Building Better Book Clubs: What I Learned as a Writer From 5 Years of Book Clubs – Guest Post

October 26, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

is a series of posts focused on all things book club related: discussions, listicles, how to’s and more!


 

I’ve been writing Building Better Book Clubs posts for two years now. I am quite passionate about bookish discussion and the power of book groups. Writing these posts have been soooo much fun! But, I realize that I only have a single perspective. Book clubs provide many different things to many different people, and I want to explore this more! Therefore, I am working with fellow bloggers to write guest posts on their experiences.

I am incredibly excited to host Dani @ Perspective of a Writer as my first guest post blogger! Dani is an (aspiring to be published) author, Korean media fanatic, and prolific blogger and reviewer. Seriously, I don’t know how she manages to write so many well-thought-out blog posts so quickly! Her blog is exceptionally diverse with book, manga, and K-drama reviews as well as ultimate lists and memes. In fact, Dani is the originator of the I <3 Characters! meme. If you love memes, I suggest you check it out and start participating. Finally, her overall blog aesthetic is incredible. I have such major aesthetic envy!

I’ve asked Dani to write a guest post because understanding readers are essential to becoming a well-received author. At the end of every book/manga review, Dani always provides her thoughts as a writer. She covers topics such as authenticity, writing style, plot, pacing, and world-building in each post. We got into a discussion about book clubs (shocker) and I learned that Dani has been participating in book clubs for years. Not only to bring more bookish joy into her life but to help her understand her future audience!

A HUGE THANK YOU to Dani for sharing her reflections as a writer who participates in book clubs. I’ve never stopped to think about what I can learn about writing from reading, but now I realize reading is essential to becoming an author! I mean, yes, that seems like common sense, but as someone who only identifies as a reader, I never considered this! I hope that many other aspiring writers can learn from your lessons below…

All titles below are links to the book’s Goodreads page


 

What I Learned as a Writer From 5 Years of Book Club Banner

Hi all! It’s such an honor to be guest posting on Jackie’s blog today.

I have long admired Jackie and her perspective on blogging. She believes in holding discussions in the comments and is insatiably curious about what others think and experience. She is totally lacking in any desire to gain a huge following but desires deep and abiding relationships. GAAAAHHHH, to have such a pure love for the book community is truly to be admired.

Another thing I admire is Jackie’s passion for book clubs.

We share a common love for participating in book clubs, though my number is 2 (NOT 7!) For the past 5 years I’ve participated each month in my friend’s book club (we take 4 months off at different times,) and this year I joined a second book club with a totally different group of women. I think to get the most out of a book club Jackie’s perspective is the best one to have. Be willing to share, listen and consider.

As a writer myself, being a part of my book clubs has been eye-opening as I learned about when and why readers read books (and not writer readers like myself!)

Book Club Guest Post Banner year 1

The easier to read the better.

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You’re probably thinking, ‘uhhh, of course, it needs to be easy to read?!’ but the problem is that some books are easy to read and some are easier to read and others make reading harder.

This year (not knowing anything) I brought Kim by Rudyard Kipling and they chose it to read. I ADORE this book… I kid you not, the relationship between Kim and his lama is incandescent. I’ve read this book 3 times already and it’s not one that can be called easy (nor do I EVER re-read). Much like Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, there are footnotes referencing all sorts of explanations for culture and places in India that Kipling referenced in his story. If you pick up the wrong copy and the notes are at the back for many this book is unreadable.

For a writer, it is ESSENTIAL to make your book as easy to read as possible, especially for your target audience.

Book Club Guest Post Banner year 2

The story should inspire the reader.

17557750Readers, especially in a book club, need something to discuss. No one enjoys rehashing the parts they enjoyed for long. Those books quickly get passed over for personal gossip!

You’ve probably read reviews in the book community for books that are enjoyable but forgettable. The reviews are short, mention with as few spoilers as possible what they enjoyed and they tell you to read it if you like (fill in the blank.) Many young adult books are like this… fun, good, enjoyable but nothing to discuss. *shrug* Books like Wonder, Me Before You, and The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax were all stories full of characters and experiences that caused debate, sympathy, awe, anger, and wonder. The readers REACTED! They went through a range of emotions.

For a writer, causing the reader to think about their own lives, and ponder how they would have reacted, is one of the highest forms of flattery for a book.

Book Club Guest Post Banner year 3

Real is better than fantasy.

18143977What the…? Yup, fantasy is out. No, just kidding. Here’s the deal, readers read to escape their life on some level, but they also want to relate to what they are reading, and possibly learn something they didn’t know or experience before.

These all contradict one another in some fashion. Fantasy is great but there is more of a burden to make the world work so the readers believe such a world is possible. This is why ‘based on real life’ and non-fiction books are so popular in book clubs. Books like All the Light We Cannot See, where a lot of it is based off of extensive research and Boys in the Boat, a dramatized non-fiction are some examples. Also classics, like Gone with the Wind are highly desired to read because there is this sense that if its lingered in readers minds then it must reflect reality closely.

