Joys and Sorrows of a Book Club

by

“Oh dear, the book club is meeting again on Thursday,’ Dina groans, ‘and I haven’t even read a third of Sarah Hall’s ‘Helm’. I don’t find it particularly gripping.”
‘Do you think it’s great to read a book that’s been set for you?’ asks Siri. It’s like in German lessons – though I often didn’t find those too bad, actually.’
“You’re such a bit of a swot. ‘Normal’ people’ – and even bookworms – would find that tyrannical,” Selma retorts.
“Well, my dears, think of it as “intellectual tapas”: you’re served this and that, and surely not everything is to your taste,” Kb reassures them.
That’s what was said after lunch today instead of reading ‘Helm’.

„Ach du liebes Lieschen, am Donnerstag ist wieder Buchclubtreffen“, stöhnt Dina, „und ich habe nicht einmal ein Drittel von Sarah Halls ‚Helm‘ gelesen. Ich finde das Buch nicht gerade mitreißend.“
„Findest du es toll“, fragt Siri, „ein Buch zu lesen, das dir vorgeschrieben wurde? Wie im Deutschunterricht, den ich allerdings oft gar nicht so schlecht fand.“
„Du bist ja eine olle Streberfee. Das würden ‚normale‘ Menschen und selbst Buchfeen als tyrannisch empfinden“, entgegnet Selma.
„Also, ihr Lieben, seht es als ‚intellektuelle Tapas‘: Ihr bekommt dieses und jenes vorgesetzt, und gerade euch schmeckt doch längst nicht alles“, beschwichtigt Kb.
So wurde heute nach dem Mittagessen gesprochen – statt „Helm“ zu lesen.

Sarah Hall reading ‘Helm’ in a conversation with Emma Healy in Holt, July 2026.
During the evening, Hall discussed her acclaimed sixth novel, ‘Helm’, which is uniquely narrated by England’s only named wind and explores the deep connections between human life, folklore, and the natural landscape of the Eden Valley.

We’re part of a book club run by a nature organisation because there aren’t any others here. In the club, we explore nature from a literary perspective, discovering seals, seabirds, hares, an unusual mushroom and seaweed that looks like fairy hair. The same goes for the books: you come across classic nature writing such as Gilbert White’s ‘The Natural History of Selborne‘, theories of evolution such as The River That Flows Uphill, and even a book by Barbara Kingsolver on healthy eating. Without this group, we would never have read some of the books we have.

Wir sind in einem Buchclub einer Naturorganisation, denn einen anderen gibt es hier nicht. Dort wird die Natur aus literarischer Perspektive betrachtet: Man entdeckt Seehunde, Seevögel, Hasen und einen ungewöhnlichen Pilz sowie Seetang, der wie Feenhaar aussieht. Ähnlich ist es mit den Büchern: Man entdeckt Naturbeschreibungen wie den Klassiker Gilbert Whites „Die Naturgeschichte von Selborne”, Evolutionstheorien wie „Der Fluss, der bergauf fließt” und sogar ein Buch von Barbara Kingsolver über gesundes Essen. Oft lesen wir Bücher, die wir ohne die Gruppe niemals lesen würden.

Think of reading as eating and the choices you have.

We even read books that we don’t like. But that’s not all. Dina came up with an even better analogy. You can think of reading as eating. There are dishes we enjoy and others we dislike, such as pearl barley, which we find repulsive. In a restaurant or deli, you can discover something new if you look around and take in the smells, and suddenly come across something completely unexpected. The important thing when it comes to eating, reading and life in general is not to always repeat the same thing. In our book club, we’re forced to read beyond our usual categories. This is especially true for Kb and Siri.

Wir lesen sogar Bücher, die uns nicht gefallen. Aber das ist noch nicht alles: Dina kam auf einen noch besseren Vergleich. Man kann Lesen wie Essen sehen. Es gibt Gerichte, die uns schmecken, und andere, die wir ganz und gar nicht mögen, wie Graupen, bei denen uns die Haare zu Berge stehen. In einem Restaurant oder Deli kann man Neues entdecken, wenn man sich umschaut, die Gerüche wahrnimmt und plötzlich auf etwas völlig Unerwartetes stößt. Darauf kommt es beim Essen, beim Lesen und im Leben an: dass man nicht stets Gleiches wiederholt.
In unserem Buchclub sind wir gezwungen, jenseits unserer gewohnten Kategorien zu lesen. Das ist besonders für Kb und Siri so.

