Reading Groups in the Lot and Quercy

The Books and Company Book Club

It struck me the other day, whilst talking to some friends, that many people find life here in the winter very bleak and lonely. Gone are the long summer evenings when one’s social life is a hectic whirl of fetes, festivals, barbecues and general social madness. Whilst I relish the thought of quiet nights in curled up in front of a blazing fire with a good book, I know a part of my responsibility as a business owner and contributor to the local economy is to keep my customers happy. So, for the last year we have been running a Book Club or, as some prefer to call it, a Reading Group. This entails group members selecting and then reading a book and coming to the shop on a Thursday evening once a month to discuss its merits.

The books are chosen democratically every month. The members take it in turns to choose a selection of 2-4 books which are then voted on by the whole group, resulting in one overall winner. This is, then, the book that will be discussed in 2 months time. Why 2 months? Well it means that nobody is pressured into reading a book in just 3 weeks. Once the books are in, members can pick them up at their leisure safe in the knowledge that they don’t have to rush to read it in time for the next meeting.

What are the benefits of the Book Club for its members? It enables everyone to meet new people, it allows you to be introduced to books and authors that you wouldn’t normally consider reading and it opens up a whole realm of interesting topics to discuss. Most of our members, me included, find it a fascinating study into the ways of human nature; how people react differently to various books and topics, what makes people tick etc. The Book Club is open to anybody of any age, sex or nationality. Although the books we read are in English and discussed in English, we have a couple of French members and would welcome more.

Some of the books that we have read include House of Stone by Christina Lamb, Human Traces by Sebastian Faulks, Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif and Suite Francaise by Irène Nemirovsky.

As we have 2 groups meeting every month, we do try occasionally to get both groups together socially as well, especially in the winter. Please contact us for more information.

Books and Company
29 rue du Majou
46300 Gourdon

Tel: +33 (0)565 37 41 09

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.booksandcompany.co.uk

© Nicole Killick 2007