For a writer, even of fantasy and books with elements that aren’t possible in our world, there must be a grounding reality that allows readers to believe.

Book Club Guest Post Banner year 4

Readers love when characters suffer.

25150798It took me a couple of years to realize this one… because I love the experience, the relationships and the growth in books. When I thought about what the other ladies enjoyed, I realized they wanted suffering.

We live in a world where we have things we go through, sure, but for the most part those reading books for pleasure aren’t really having a hard time in life. We all generally have roofs over our heads, computers or phones, food is obtainable even for the worst off among us. Suffering is not nearly as wide spread, so readers crave it. Sure they love the experience of a different culture like with Wild Swans and The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane… They enjoyed the look at history with Winter Garden and Endurance… But its the suffering in those books and in Born Survivors and A Man Called Ove that made them feel.

For a writer, mary sues should be avoided at all costs (no matter how like the reader they are), readers want characters to go through all the hardships, pain and torture that they don’t in their real lives.

Book Club Guest Post Banner year 5

But readers get upset if it doesn’t end happily.

13581132Hahahhaha contradictory, right?! When a book is TOO depressing then readers are dissatisfied. It hits too close to home and then reading isn’t as enjoyable. Happy endings, not reality, please.

One book really brought this home to me. It is The Language of Flowers. We get this intense suffering and hardship that Victoria goes through. She does some pretty bad crap to her child and makes some tough choices. But the end made no sense. It TOTALLY went against her character, the pattern of action Victoria made through the book, frankly, people don’t make 180-degree changes in their lives. Maybe after another 10 years of suffering… But the readers wouldn’t have enjoyed that AT ALL. Every single reader at our discussion said the book would have been unendurable if it wasn’t for the happy ending.

Looking back, I realized as a writer this happened many times before. They don’t care about the character being real or true. As readers, they were reacting to their experience with each book.

This was super enjoyable to ponder as I met with my book clubs the past couple of months. As I sat and listened to the discussions and wondered at why some meetings were more attended than others… it came to me that books are intensely personal as well as a point of commonality between readers. All of the books I mentioned are ones my book clubs have enjoyed over the years and I totally recommend them.

Book Club Challenge:

The next time you read a book, for whatever reason (but for a book club would be most excellent), consider whether these 5 points effected how you rate the book. Did laborious writing make it harder to read or did the fact you fly through it make you love it? Was the ending a factor in a higher rating? Did your favorite character suffer extremely?

Click here for more Book Club Challenges!

Thanks for reading.
Dani @ Perspective of a Writer

 


 

I have a lot to discuss with my book clubs next time we meet! I know quite a few of the participants are writers, so I’ll see what they learned about their craft through reading and our discussion. Plus, so many new books for me to add to my TBR. I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read one of these books… O_o

THANK YOU Dani! It takes courage to provide the first guest post. This is a great way to help writers think more critically about how their books will be perceived by their eventual audiences. I learned a ton! It was also a ton of fun working with you. It has been a ton of fun having such a passionate blogger and writer guest post on my blog! 

If you don’t already follow Dani @ Perspective of a Writer, check out her blog now! She’s got an awesome quarterly giveaway for those who participate in her I <3 Characters! meme — check it out!


What do you think?

  • Are you a writer? What sorts of things do you write?
  • What have you learned about writing from participating in book clubs?
  • Which books have you read which align well with what Dani identified above? Why?
  • Do you have experiences you’d like to share related to book clubs? Let me know if you’d like to write a guest post for the Building Better Book Clubs series!

4 Comments

  • Dani @ Perspective of a Writer October 29, 2018 at 11:11 pm

    Awww Thank you so much for hosting me Jackie! It was super fun… It would be fun to hear what those in your book clubs learned too. And if any of these were also concluded by them. <3 And thank you so much for mentioning my I Heart Characters! Meme!!

    • Jackie B October 30, 2018 at 5:37 pm

      <3 You, my dear, are wonderful. This is an incredible post! :) You have so many wonderful insights to share with the world. I wish we were closer so we could hang out IRL. ;) And yes, how could I NOT include your meme?!

  • Lashaan Balasingam @ Bookidote November 3, 2018 at 7:17 pm

    This is insanely original and soooo insightful. How it dissects book clubs and makes you realize that there is so much more to them and the books chosen than meets the eye. I love the one about how stories must allow readers to discuss, have themes that spark discussions. Some books are truly just meant for fun and nothing more, and clearly they won’t bring much to the table for book clubs hahah Awesome collaboration, Jackie & Dani! 😀

    • Jackie B November 5, 2018 at 9:38 am

      Dani’s observation about themes which spark discussions is so on point. I’ve been to a few book club meetings with people who love to discuss and dig into the concerns of the book but we’ve just been crickets. There’s nothing to discuss! That’s always a little heartbreaking. There are a shocking number of books which meet this criterion, too. It’s important to choose a book which is challenging enough to drive discussion without being something everyone loves or hates. Picking a good book club book is hard!

Participate in the discussion!

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