- May 2, 2024
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From the moment readers turn the first page of a good book, they’re transported through time and to a different world where characters feel like familiar friends.
The words on the page come to life.
Book clubs at the Longboat Library, Fairway Bay and Temple Beth Israel want to preserve those many printed lives and share their love for reading.
With each meeting, the desire for community meets a passion for the written word.
The book club at the library started in the early 2000s and is finishing up its 17th year. The group's season starts in November and goes through April.
The club meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m. at the library and currently has 17 members in total.
“I worked at this library as a volunteer and one of our members asked if we had a book club. We didn’t and we thought we’d put a sign up trying to see if anyone was interested,” said Pat Geraci, chair of the book club.
Geraci explained that she gets suggestions from club members about what books to read.
“They’ll send me titles of what to read and I’ve even gotten three pages worth of books they would like to read," said Geraci.
Once the votes come in on what six books to read, Geraci asks members if they want to lead the discussion on any of the books.
The last book they read was “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell” by Robert Dugoni.
The story of Sam Hell, born with ocular albinism, recounts the past 40 years of his life battling bullying, navigating friendships and dealing with the pain of a tragedy’s aftermath.
“It created such an interesting discussion about school and online bullying as how his mother handled it,” said Geraci. “Anyone can join our book club. It’s open to the whole community and we read fiction and nonfiction. I think it’s important to have something like this because you get to hear different viewpoints and experiences about the books whether they liked them or not. It can be very lively.”
To sign up, please contact Longboat Key Library at 383-2011.
The women's book club started in 2000, although informal meetings started in the ‘90s with more than 25 active members.
The club meets on the last Monday of each month at 4 p.m. starting in November with the last meeting in April at the clubhouse.
“My email list for the number of members we have is over 60 people long,” said Claire Leininger, organizer of the book club since 2016. “To pick the books, we try to get suggestions throughout the year and if someone wants to volunteer to lead the discussion, they can.”
Leininger explained members try to read literary fiction, nonfiction, historical fiction and anything that sounds interesting.
“If it’s a book we enjoy, we’ll go with it,” said Leininger.
One of the books to make it on the list was “A Gentleman In Moscow” by Amor Towles.
The story revolves around a count who is sentenced to house arrest in a hotel across from the Kremlin in Moscow. The new Bolshevik regime has stripped the count of his wealth.
“A former professor of Russian literature led the book club that month, and it was such a fantastic one,” said Leininger. “It has been a fantastic way of meeting new people and it’s been a big part of my life. It’s a way to bring the community closer which is what it’s all about.”
The book club started four years ago and meets on the third Thursday of each month at 4:30 p.m from November until April.
“We meet at the clubhouse and each year we send out a ballot where we ask members to nominate two books they recommend. Based on the nomination, we send out ballots to vote for ones they’d like to read and ones they’d like to lead the discussions for,” said Phil Lieberman, leader of the book club.
The men’s book club currently has 21 members who enjoy reading nonfiction.
“This year we had four fiction books and two nonfiction but we typically read a lot of nonfiction,” said Lieberman.
The book club members' read this month is called “Plagues and Peoples” by William H. McNeill.
It’s a work of nonfiction centered around the history and impact of infectious diseases on culture.
“It’s a great opportunity for men to get together to discuss books they have liked as well as learn about other members. It’s a very enjoyable interaction,” said Lieberman.
The book club has been gathering for several years with 14 active members. It runs from November through April, with a meeting in May to discuss books outside the book club.
“We meet at the temple library on the second Monday at 12:30 p.m with our lunches and the discussion starts at 1 p.m.” said Tena Tessler, co-chair of the book club.
During the year, Tessler takes suggestions from the Jewish Federation in Chicago and meets with Judy Posner, co-chair, to discuss the pros, cons and length of each book
“This year I sent out a list of 12 books that we picked and asked the members to vote on six of them,” said Tessler.
One of the books on their list for this year was “My Father’s Paradise” by Ariel Sabar.
It centers around a man’s search for his family’s past after having his own son.
“We all like to read, but having a book club gives us an opportunity to exchange insights and ideas about the books that we really enjoyed reading,” said Tessler.
