made a cookbook - The Swede and Friends Cookbook, which contains favorite recipes of the delicacies prepared on club nights.

Everyone in the club agreed that meetings are "the hightlight of the month" and the annual Christmas Party is one of the favorite gatherings of the year. "We take turns reading aloud from a Christmas book, like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." "Oh! Remember when we read A Child's Christmas in Wales?!" Everyone nodded & there was a surge of satisfied murmuring.

Tips & Tidbits:  This club has gotten creative with their choices - and occasionally, they don't limit themselves to a single book. "Sometimes, we all just show up with what we're reading. It's really fun to see all the different books - you get some great ideas about what to read next!" Some years, they choose an overriding theme like 20th century women authors. "It's okay to mix it up - we do lots of different things." "We always read the One Book, One Lincoln selection, though!"

When asked about books they loathed, there was laughter all around. "The Mystery of the Pink Carnation - it was dreadful!" "Oh, my gosh, yes! It was a poorly-written, tawdry bodice-ripper!" With mischievous humor, amid peals of laughter, they recounted how they gathered all the club members' copies into a basket - and gave it to the member who selected the book! "You don't have to take things overly seriously. It's important to have fun!"

Featured Book Club: Crows of the Corn

"Crows of the Corn" visited our store on Wednesday, July 20, 2011.

Chosen "cheap-but-drinkable" white wine: Pinot Grigio

A few favorite books: The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger ("LOVED that!"), The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende ("our first book - we picked it because it was banned"), The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold ("great discussion - very controversial"), The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown ("we brought art work and all kinds of stuff for that one!").

Their club: Crows of the Corn (alternately known as "The Crows of the Cornfield" or even "Crow Girls") started in 2000. Five of the original members remain active and new members have joined.

They meet once a month. They joke that they choose their books by the "whoever wins the argument" method but, usually, they take turns hosting - and the hostess picks the book. No matter what, there is always food. "We make brownies in an all-edges pan and Kim brings Chantilly Cream to put on top." When asked about Chantilly Cream, they all swooned. It's cream whipped with some kind of liquor. Brandy was suggested as a possibility but it seems that the exact recipe is a well-kept crow secret. In addition to the club meetings at members' homes, the crows are also known to gather for a weekend at Mahoney State Park. "We get a cabin for two nights. We bring food, wine...our knitting...and Mary makes 'burnt sugar popcorn'!" ("Kettle corn," Mary protests. "I only burned it that one time!")

Over the years, the crows have designed club sweatshirts, bandannas, T-shirts and posters. "Like crows, we like to gather things!" Laurie does a crow block print every year to give to club members for Christmas.

Tips & Tidbits:  They all agree that camaraderie is crucial and admit to being "a little crazy". "You know," Melinda said slyly, "a group of crows is called a 'murder'!" These ladies have bonded over books they loved - and books they loathed. "Remember The Gift of Fear?! Oh, that was AWFUL!" Lora eyed Melinda. "Yes - you read that book before I was in the club, and I ended up buying it at your garage sale."

They advise those wanting to start a club to "just set a date. Put it on the calendar - and invite your friends. Don't worry or over plan. Your club can start with whoever shows up - and then, people will come and go. We're pretty flexible. People come & go in our club. Once, we invited author Megan Daum to come when we were discussing her book - and she ended up joining our club!"

Featured Book Club: Treat Goddesses

Treat Goddesses were our first Featured Book Club! They visited our store on Wednesday, May 11, 2011.

Chosen "cheap-but-drinkable" white wine: Pinot Grigio

A few favorite books: History of Love by Nicole Krauss ("oh, that was GREAT"), Map of the World by Jane Hamilton, The Eight by Katherine Neville, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Divine Secrets of the Yia Yia Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells ("Tears, I laughed so hard!")

Their club: Treat Goddesses started in 1988. Sheila is the only remaining founding member. Many others date their membership back to 1994 - and some members are relatively new.

They meet once a month. In December each year, they plan an extra long meeting ("in one of the most comfortable homes!") to determine the next year's reading list. They used to write book ideas on poster board and give members stickers to place next to their choices - but they've since abandoned this technique in favor of open discussion. (Availability of the book is important. They choose books that can be found at the library or used bookstores.) At the December meeting, they schedule a host & facilitator for each meeting - and all agree that food is an important component! The food is potluck - but they all try to make something that has a connection to the book. "When we read The Short Bus by Jonathon Mooney (about education), someone brought ants on a log - celery stuffed with peanut butter & raisins!"

Author David Laskin joined their meeting when they discussed his book, The Children's Blizzard, and Elisabeth Brink was on speakerphone when they discussed her book, Save Your Own. (Marcia emailed her and was surprised at how willing she was to participate. All members agreed that it was a great experience to be able to talk with her and ask questions.)

Tips & Tidbits:  "It helps if you have some structure to your meeting. The social element is really important. When you're discussing books, it helps if you know the people you're talking with so you feel more comfortable. However, you want to talk about the book at some point. We usually plan for a half-hour to an hour of socializing in the beginning. If people show up for that part - great - and if not, it's no big deal. We're pretty easy going. After the socializing, we talk about the book. (Some of our best discussions actually came out of books we didn't like.) And, of course, there's always the food - that's really fun! Most of the time, we'll meet at someone's home - but, every now and then, we'll meet at a coffee shop. Sometimes, life gets in the way of your plans. It's good to be flexible!"