Alternatively, think of reading as drinking and your favoured drink

Through the book club, we sometimes read books that we think are dreadful. However, these books teach us a great deal about literature, particularly what doesn’t work and why. Most of the time, these are kitsch works – ones that go to extremes to meet readers’ assumed expectations. In every group, though, there are also people who love ‘easy reading’.
Siri recently asked: ‘What makes a book worth discussing?’ Have you ever struggled through a book that you would never have chosen yourself, only to realise after the book club discussion that it was worth reading after all? A book doesn’t have to be to your taste to be worth reading.’
In a book club, you hear other opinions and perspectives, and you realise that your own opinion is not the be-all and end-all.

Durch den Buchclub lesen wir manchmal Bücher, die wir fürchterlich finden. Durch sie können wir jedoch viel über Literatur lernen, nämlich was nicht funktioniert und warum. Meistens handelt es sich um Kitsch, also die Übererfüllung der angenommenen Erwartungen der Leser. In jeder Gruppe gibt es aber auch jene, die Easy Reading lieben. Siri fragte kürzlich: „Was macht ein Buch wert, diskutiert zu werden? Habt ihr euch je durch ein Buch gekämpft, das ihr nie selbst gewählt hättet, und gemerkt, dass es sich nach der Buchclub-Diskussion als lesenswert entpuppte? Ein Buch muss nicht gefallen, um lesenswert zu sein.“
In einem Buchklub hört man andere Meinungen und Perspektiven und sieht die eigene Meinung nicht als das Ein und Alles an.

Would the Kingfisher stick to prawns and stickleback if he had a choice?

‘Anyway,’ says Selma, ‘for me, it’s the meetings themselves that count. I turn up with my own opinion, and then someone else mentions something they find annoying in the book that I like, and that I’d overlooked. I realise that the truth lies not in a single opinion, but in many. My world becomes bigger.‘
Dina adds: ‘The real story begins when twelve people have twelve different opinions. It’s a small miracle when curious, well-read people come together and discuss a book. The book becomes something else. Suddenly, it’s as if there are many books. One person will notice something I’ve overlooked; another will be put off by a character I think is brilliant; and every now and then, someone will say something that makes me see the book in a different light. For me, that’s the magic of a book club.’

„Und überhaupt“, meint Selma, „für mich zählen die Treffen selbst. Da komme ich mit meiner Meinung an, und jemand anderes findet ausgerechnet das ärgerlich an dem Buch und erwähnt etwas, das ich überlesen habe. Ich merke: Die Wahrheit liegt nicht in einer Meinung, sondern in vielen. Meine Welt wird größer.“
Dina ergänzt: „Die wahre Geschichte beginnt, wenn beispielsweise zwölf Leute zwölf verschiedene Meinungen vertreten. Es ist ein kleines Wunder, wenn neugierige, belesene Leute in einer Runde sitzen und über ein Buch reden. Das Buch wird zu etwas anderem. Plötzlich ist es wie viele Bücher. Einer bemerkt, was ich überlesen haben, einen stört der Charakter, den ich toll finden, und bisweilen sagt einer etwas, das mich das Buch anders sehen lässt. Das ist die Magie eines Buchclubs für mich.“

What about you lot? Are you in a book club, or are you what Siri calls ‘indie readers’?

Wie ist es denn mit euch? Seid ihr in einem Buchclub oder seid ihr, was Siri ‚Individualleser‘ nennt?

The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea 2026

130 thoughts

  1. This is a good reflection on book clubs. They do stretch your reading and get you to try different genres. That being said, I don’t belong to one. The only local book clubs read mainly contemporary women’s lit which I don’t enjoy. I get my reading recommendations from Dave Astor and Rebecca Budd 😊

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Dear Roberta

      We get our reading recommendation from literary programmes in the German TV by Denis Scheck and Thea Dorn and from papers like The Guardian and New York Times. We like Dave and Rebecca but in general we don’t trust the net and especially not social media. It seem to us much more biased than reviews in the print media and radio and TV.

      Thank you very much for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  3. I have belonged to a few different book clubs over the years. Some good, some not so good. My reading time is preciuos so I’d rather read what I want to read, usually books recommended by friends with similar reading tastes to my own. Although I do enjoy trying something new from time to time and I always enjoy a discussion about books.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Darlene

      We are in the privileged situation that we have enough time for reading. So we can sometimes afford to read books which are not to our taste.
      It’s interesting. For us it’s fantasy and romance but so we learn about other readers tastes.

