I had great intentions of doing this on Goodreads and signed up and joined several clubs. Unfortunately I haven't managed a single book! My friends that are retired find them fun, but they have time to read the books in a week and I don't like the pressure when I have other things going on. I'm sure they are a great way to discuss books and to find new writers and genres, has anyone discovered some new reads through a book club?
No, but I am planning to be. I used to be though during high school in the school's book club for students. It was fun, but even before I wasn't able to participate effectively because of my priorities. I consider reading books as a hobby, but because there are always so many things that I have to put before my hobbies, I almost always have no time for doing my hobbies. When I have finally got a time, a consistent free time, I would definitely join a book club. I don't want to join now because I know that it would just not going to be useful for me currently.
I'm a member of Goodreads too and have been so for around four to five years now. I may have joined clubs, but I couldn't remember anymore. I only log in to add new books to my shelf. I try not to do what others do at Goodreads such as updating their reading progress because, as you mentioned, it can be pressuring. Simply read books at your own pace and just check those you've read completely.
I am a member of book reading club and it is one thing that I enjoy attending on weekends. I think it is great to be a part of such a club as you learn a lot from other members. I think it is great to be a part of such events as they really help an individual to grow in the right direction. I am obsessed with the club I have joined.
I find book clubs to be very enjoyable. I joined one about two years ago. The group was a total of 15 women of various ages and reading preferences. The hostess was very friendly and started the club because she was new in town from California and wanted to make new friends. She would choose a new location once every two weeks to have the meeting and she always voluntarily bought refreshments for the group from the restaurant at her own expense. It was a very popular group. The thing I didn't like about the group is that they always voted to read the current best sellers instead of choosing a variety of books from other good authors. They also chose books that were going to be made into movies. I didn't want to read the book and see the movie too. Just because a book is a best seller does not mean that it is considered a good book to all readers. I eventually left the group because I wanted to read more of what interested me and I couldn't always get the required reading from the library in time or make myself read them! I would definitely join another group if I could find one.
I think they are a good idea if you are in a neighborhood and maybe they should encourage children to have them too. I know my local library holds a book club too, but as I have so many other books to rediscover and to read, I don't feel I could contribute as much as I would like to. My friend posts her book club reads on Facebook, but she has more time than me right now and she loves it. I'm glad they are helping others and hope one day my book and me along with it will make it to a book club, either online or not.
I'd love to join a book club, but the truth is that at this stage in my life I hardly have any time for leisure reading. I have three jobs that require all my attention, and on top of that, I also study. It's been a long time since I read anything solely for the purpose of relaxing. Most of the time I have to read material that directly relates to my work, and occasionally I wonder when I will be able again to fit the kind of literature that interests me back into my life.
I belong to an online group club. We've been doing it for well over a year now. We have a rule that the book we read must not be less than 6 months old because we have members from other countries who might not have access to new releases. This has turned out very well for us because it makes us look at wider variety of genres and authors. I think if we didn't have that rule in place, we'd read nothing but books off of the New York Times Best Sellers List.
I've always wanted to join one, but I never did it because I like to read without pressure. So, while I'd enjoy the conversation, I don't want to read what I don't want to read, nor do I want to feel guilty if I missed a meeting or didn't read my "assignment."
