So an idea I've had for awhile finally came alive last night with the first meeting of the Maniwa Book Club. I had always talked about doing it but it wasn't until I mentioned it to a new teacher, Alice, that I did anything. This was because of her enthusiasm for the idea which came as a surprise for me. I had always considered book club to be something that others would find nerdy.
Not only was she interested, but so were 8 other people from Tsuyama, Mimasaka, Maniwa, and Takahashi. Including men and women. I was impressed with the amount of people and their enthusiasm for the group. Our first meeting was a simple one, partially because none of us are really sure how we are going to do things just yet. We simply introduced ourselves and then each person suggested two books they think the group should read. We then put all of the ideas into the bowl and pulled out two (we chose two so that we can order ahead and some members can read ahead if they like).
I must admit that the two chosen weren't necessarily the two I was interested in reading but that is the point of book club- to open our minds to new ideas and opinions.
Our first selection is Tomorrow When the War Began by James Marsden suggested by Michael Douglass, my intern. Our second selection is King Rat by James Clavell suggested by my long time friend Ben. I'm a little nervous about the second selection as it is about westerners in a Japanese run POW camp and we have Japanese members in the club, but it should make for a great discussion.
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