      Thank you
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I like the food and drink analogies for reading. I am an indie reader and am not fond of bookblubs, I was once a member and could not get past the forced reading of something I didn’t like. Was like someone forcing me to eat pearled barley. Hanne’s photos are spectacular.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  6. I’ve never felt the inclination to join a book club. I think it’s the idea of “forced” reading. I prefer to read for pleasure, at a leisurely pace, and skip between titles on occasion. A book club feels like I’d be on a deadline to finish the book. That doesn’t seem like fun to me.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Hi Richard

      A book club is more a challenge than fun. A book club made us read interesting books we would never have picked up otherwise. But it makes us read books which are no fun to read. Especially Kb is used to read books as a job all his life. He made his poor students read books they found utterly boring, we suppose, but they learned from it.

      Well, we have enough time to read what we like and what we don’t like but found interesting. But we struggle often with the books we have to read for our book club.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  7. I have been tempted, mainly for the social aspect, but I have to agree with Richard. Only recently have I actually stopped reading a book part way through because I am not enjoying it. The one I am currently reading irritates me as it uses italics to emphasise a point, but I am plodding on.

    Hanne’s photos are, as usual, exquisite. Especially that ram.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • I hardly read any of “Gone Girl” before I quit and never went back. I couldn’t stand any of the characters, so I took a guess at the ending, looked, and was pretty much on target. I’ve stopped reading some other books after a bit because they just weren’t interesting to me or the writing wasn’t that good.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks a lot, dear Jude 🙏 🙏

      Thank you very much for liking Hanne’s pictures. We also like the picture of the ram best.

      We sometimes struggle with a book if we should stop reading it or not. To end this struggle we decided that we read every book to its end when we have read more than the first 50 pages.

      Wishing you a great day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  8. We’ve been in the same book club with the same 5 couples for 36 years (minus those who have passed on). We are all now in our 70s and 80s. It’s been a great run and we devote one whole book case to the books we have read. Over 300 now. We have an unusual rule. You don’t have to read the book. Two or three members much prefer to listen to them. And sometimes other things get in the way. It’s perfectly okay. Many a spirited conversation has been had down through the years and we have become the closest of friends. –Curt

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  9. Ich bin Individualleser.
    Bin nur in einem Sketcher”club” Und in einer Schmetterlingsgruppe (in denen auch viel diskutiert wird).
    Zur Zeit kämpfe ich mich durch ein Buch über Halbwahrheiten, das recht anspruchsvoll ist.
    Mir gefallen aber auch profunde Einzeltexte wie die zwei zu der Fritz Scholder-Ausstellung im MMK Frankfurt. Die las ich zweimal, weil sie so profund geschrieben waren.
    In Letzter Zeit lese ich auch Leseproben, um über den Stil eines Autors etwas zu erfahren.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  10. I think it’s a social thing as much as anything else. It’s interesting to hear other views and realise that there isn’t only yours. I do value my reading time though, and don’t want to waste it. I’m currently on a waiting list to join a local book club! Quite intimidating really.

    Love the photos xx

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jo

      Indeed, it’s a social thing as well as it is about the books.
      There are or were some book clubs here were having a chat and drink a tea together and just saying “what a nice book” was all.
      In our book club you have both, first discussing the book then a break with tea or coffee, personal talk and afterwards a talk about what you are just reading.

      Thanks
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I very much enjoyed reading your reflection on a book club, and I can easily see all the benefits of being part of a book club. It is certainly a great way to discover new books and build social connections, but I’ve never been a member of one, mostly because I don’t get to read as much as I would initially like, and thus I would not wanna waste my precious reading time on bad books or books that are wrong for a certain time in my life. On another note, Hanne’s photos are brilliant. I just love how they highlight the birds and their environment. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Hi Aiva

      Fortunately, we have enough time to read what we like and also to read for the book club. For a long time Kb was in a situation that he had to read what his editor or his agent told him. So he learned to write modern non-fiction. As he is used to it he doesn’t mind the reading list of a book club.

      Thank you very to like Hanne’s photography 🙏 🙏

      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  13. I’ve never belonged to a book club, nor do I have the inclination to do so. I prefer to read what I want, when I want, and at the pace I want. In my busy life, reading is a luxury to me, so when I find the time to read something, most of the time, it has to be something helpful. Each to his/her own though. If we were all the same, what a boring old world this would be.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Terry

      You are right. Actually, a book club is for people who live a leisurely life. Therefore most of the members of book clubs we know are pensioners.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • That seems to be quite normal.

