Lost in a Book
Book clubs, my love of reading, and photo....
Oprah Winfrey’s book club inspired millions of women to read including me and many women I knew. It started in 1996 when my children were just barely getting into school. I read each book she had on her list those first few years. She helped me dive back into reading. I had stopped putting aside time to read when I was busy chasing after toddlers. Oprah changed that.
When I was teaching there were book clubs at school led by the librarian. The school would buy a little stack of books and we would all get together and discuss the book after school. This was designed to help get ideas for classroom discussions. I read some really great books during those years finding authors I still enjoy.
It wasn’t until I retired from teaching that I began reading for an hour or more as a part of my daily routine.
2014 was the year that we moved from our house to our vacation home in Clark county Nevada. At first, I dove into mysteries. Books like the series, which starts with “ A is for Alibi” by Sue Grafton that I had never finished. I read Daniel Silva, Michael Connely, Tana French, and Louise Penny. Not great literature, but great characters.
Clark county has an amazing library system. I could order from any county library from our little town of Mesquite to Las Vegas. The Libraries in Las Vegas had huge collections which enabled me to read one book, and then order the next two in the series, knowing they would be waiting for me in a week. It was great.
When we moved, just up the road to a larger house in Saint George Utah. I found the library system disappointing. It is not particularly well funded The numbers of authors, copies, and complete series are limited. So I turned to my Kindle for much of my reading and discovered Audible which allowed me to listen to a book as I worked in my studio.
Now I have three books going at a time. I realized that some books are really presented much better on Audible than in text. Other authors are great for e-books particulary non fiction that has links to content or definition. There are some favorites that I must buy the actual physical book knowing I will pick it up again.
A couple of years ago I joined a book club where members submit a few books and the group votes on a selection of 8 books to read from September to June. We also give each other a book at Christmas. This has helped me discover new authors and it keeps me from the temptation of reading just one genre or author.
Book clubs have been dominated by women for centuries. The first clubs began with Bible study groups in the 17th century. These groups allowed women to engage in intellectual discourse among themselves. In the late 18th century reading circles emerged in both America and Europe. Reading circles were not limited to particular races or classes, with one of the first reading groups for black women being formed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1827.
Book clubs continued to serve as intellectual outlets for women in the 19th and 20th centuries. This time period was the heyday of the Book of the Month Club and the Great Books movement, both of which encouraged average Americans to take on hefty literary novels.
Today Gen X and Z have reimagined the book club. Popstar Dua Lipa has a club, Book-Tok influencers have exploded on TikTok, to “silent” book clubs, reading has become a popular way to socialize.
Book club event listings grew 24% in the United States in 2023 from the previous year, according to ticketing platform Eventbrite.
Gen Z prefers fantasy to other genres.
Millennials read more books than other generations.
Gen X reads more online news than other generations.
Baby Boomers rely on best-seller lists to find their books.
The Silent Generation spends the most time reading each day.
A preference for physical books spans all generations.
(from BookBaby)
I grew up as the daughter of an English Professor. Needless to say, reading was highly valued in our household. When I was young, each week included a trip to the library. At Christmas my Aunt Gin would send several hardcover childrens books from Los Angeles to our home in Hawaii for my sister and I.
(As I sit here in my office writing there are several of these children's books rest on the shelves. These favorites have been enjoyed by my daughter and more recently, by my grandson.)
When I was searching through the Anthony Angel collection at the library of congress, I downloaded many photographs of women around the year I was born. It was in this collection I spotted this older woman sitting on a bench near Central Park reading in 1956. Everything about her posture and her focus told me she is a serious reader
The original reference photo was dull. I could have been easily overlooked this image in the collection if it weren't for the connection I felt to the act of being immersed in a book.
As I worked on the digital composition and as I was painting; I wanted to set a mood of person lost in a story. I painted the book bright yellow creating a primary focal point on the text. The reader and her background were painted in thoughtful cool hues of blue and violet.
As I worked I imagined that this woman might have escaped the heat of an apartment to head to a park bench under the shade of a tree and lose herself in a book. That’s something I can relate to!
Until Next time
Margaret
Loved your essay, Margaret, especially your account of reading and book clubs. See you soon!
I think I have more books than fabric. Mostly non- fiction though. I like to know things. Fiction keeps me away from my art because I want to read it all in one sitting.