THE BOOKMARK September 2011
Talking About Books with the Town of Pelham Public Library Book Club
Who are some of the most well-read people in Pelham? There’s a good chance that they’re members of the Town of Pelham Public Library Book Club, which has been a haven for avid Pelham readers for more than a dozen years.
“It’s a real mix of people, ranging in age from their 20’s to 70’s,” says Joanne Davies, who oversaw the club until last year and remains a member. “And we really do discuss the books. Some book clubs turn into klatches, but not this one.”
The Book Club has 25 members, and about 18 of them are considered active, “with a core group of five or six people,” Davies adds. They’re mostly women, though the occasional man does attend, and they meet on the first Thursday (or second when necessary) of the month in the program room of the library at 7:30. It’s a single title club – one book is read and discussed at a time.
“We only read books that are available through the Westchester Library System,” adds Davies. “When we finish our meeting, the next book to be read is already at the desk and can be picked up that night by members.”
The meeting usually runs until 8:45 and Davies is quick to add that the Book Club is open to everyone.
“Usually, the type of book that we read is contemporary or historical fiction,” says Claudia Gisolfi, the Adult Services Librarian at Pelham Public Library who now runs the Book Club. “But we also read non-fiction, often in the form of memoirs. Many of the books are recommended by members. But I’d say overall that historical fiction is probably the favorite.”
Gisolfi says that last season, one of the most popular reads was Who Occupies This House by Kathleen Hill, an author who grew up in Pelham. Another favorite was The Hour I First Believed, by Wally Lamb, about the Columbine shooting. Other books that were enjoyed last year include South of Broad by Pat Conroy and Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.
“It’s a lively group,” said Gisolfi. “I usually gather together some book group questions before the meeting, in case there’s a moment of silence. And I always make notes so I have something to draw upon in case the discussion doesn’t flourish. But that’s usually not a problem.”
Their last book, discussed in the June meeting, was a collection of short stories by Colum McCann called Let the Great World Spin, which Gisolfi says was “an excellent book about high-wire artist Phillipe Petit, who walked between the Twin Towers in 1974, and the September 11 catastrophe.”
Davies recalls other outstanding books read by the Book Club, including A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Misty, and Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, by Jung Chang. They also liked Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Stones from the River, by Ursula Hegi.
“Our aim is to try to keep it literary,” she says. That said, there are some tomes that the members of the club frankly didn’t like at all.
“We weren’t fans of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or Jack Kerouc’s On the Road, which was disappointing,” she says. “I think the worst one was Father Joe, The Man Who Saved My Soul, by Tony Hendra. But the good thing was that all of these books promoted a very lively discussion.”
Did you know?
Literary Reference Center is a database about thousands of authors and their works. Information from major reference works, books, and literary journals are combined. It contains full text for more than 35,000 plot summaries, synopses and work overviews, nearly 100,000 articles/essays of literary criticisms, more than 253,000 author biographies, more than 460 literary journals, more than 693,000 book reviews, nearly 78,000 classic and contemporary poems, more than 19,600 classic and contemporary short stories, more than 6,500 author interviews, more than 8,200 classic texts, and much more. It also includes numerous reference works. It’s a great resource for book clubs, students and lovers of literature. It is accessible at the WLS home page www.westchesterlibraries.org. Click on DIGITAL COLLECTIONS tab near the top of the page. Scroll down to Research Tools and click on Literary Reference Center.
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Summer Reading Logs: Children who did not attend the Annual end of the Summer Reading Program Ice Cream Party should come to the library to pick up their reading logs at the Reference Desk. We will keep the logs until the end of September. Almost 200 children joined the Summer Reading Game at the Town of Pelham Public Library. Each participant read at least three books or listened to five stories. We ended the Summer Reading Game with our annual ice cream party. Children who attended the party took home their reading logs that listed the titles of the books they read over the summer.
Upcoming:
Sept 8, 7:30 p: Pelham Library Book Club Meeting, Little Bee by Chris Cleave.
Sept 14, 7:30 p: Library Board Meeting – Program Room
Sept 24, 12:00-3:00 p: K-Day (Kindergartens’ Library Card Sign-up Day). All Kindergartens are invited to register for their first library card. Balloon Animals, Goodie bags and Face painting! Parents, proof of residency is required.
Sept 24 – Oct 1: Banned Books Week
Reprinted from The Pelham Weekly, Sept. 9, 2011, p.14. Used by permission.