      We see here in our pensioner-village both: People who work as much or even more than in their working lifes and people who enjoy a leisurely life. We have that in our little family as well, Hanne-Dina works as much as in her working life before. Kb rather enjoys a leisurely life. We have no idea what makes you choose the one or the other.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Great post that I am passing on to my book club. Our members pretty much agree with your thoughts on trying things we wouldn’t necessarily have picked on our own. Usually, especially after our discussions, we feel we have benefited from the books. Awesome photographs!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  15. I have never joined a book club, due to lack of time and inclination. I can appreciate the rewarding aspects noted in your post, however. A spontaneous discussion with one or more people who happen to have read a particular book can be delightful, but of course would not be organized in advance.

    The photos are magnificent!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Audrey

      Like everything a book club has its pros and cons. For us it’s a big pro that we have to read books we wouldn’t otherwise. We become aware how limited our choice of books is we read usually.

      Thanks for liking Hanne-Dina’s photography 🙏 🙏

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  17. I’ve never joined a book club, although I read copious amounts of books, most of which are for enjoyment and relaxation. I do read non-fiction more now than I used to, though, and I enjoy nature and travel books as well as others. The photos are wonderful.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Kb likes to read travel books as well. He just finished “The River at the Centre of the World” by Simon Winchester. And we are collecting books about polar expeditions and are very proud to have Nansen’s “Farthest North” and Amundsen’s “The South Pole” in the first edition.

      In our book club the members like and collect nature books.

      Thanks
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  19. I love books and I love meeting people. Have never belonged to a book club nor had the inclination to join. Have read your post and every one of the comments and nodded at quite a few . . . to me, being part of such a collection of likeminded people would largely lie in making friends interested in similar matters. As far as books go, love to choose my own which invite at the time and read them when the time and mood ask me to do so 🙂 ! Oft methinks keep my thoughts and beliefs to myself . . . 🙂 !

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi Eha

      We see the advantage of a book club that we understand how limited our ideas of a book are. Although, most of us four are professional readers but we see books one-dimensional and mostly in the same way. For us it’s fun to see other possibilities to understand a book.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Mary

      The biggest advantage of a book club is to show you ways of understanding a text you didn’t think about and make you read books you wouldn’t read otherwise.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  21. Forget the bookclubs (which are a boon to bookworms and a pastime I can no longer indulge in due worsening astigmatism and myopia), I just love viewing Dina’s stunning nature photography.

    Thank God I can still see (most) of a photo. Does Dina have any photography books published? I don’t think I’ve ever asked before.

    My Mother was a member of a bookclub when I was a teenager and it was a joy to see her shy self out and about conversing about a hobby she loved.

    Oiur house was always filled with books despite being quite poor and every Thursday after school the whole family went to the local public library for a couple of hours and to borrow 6-7 books for each family member.

    To me a house is not a home without books.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Vicki

      No, Hanne-Dina hasn’t published her nature photos in a book. She is a very private person. But she has published her photos in national and international papers like f.e. The Times, The Guardian and the BBC.

      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Agree with you that book clubs have pushed me to read books I wouldn’t have otherwise chosen. The group has to mesh and everyone needs to be respectful of differing opinions for it to be successful. Group dynamics can go awry at times which makes for a long evening. 🙂 Having said that, I’ve enjoyed being a part of book clubs over the years for the social element as well as intellectual. Right now, I’m an avid “indie”. Enjoyed reading your thoughts, Fab Four, and Hanne’s photos are superb, as always.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jane

      You made a very important point how a successful book club has to be. We 100% agree with you. If the group dynamics isn’t right one better stays away.
      For us, a book club is new. We were indie-readers for many years and now we try something new. Berenice Abbott said “Photography helps people to see” and we say “A book club helps people to understand”.

      Thanks for liking Hanne’s photography.
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  24. I like the idea of a book club, but in reality, they’ve made me feel like I was back in English class, forced to read something I may not want to and on a deadline. I do enjoy listening to Canada Reads, a book competition on the radio. Even if I haven’t read any of the books, I appreciate the discussion. Maggie

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Maggie

      Maybe it helps that at least our dear Kb had great literature lessons at school. Maybe it was because he was in special school for mathematical gifted students. So literature was no so important and that was the chance for freedom. He was never under pressure to get some text read and actually reading literature was a kind of rebellion in his school. Therefore he doesn’t have a problem with reading a text for a deadline and we neither.

