I remember the moment I found my people: four women, all sassy feminists who loved cheesy pasta and reading with equal fervour. Our first book club meeting involved Liane Moriarty, homemade dessert and cheap wine: Since then, we’ve read contemporary fiction, books of essays, Stella Prize winners and the odd memoir. We don’t even all read the same book at the same time; with different reading speeds, we wait until we’ve finished the book before discussing it.
But having joined (and left) several book clubs over my reading life, I know that a book club like this is a rare and special thing. It’s easy to find yourself in the wrong book club, quoting the Times Literary Supplement to people who would rather talk about the cheese or feeling guilty instead of enjoying a night out.
We’ve identified the six types of book club – which one is yours?
The ‘What Book?’ book club
Can also be called a wine club. May be referred to using air quotes: “book club.” Members may forget to read the book.
This type of group uses the term “book club” like a drug-dealing Mafioso uses the term “Italian restaurant” to hide his money laundering scheme. The book is discussed briefly, if at all and in black and white terms: ‘It was crap’, ‘Loved it’ or, more commonly, ‘I haven’t finished it.’ Then the real work of gossiping over hummus and chardonnay begins.
Reading material: Maybe
Catchcry: ‘Shall I open another bottle?’
The very specific niche book club
This group only reads books written by feminist writers from Nigeria aged under 30. Or young adult fiction written by men at the turn of the century. Or Man Booker/Miles Franklin/Hugo Award winners. There is a book club for every genre, niche and interest, from campus horror to graphic novels, erotic fiction to self-help. If this is your thing, make sure you pick a genre broad enough genre that will keep your book club going for a while. Many niche book club peter out when a fad passes. And make sure the books you want to read are actually available.
Reading material: Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski, Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg; anything that has to be ordered in by your local bookshop or passed around because you can only find one copy.
Catchcry: ‘I only read…’
The highbrow book club
Full of literature majors and wannabe writers, these groups prefer classics, complex multiple narratives and authors who have sufferred for their art and are willing to make their readers do likewise. Robust conversation and debate is encouraged, and the books aren’t so much discussed as meticulously decimated through intellectual rigour. Conversation can quickly turn into broader diatribes on politics, religion and philosophy.
Reading material: Anything translated from a Baltic language.
Catchcry: ‘The overarching narrative arc echoes Ulysses’ journey in the Iliad, but there are Jungian resonances. It may be appropriate to apply a deconstructionist reading.’
The too-busy book club
After 35 emails and a flurry of texts, phone calls and social media messages, the members finally find a time when they are all available, and then someone’s kid gets sick or a work meeting runs late. So they reschedule for another time, and it all starts again. This book club spends so long organising when to catch up that they never get a chance to read a book, let alone talk about it.
Reading material: None.
Catchcry: ‘Next year is crazy for me, how about January 2018?’
Read: 10 Australian books to read before you die
The competitive book club
This book club is the only competitive sport to occur in the homes of participants, and social tensions can result. It usually begins with food. Jessica started it with the homemade pesto made from basil grown in her garden. Then Lucy raised the bar with chocolate-dipped strawberries, and Stephanie one upped with handmade profiteroles. There’s an unspoken competition as to who can read the book the fastest, then used the group email chain to allude to the ending in a way that lies just short of being a full-blown spoiler, but stretches just far enough to be annoying. Duck for cover if they start discussing their children’s achievement.
Reading material: The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Catchcry: ‘Have you only just…?’
The lowbrow book club
This group doesn’t apologise for the easy-reading nature of its selection. Books include anything that is about to be turned into a movie (or movies that are turned into books), vampire fiction, and the entire 50 Shades series. These clubbers like their books to be the literary equivalent of Keeping Up with the Kardashians – mind-numbing, glossy and chunky.They are also non-judgemental enthusiasts who genuinely enjoy reading.
Reading material: All books written by Dean Koontz or a celebrity. Anything featuring light pornography, werewolves, vampires or zombies.
Catchcry: ‘I couldn’t put it down.’
