Not the New York Times Book Group, either

So I have this idea.

What if there could be...oh wait, first let me give you a little background...

I have been meeting with a couple of friends for several years, ever since we all worked at the same bookstore. In addition to catching up on our lives, we've come together to talk about the books we are reading.

I've loved this. I think of it as our spin on a book group or club.

This is different from more traditional book groups/clubs where one book is selected and everyone reads the same book before the meeting. When the group gathers, they talk about the book. The same book. That everyone read.

The traditional book group has its pluses. It gives everyone the shared experience of the same book. In a good group, members would be free to like the book or dislike the book selection, and the atmosphere of the group would allow for differing points of view to be expressed.

When my friends and I met, we would often bring the actual books we were reading or had just read. It was a literary Show-and-Tell, each of us sharing what we're reading, telling what we liked or didn't like about each book.

Even though we all worked in a bookstore, and often the very same bookstore at the same time, and it would seem that we would all be exposed to the same things, we'd always see something new and interesting brought by one of the others. Often they would bring books I never would have otherwise seen. Almost every time we met I would make a note of some of the books they brought and go get them for myself.

So here's my idea. What if there could be an online book club/group in which each member would bring to the table (or the computer) the books they are reading and we could talk about them? It would have to be something separate from this blog (a chat room? or email?) to make for easier participation by everyone.

I'm eager to give it a try, and I'm willing set it up and facilitate it. Ideally I'd like to have a way to show book covers, to encourage the whole Show-and-Tell aspect of the group, so maybe some sort of email communication (beforehand?) that includes at least pictures of book covers? Then maybe we meet up in a private chat room at a specified date and time? What do you think?

If you think it sounds fun and you'd like to be a part of it, send me an email and we can go from there.

My email address: 2of3Rs(AT)gmail(DOT)com. (Get it? if you read the email address, it's "two of three R's"...and what are the Three R's? I do two of them. You can guess which two.)