The Speculative Fiction Book Club, where readers delve into a selection of genre-defining works, while renewing passion for literature.
“When you have a group like that, you leave meetings feeling really good because you have expanded your own understanding of the book and the world and you’ve made a positive connection with other people,” said Adult & Young Adult Services Librarian, Amanda Lloyd.
Meeting on Sundays, The Speculative Fiction Book Club is back for the first time since 2020. Speculative fiction is a genre of fiction that includes settings that are slightly outside the realm of the real, such as the supernatural or futuristic notions. This book club is for readers who love to dig deep and think about how a work of speculative literature relates to the world we have lived in and what the world might look like in the future.
Last fall, Lloyd proposed a three-to-five month book club series that focused on exploring a single genre instead of just general fiction.
“By focusing on a specific genre we can talk about each book individually, but it also opens up our discussions to compare other books and observe common themes and literary styles.”
Lloyd said the Speculative Fiction Book Club will finish up the series in May. She added when they are not meeting, they have a Facebook page with a discussion section, which opens up a space for readers to discuss the book or ask any questions.
“I’ve learned that it’s easy to start a club, but difficult to make a lasting connection.”
She said retaining members is always the hardest part of the book club, that is why the book clubs are only run for a few months.
Lloyd chose the books before advertising the club. She added she included the title in the promotional content to give the opportunity to participants to research the book and choose to sign up for all or just a few of the meetings.
She tried to pick books that have seven or more copies available to borrow from the library.
“Ideally, we want people to take advantage of the library system and don’t want anyone to feel pressured to spend money to participate in the club.”
The Speculative Fiction Book Club includes books by Kazuo Ishiguro, Emily St. John Mandel, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Leni Zumas and the collection of short stories Lesser Known Monster of the 21st-Century by Kim Fu, which was the first book they read.
Lloyd said the book club is an opportunity to be in the company of one another and talk about life and books together.
“Something I particularly enjoy is that the club brings in a really great group of individuals who are all interested in looking at the world differently, to ask what-ifs.”
Lloyd’s goal is to get people reading, encourage the participants to dig deep into the book and to feel comfortable sharing their feelings and relating to each other about books.
“The Speculative Fiction Book Club can help to discover a genre they hadn’t tried before and regain a love for reading that had been lost,” she said.