      We enjoy literary programmes in the German TV, especially Denis Scheck and Thea Dorn. Literary programmes in the German TV inform about international literature.

      Thanks and cheers

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Such an engaging reflection on book clubs! 📚✨ I love how they bring together different perspectives, lively conversations, and a shared love of reading even when everyone doesn’t agree. The joys and occasional frustrations are all part of the experience! 😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • YES!

      We enjoy very much to discover the different perspectives of a text, more perspectives than we would see. Book clubs is leaving one-dimensionality

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear Cindy

      It was our psychoanalyst to make us read lots of literature and who recommended a book club for us – well, a very special book club of he clients.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  27. The NWT Cley Book Group meet during the opening hours of the reserve in an intimate setting with gorgeous views over the salt marshes.
    The October book is one we really look forward to – “Waterland” by Graham Swift. Widely considered Swift’s breakout masterpiece and a landmark of post-war British literature, it is set in the East Anglian Fens not far from us and explores history, memory, and personal tragedy. Have you read it or seen the film, maybe?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Hi Siri,
      NWT sounds like the perfect setting for a group of avid readers and the nature theme.
      I especially like the non-fiction books you have been discussing and I also read “Orbital” by Samantha Harvey when it was on your list – uplifting, in every sense.

      I most certainly have read “Waterland” and also seen the film with Jeremy Irons. I recall visiting the Fens with the four of you many years ago and our lively discussions about the impact of the landscape. The Fens is not exactly an AONB, rather a setting for a bleak, moody novel, muddy feet and damp weather.

      Kram Annalena xx

      Liked by 2 people

    • I love “Waterland”. I read it first when I was climbing Mount Olympus with a friend. It’s such a powerful book that it catapulted me in the Fens when I was in a landscape that was just the opposite. We think “Waterland” is a great novel and we love that all the places describet we know. Swift caught perfectly well the mood of the Fens.

      The film was filmed in the US. It didn’t get this particular Fen-mood.

      Anyway, we are looking forward to discuss “Waterland” in our book group.
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  28. I’m a huge fan of our book club. I relish being compelled to read books I wouldn’t have chosen, often finding I’d have missed out if I hadn’t read them. But a book club focussing on the natural world. That sounds special. I wonder if I should start one ….?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  29. My dear friends,
    I love the exquisite photos and can relate to a set menu versus a la carte. 😊
    I was thinking I would always prefer to make my own choice regarding food, but I mostly ask for recommendations when I visit a restaurant.
    Whilst I was living and working in Longyearbyen, I enjoyed being part of the local book group. It was a good mix of men and women and for me the social aspect was just as important as the books we read.
    Are there any men in your book group, except for Kb?

    Klem
    Per Magnus xx

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Per Magnus

      There are two other men but about 20 women in our book group. You made the point, there are alway much more women than men in book groups. You are lucky to have a good mix of men and women in your book group.

      Talke to you at the weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  30. I enjoyed the excellent photos. As for book clubs, I feel the same way about them as I do camera clubs. Everyone is different, and we all read or photograph what interests us, with occasional deviations and explorations. I like to read alone, and take photos alone. So clubs are not suitable for me.

    Love to you all from Beetley. Pete X

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Pete

      That makes it interesting that we all are different. That’s the joy of it, that in a book club you see so many different ways to see a book. It helps you to leave your one-dimensional understanding of a text.

      Thanks for liking Dina’s photos
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Rupali

      Siri and Selma quite often make me enjoy what I wouldn’t do before.
      We suppose it’s always important to be aware that there is another way of undderstanding.

      Thanks for liking Dina’s photos.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  32. I just love your post, ihr Lieben in Cley, many thanks! Natürlich bin ich auch seit beinahe 50 Jahren in Lesegruppen in verschiedenen Sprachen. Die Gruppe ist inzwischen kleiner geworden, aber wir wechseln die Sprachen immer nach jedem Buch, sowie auch die Personen, die einen neuen Titel vorschlagen. Der naechste Titel heisst « Nord Sentinelle «  de Jérome Ferrari! Ich freue mich darauf meine Eindrücke mit denen der anderen zu vergleichen und dabei zu neuen Ansichten zu gelangen! Cari saluti Martina

