We take a look at how Book Clubs are keeping calm and carrying on reading.
Virtual reality
I think all of us are rapidly becoming familiar with words such as ‘Zoom’ and ‘Houseparty’. Video calls are becoming the new social norm with virtual Saturday night drinks and birthday parties springing up all over the place. Not one to be behind the times book clubs are also getting in on the act. Eversham Festival of Words Book Club are a relatively new book club of about 10 members, most of whom are fairly new to the area. They usually meet once a month in a private member’s club where they hire a room with an all important bar. Not wanting the Book Club to stop during lockdown an online version was attempted to surprising success as Helen from the group informed us “Some people hadn’t used Zoom before yet it worked well and we will definitely continue during lockdown. It’s not the same but it’s a great way of keeping the Book Club going.”
Tech savvy
Yet is this too much for your average Book Club? Not one to stereotype but the average book clubber is a lady of a certain age. I know from the phone call my husband had with his mother last week that issues such as ‘dangerously low on storage space’ ‘update now or later’ and ‘password resets’ are difficult to negotiate over a telephone call. To then instruct how to download, register and USE such technology can be testing to say the least.
For the more tech savvy amongst us this isn’t a problem, in fact some book clubs have always been virtual as Sarah from Berwick describes: “When my sister moved to Australia I wanted someway to stay connected to her. We’ve always enjoyed reading so I sent her a book for us to both read by a certain date. We then Skyped our discussion. Our dad quickly got in on the act and over the years various friends both from Oz and here have become involved. We’ve always used technology, it isn’t a problem. Although timing can be tricky with the different time zones involved.”
Video call etiquette
Should you decide to proceed down the virtual route be prepared for it being a little different to the norm. Can you hear everyone? How do you avoid talking over one another? What about awkward silences? For those well established Book Clubs who are more friends than acquaintances this shouldn’t be a problem but it’s always an idea to have back up questions at the ready. Scoring, voting etc can all still be done online and you can even provide your own wine and nibbles!
Give it a go
With lockdown still in progress and ‘normal’ life not looking like it is going to resume any time soon, virtual Book Club may be a perfect temporary solution. If you are having trouble sourcing books why don’t you broaden the chosen theme? Try ‘a book by a female author’ or ‘the one that has been on your shelf the longest’. The different choices alone will provide plenty of conversation as each person will need to introduce their book. Choosing a book you already own is also very budget friendly. Start small, if you have a large group try a video call with one or two people first if you are un-confident. And if all else fails there is always our #GetInvolved questions that you can join in with every month. It’s totally free and requires no video element whatsoever. Check out our latest ones for The Salt Path by Raynor Winn here.
Let us know
Are you running your book club virtually? If so we would love to hear from you. Comment below or tag us on social media (@booksocialUK) letting us know how you are doing yours.
