New book club promotes personal growth and fun
Research through the years has proven that the more people read, the higher chance they have at attaining success later in life. Without stimulating the mind and exploring new perspectives through the printed word, creativity is stifled, empathetic understanding is stunted, and the well-being of society is placed at an unfortunate disadvantage.
Reading for pleasure is at an all-time low and local bookshops are literally non-existent. A reading rebellion is needed, and Lena Luna knows this.
Luna is the mind behind the Imperial Valley Book Club, created in October 2018. Since its formation, the number of members have grown to 32, and there are big plans ahead to reshape the way the art of reading is perceived.
Spending her time driving back and forth between Orange County and the Imperial Valley, Luna is fully committed to changing the way the Valley approaches exploring books. Having founded a club in Santa Ana with upwards of 150 members, Luna considers her previous endeavor as practice for the work that needs to be done in the Valley.
“The Imperial Valley Book Club is about growth and inspiring others to achieve and overcome their limitations,” Luna said. “I want to bring a sense of adventure and fun into the club by utilizing the resources that we have here in our own backyard. We need to challenge our individual thinking by discussing our viewpoints with others.”
So far, the IV Book Club has met four times at various coffee shops in the Valley. The book club is free to join and members can propose interesting titles of their choosing to share with others in the club. However, Luna encourages book selections that inspire people to be better versions of themselves, challenge ideas and thinking through cognitive dissonance, provide different perspectives for members to discuss, and promote deeper levels of investigative thinking.
Generally meeting on the first Saturday of every month, Luna brings in a list of fiction and nonfiction discussion questions for whichever novels are currently being read.
“The overall goal is to expand minds when we meet as a group,” Luna said. “Even if you haven’t read the whole book before coming to our meetings, what is important is that you bring your ideas, life experiences, and perspectives to share with others. A summary is provided of the general ideas, so you can build upon those ideas with personal events and experiences from your own life.”
Recently coordinating with the city of Imperial during a City Council meeting held on Feb. 6, Luna received an official proclamation of recognition for the IV Book Club and explained her ideas to help promote the culture of reading throughout the Imperial Valley. Explaining her use of online platforms such as meetup.com to recruit new members, pointing out the unfortunately high illiteracy rate of the Valley and calling attention to the lack of privately owned bookstores, Luna left quite an impression as she made her ambitions for the book club clear.
Luna detailed goals for expanding the social component of the club over time. These include organizing short camping excursions to places like Julian and Anza Borrego, where the content of books can be explored and discussed in nature. Also on the table is a proposed tour of independent bookstores throughout counties such as San Diego via party buses, which would add a millennial spin to the concept of book exploration. Hosted barbecues and other social events also are in discussion for the IV Book Club as well.
Luna said she has been inspired by the Imperial Valley as a special place that needs to be recognized and paid attention to. An admirer of the desert’s natural beauty, she said the Valley has welcomed her with open arms.
“The mantra of the book club is, ‘Each and every day, I’m becoming better in my own way,’” said Luna. “Incremental improvements lead to quantum leaps, and I want to help people in the Valley reach higher levels of self-realization. Anyone is welcome to join, so let’s love each other as human beings and start the conversation.”