Book clubs combine camaraderie and literature

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- The age of the great explorers is long gone. The earth is mapped, charted and measured. The highest mountains are conquered, the widest oceans sailed. For most of history, this was not so.

Columbus, Shackleton, Lewis and Clark are the archetypal heroes of that former uncharted world and if their biographies and historic documentaries are any indication, many people today look back and long for such adventures.

Henry David Thoreau argued, however, that certain continents and seas would never be fully explored. He was speaking not of wild forests and oceans but of the infinite mind of every person.

This winter, many Valley residents are gathering in coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores, libraries and private homes to explore the life of the mind through book clubs and literary discussions.

Several groups meet at Fireside Books in Palmer, where store owner David Cheezem said he occasionally overhears lively conversations.

"The most lonely activities in the world are reading and writing, so getting a chance to take what you experience by yourself and bring it into the public world is just a joy," Cheezem said. "It's also a chance to re-experience a book. The book you read and the book I read could be very different depending on what we experience."

Three clubs meet at Fireside and several others meet in Valley libraries, but Cheezem said many book clubs take place at private homes.

Traditionally, book clubs read one book a month and then come together to discuss characters, scenes and moments that stand out.

Jeanne Novosad is the systems manager at the Palmer Public Library, where a book club meets the last Tuesday of each month. Novosad said the club was first started by a library employee and now has 10 to 12 faithful members.

"People come in and ask about book clubs, especially new people coming into town," Novosad said. "This gives people all sorts of different ideas because they end up reading books they wouldn't normally read

and their world opens up to

new things."

Book clubs are often popular during winter months, when people are more apt to gather indoors for cups of coffee, hot chocolate and wine, while carrying on literary discussions.

Many groups, however, have deeply committed members who meet year-round, regardless of the weather.

Evie McNamee and Mary Anne Cockle are both members of two book clubs -- a mystery book club and a women's reading club -- that meet at Fireside Books.

"I totally look forward to it," McNamee said. "It's so awesome to sit down with adults and talk about anything in the book. We start talking about the book and end up talking about life."

McNamee said the book club members have become good friends and broadened each other's perspectives.

"It has definitely changed the way I read," she said. "There are some things that I would never have read but once I start reading, it's great and I can see why they chose it."

Fellow club member Mary Ann Cockle said she enjoys the camaraderie as well as the chance to see different perspectives on the book.

On occasion, Cockle and McNamee disagree on their interpretations of a book and end up debating, but it is all good-natured.

"Ann and I are known as Siskel and Ebert because we never agree," McNamee said, "but it's in a calm setting."

Sue Mathis is part of a 10-member book club that meets in private homes around the Valley. Mathis joined the club about a year ago and said she has read books from all around the world since joining.

"Before, I tended to pick an author and read everything that author wrote," she said. "Since the book club, I've expanded what I read. I also pay a whole lot more attention to theme, characters and style because these are the things we talk about along with the meanings behind certain things."

Mathis said her club meets in a different home each month, with everyone bringing something to eat. Then they sit in the living room, sip wine and explore uncharted literary regions.

"I don't just blow through a book and move on to the next anymore," Mathis said. "I used to read just to read but now I'm paying more attention."

Book club contacts

For more information about local book clubs, call Palmer Public Library (745-4690), Wasilla Public Library (376-5913), Big Lake Library (892-6475), Willow Public Library (495-6424) or Fireside Books (745-2665).

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.