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  33. I’ve only once been a book club member & that was one linked to an animal welfare charity & it was via a Zoom link. That was fun since I was the only member not in Scotland but it fizzled out and is now reduced to a few comments on Goodreads! It is good to read many different styles or to read different views but after a while, as I grow older I’m inclined to think my views are best! 😉😄 It’s a bit like that with food too! I don’t want to make myself ill, deliberately! I’m currently reading Denis Noble’s The Music of Life; I’m neither a scientist or a musician but my imagination was tweaked when I heard him speak on television, very interesting.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear AshleyI

      As older we get as more we have the feeling that we have to look not to get too rigit. Our blog helps us to see other ways of seeing and thinking. I don’t think we know what’s right and wrong. And that’s a freedom to see there are a lot of views of our reality.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  34. My husband and I are in the same book club. I like your analogy of tapas – sometimes we like the selected books, sometimes not. We also read on our own. Some book clubs have more emphasis on socializing. We do some of that, but we actually discuss the book, too! Like you mention, I always love hearing others’ perspectives on the books and characters, and I always learn something.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  35. Klausbernd, a wonderful discussion about bookclubs. I especially enjoyed your description of a book club as “intellectual tapas.” What a wonderful way to think about reading beyond our usual choices!

    I have been reading about the growing importance of book clubs, both online and in our communities. What gives me hope is that one recommended book may open the door to many more discoveries. Even so, I believe recommendations also invite us to think critically. Why are we reading this book? What does it offer us? And what happens when we don’t enjoy it? I especially liked your point that we can learn from books we dislike. We don’t have to agree with every author or enjoy every story for the reading experience to be worthwhile.

    And I agree with Dina’s thought that the real story begins when twelve people bring twelve different opinions to the table. We may not always enjoy the same books, but the conversations can enlarge our understanding of both literature and one another. I think the best part is that we learn together.

    Dina – your photography is exquisite!!!

    Sending many hugs to our dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley!!!

    P.S. I am currently reading “The Summer Book by Tove Jansson.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Sorry, dear Rebecca

      Your comment was hiding in spam but fortunately it’s freed now.

      Tove Jansson’s Moomin books have been read by nearly every kid in Scandinavia. Enjoy the ‘Summer Book’.

      Why are we reading this book is an important question. Quite often we don’t reflect about it because we just follow recommendations. There are so many reasons why we read a special book. F.e. Kb reads books that got prizes like the Nobel Prize, the Booker Price etc. because to understand the Zeitgeist and to know what’s ‘in’. Hanne-Dina reads books to learn about wildlife and wildlife-photography and Siri and Selma read books just for fun and excitement. We all hope that books make us think and see the world and/or us a little bit different after we have read this book.

      In the book club you notice that we all project something different on a book. Reading is like writing a book, well, you could say that the reader writes his book inspired by the book he is reading.

      Thank you very much, dear Rebecca. Sorry for answering so late.
      With big hugs 🤗 🤗
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Klausbernd, I agree that there are so many reasons to read a book, and I think we need to give books more than a cursory look. While I enjoy book reviews, what I really want to hear is how a book has inspired or influenced the reader. What did they discover? Did it change the way they understood something? I find that connection between writer and reader fascinating. They will probably never meet in person, yet through the written word, they can share an experience that stays with the reader long after the book is finished.

      P.S. I find that I have to look at my spam folder often these past couple of weeks.

      Like

    • P.S.

      I find the most interesting question “what happens when we don’t enjoy a book?”
      Why we don’t enjoy a book. It could be about about something we are not interested in. It could be written in a boring style or we don’t understand it or it differs too much from our expectations or believes. Usually we finish such a book after several pages. I think, thirty pages are enough to judge a book. More interesting is to read book we don’t enjoy to the end and ask ourself why we didn’t like it. What tells it about us? How open are we to new ideas and views of the world and us?

      I am aware that I write from a position of someone who has enough time for reading. If you don’t then just finish reading this book and look for one you would like.

      With love 🥰
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Klausbernd, I agree wholeheartedly! I recently read Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, a book that I did not enjoy. But I knew that it was an important read for me. Ishiguro raises questions about AI, human relationships, and what it means to be human that are especially relevant to our time. (By the way, I understand Klara and the Sun is about to come to a movie theater soon.) So what I find, especially at this stage in my reading journey, that I don’t have to like a book, but I need to know why I am reading a book. Sometimes the books we don’t enjoy give us the most to think about. Sending many hugs and love to our dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Rebecca

      I read ‘Klara and the Sun‘ as well. I read it in ’21 when I read novels about AI like McEwan’s ‘Machines like me‘ and Edelbauer’s ‘Dave‘ (the book I liked most in this series). I was fascinated by Ishiguro’s distanced but at the same time emotional view on the world.

