Bella Vista book clubs gather for ‘Gathering of the Bookies’
Fiction, nonfiction, science fiction: The recommendations ranged throughout genres when representatives from several Bella Vista book clubs met at the library. This is the 12th annual “Gathering of the Book Clubs,” although this year the name of the event was changed slightly to “Gathering of the Bookies.” Not everyone who loves to read is a member of a book club, Susan Santos explained.
Contact information was provided for seven clubs including the library’s own that meets at 9:30 a.m. the fourth Wednesday of each month. Like most of the clubs, the Library Book Club reads general fiction, but each year they include an Arkansas author, one nonfiction book and one young-adult book, member Laurie Claggert said.
There’s a book club dedicated to mysteries and another dedicated to science fiction.
Several of the participants in last week’s gathering belong to out-of-state book clubs. Sally Swanson started a book club in Omaha when she lived there. She still reads their books and when she visits she may talk about them, but she doesn’t go to meetings any longer.
There are probably more neighborhood book clubs that aren’t on the contact list, Santos said. The Mayfair Page Turners, made up of residents of Mayfair Drive, is on the list. Their representative, Liz Teal, recommended a book about her original home in Oklahoma, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” It’s nonfiction about a series of murders that people know little about, she said.
Linda Hyde isn’t a member of a local book club, but she was looking for recommendations. She plans to read many of the books she heard about, but maybe not all of them.
“I’ve learned you don’t have to finish a book you don’t like,” Mildred Vennebeck said. She’s a former book club member who is considering returning. She’s looking for books that are fun to read.
Not all the books recommended at the gathering would qualify as fun. Some deal with serious topics, such as the sinking of the Lusitania or the Oklahoma Dust Bowl.
Don’t be afraid of nonfiction, Mike Stenson advised. Some nonfiction can be as entertaining as fiction. He recommended a book about the Civil War, April 1865: The Month that Saved America, by Jay Winik.
The best way to find a book club to join is to ask at the library’s front desk, Santos said. They have contact information for many book clubs and lists of the books they have chosen for the year.