      Now I read a classic ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie‘ by Muriel Spark. It’s really fun to read this perfectly well crafted novel.
      In our book club we’ll discuss next ‘Waterland’ by Graham Swift, a book I really much like as well.

      Wishing you a wonderful week, 🤗🥰
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Nilla

      to combine reading with social gathering was new for me until friends of mine introduced me to their book club a year ago. Now I enjoy our meetings. Besides the social aspect I learn always something new about the books we discuss.

      Thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  37. I’ve always wanted to be part of a book club where we read and then discuss books—but the ones we started at a young age ended up with no one reading, and we just ended up messing around all afternoon 😀.

    So, I like this trip into the Fab Four discussion of the worth of such clubs. I think you’ve covered it very well, reflecting on the pleasures and frustrations of reading together. On the written side of the post, I like the idea of the book club as “intellectual tapas.” Not everything is agreeable, but there’s enough variety that you’ll find something good. On the photography side, it’s much easier to say—everything is delicious and perfect 😍.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Dalo.

      We suppose, a book club is a real book club with dedicated members only. It seems to help to have a leader who prevent too much personal chatting. Book clubs we visited in Berlin and Montreal were rather social meetings than discussing books.

      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  38. Klausbernd, I especially enjoyed your description of a book club as “intellectual tapas.” What a wonderful way to think about reading beyond our usual choices! I have been reading about the growing importance of book clubs, both online and in our communities. What gives me hope is that one recommended book may open the door to many more discoveries.
    Of course, recommendations also invite us to think critically. Why are we reading this book? What does it offer us? And what happens when we don’t enjoy it? I especially liked your point that we can learn from books we dislike. We don’t have to agree with every author or enjoy every story for the reading experience to be worthwhile. I think the real gift of a book club is not simply reading together, but learning together. Dina – your photos are exquisite. Sending many hugs to our dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Rebecca

      Today is our regular book club meeting. We agree that we learn as members of a book club that there are always many aspects of a text as of life in general. It’s a ‘cure’ against one-dimensional thinking. As a book club helps us to see more aspects of a book, we can enjoy it more. And in our book club we always recommend books at the end.

      Thank you so much for liking Dina’s photos 🙏 🙏

      With love 🥰 from us
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  40. Indie reader here, definitely. Only my eldest daughter in the family is in a bookclub.

    But reading your post made me think how a unique experience it must be, a dozen people talking about the same book, though in the end every one might have read a “different” book. Food for thought.

    Tschüß

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • We, the Fab Four, read mostly books that got international prizes and in our book club books are read which got prizes for nature writing.

      We love it when many people discuss one book therefore we also watch book talks in the TV. It’s interesting how different one can see one and the same text. That’s the advantage of language and literature.

      Thanks a lot for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Book talks on TV. Nice. We don’t have that here. In France I used to watch Bernard Pivot’s Apostrophes. Long time ago. He had incredible authors from all over the world…
      Happy weekend to the Fab Four

      Liked by 1 person

    • That has changed here as well. In former times we had several literary programmes in which authors from all over the world were interviewt. But now we have only very few, at least in Germany and the UK.

      Wishing you a relaxing weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  41. I’ve never been part of a book club, but I’m about to embark on a four-year reading program with the University of Chicago. It’s similar to a book club, and the program is designed for people who want to read the classics. I’m really looking forward to it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  43. Ihr lieben vier,
    Ja, das kenne ich sehr gut. Bücher, durch die man sich durchquält. Ich habe es bei der Lektüre für meine Dissertation immer wieder erlebt. Da gibt es Fachbücher, von denen man völlig fasziniert ist und dann gibt es die trockene Lektüre. Bei der trockenen Lektüre tendiere ich dazu, Einleitung und Schluss zu lesen.

    Hanne, das Foto vom Widder 🐏 ist einmalig. Wo hast du den gefunden? Steht er bei euch in der Nähe auf der Weide?

    Liebe Grüße von Susanne

    Like

    Reply

    • Liebe Susanne

      Ja, es gibt Bücher, deren Stil uns direkt zum Einschlafen bringt und es gibt solche, die wir gar nicht stoppen können zu lesen. Kb liest gerade zum ersten Mal Muriel Spark, die er einfach köstlich findet, worunter Gartenarbeit und Haushalt leiden. Aber es ist erstaunlich, wie wir im Buch Club sehen, dass manche Bücher, die ein Schlafmittel für uns sind, von anderen mit roten Bäckchen und Glitzeraugen gelesen werden.
      Wir lesen bisweilen auch nur die ersten und letzten zehn Seiten eines Buches und vielleicht noch eine Rezension und damit hat’s sich.

      Der Widder ist isländisch, aber wir fanden ihn in Schottland.

      Und wie ist es bei euch in Berlin? Wir nehmen an, ihr hattet es auch so heiß. Jetzt erfreuen wir uns an wunderschönem Herbstwetter, ein echter Indian Summer. Ab nächsten Monat werden wir bis Ende November ein wenig durch die Gegend fahren, mal hier, mal dort und dann im Frühjahr noch einmal die Arktis besuchen. Wir sind ja lang nicht mehr dort gewesen.

      Bist du denn jetzt Frau Doktor? Und hast die Dissertation hinter dich gebracht?
      Danke fürs Kommentieren 🙏 🙏

      Wir wünschen dir alles Gute. Bis dann
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Lieber Klausbernd,
      heute war es für Ende September sehr warm in Berlin. Ich habe gerade bei 25 Grad die verblühten Blüten dere Geranien und Dahlien im Garten abgeschnitten. Sie stehen noch in voller Blüte. Es ist verwirrend in dieser Jahreszeit so warmes Wetter zu spüren.
      Schön, dass es in die Arktis geht! Ich bin gespannt auf die Fotos und Berichte. Mit welchem Schiff fahrt ihr?

      Wir sind im Juni die Hurtigroute von Bremerhaven bis Kiel gefahren. Es war ein wundervolles Erlebnis.

      Ja, du hast es schon gelesen, ich bin dabei, mich auf die Verteidigung meiner Diss vorzubereiten. Heute habe ich mein Thesenpapier nochmals ungestellt. Ich muss es spätestens in einer Woche abgeben. Ich denke aber, dass es das jetzt ist. Es hat mir Spaß gemacht kurz und knapp auf zwei Seiten drei Thesen meiner Diss zu formulieren.

      Den Doktortitel kann ich erst nach Publikation der Diss tragen. Das dauert noch etwas. Ich habe Auflagen, die ich dafür erfüllen muss. Das heißt, ich muss den Text der Diss nochmals überarbeiten. Ich habe schon damit angefangen.

      Jetzt werde ich noch die Collagen der letzten 3 Monate scannen. Eine Arbeit, bei der ich gut über meine Diss nachdenken kann. Es ist alles sehr aufregend.

      Liebe Grüße aus dem sonnigen Berlin von Susanne

      Liked by 1 person

    • Liebe Susanne

      Wir werden wahrscheinlich mit Viking fahren, da dies günstig von England aus ist. Sie fahren von einem Hafen bei London. Wir wissen auch noch nicht, ob wir Island oder Svalbard mit Grönland verbinden.

      Hanne ist Knochen sammeln am Blakeney Point und bekommt heute Abend eine Rückfahrt per Schiff.

      So jetzt muss ich unsere öffentliche Bücherecke inspizieren und dann gibt’s einen Drink.

      Tschüss
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  44. I like your take on bookclubs, Klaus. I like the comparison to food, also your tenacity through grueling through a boring book. I never joined bookclubs because I don’t always enjoy the book read, and I don’t like time limits, so good on you. 😙

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  45. I love reading and like reading also books other people recommend. A book club is perfect to meet like-minded people and discussing a book is surely great as everyone sees and interprets the book differently. Discussing books or films is always interesting. If you can’t get into a book you are supposed to read for your book club it might be still interesting to discuss it and you can understand maybe why you didn’t quite enjoy it.
    So enjoy your next book club 🙏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Ute, for expressing quite clearly how we see book clubs as well.
      We especially like when people disagree about book. Then an interesting exchange starts. In our book club we never all agree, even within the Fab Four we hardly ever agree. And therefore we learn to be open to different aspects of a text.
      Thanks for your comment
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  47. I have different criteria: the book has to slender, have a quirky title and an attractive cover. be written In English — I was given a Yugoslavian edition of King’s ‘Skeleton Crew’ — what were they thinking ??? and a first paragraph that draws me in —

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.