THIS IS AMERICA - September 30, 2002: Book Clubs
By Jeri Watson and Jill Moss
VOICE ONE:
Reading is an important activity for many Americans. Today, thousands of men,
women and children belong to groups to discuss the books they read. I’m Mary
Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. A report about book clubs is our story today on the VOA
Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:
No one is sure how many Americans belong to reading groups called book clubs. Yet publishers and bookstores
report that more and more people throughout the United States are joining them.
Most of the clubs work the same way. Members read the same book at the same time. Then they meet to talk
about the book.
Members may be friends or people who live near each other. Or, they may be people who work together. Some
book clubs develop from other organizations. Religious and community groups often establish book clubs.
Some Americans belong to reading groups on the computer service known as the Internet. These groups include
people around the world who communicate about books they read. These people send electronic mail instead of
meeting to discuss books.
VOICE TWO:
Book clubs may be for only women or only men. Or, they can be for husbands and wives together. Some are
family groups where parents attend with their children. Children may belong to book clubs of their own.
Most reading groups study books by a number of writers. However, some groups read the work of a single writer,
usually one that has been famous for awhile. William Shakespeare, James Joyce, Jane Austen, George Bernard
Shaw and Mark Twain are examples.
Other groups may be named for an important person in the work of the writer, like a Sherlock Holmes Club.
Holmes is the great British crime investigator created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Members of these book clubs often are experts about their chosen reading material. For example, one member of
a Holmes reading group can identify almost every person in every Sherlock Holmes story.
VOICE ONE:
Some book clubs meet in homes. Other clubs meet in a religious center or work place. Some gather in
a
bookstore, a public information center or library. A few always have a meal at the same eating place.
Highly organized groups may enforce reading rules. They may say that members who have not read the required
material may not be permitted to comment at meetings. National clubs often provide a list of required or
suggested reading.
Some book clubs require their members to pay hundreds of dollars for a one-year club membership. These clubs
usually have an expert leader, like a professor.
Other book clubs are not as organized. They have no official leader. Members exchange the responsibility of
directing meetings. Books are chosen by voting on suggestions by members.
((MUSIC BRIDGE)
)
VOICE TWO:
Oprah Winfrey is the star of a popular American television show. Six years ago, she
started a reading group called Oprah’s Book Club. Each month during autumn,
winter and spring, Mizz Winfrey chose a book she liked. She announced her choice
on the show. She asked people to read the book. Then, they wrote to the show with
their thoughts and opinions.
Oprah’s Book Club was successful because Mizz Winfrey would invite writers to
her show to discuss their books. Her club greatly influenced what Americans read.
For example, some libraries reported that several hundred people had to wait to
borrow one of the books she suggested. Publishers also felt the effects of Mizz
Winfrey’s book club. They would often need to make thousands of extra copies of a book to satisfy public
demand.
Earlier this year, Oprah Winfrey decided to drop the book club from her television show. However, computer
users can still find her book choices on her Internet website. Also, people who write books continue to make
appearances on her show.
VOICE ONE:
In recent months, several new, national book clubs were formed. The newspaper U-S-A Today started its club in
April. Every six weeks, the U-S-A Today Book Club chooses a new book. Members can discuss the books with
writers and other people electronically.
One of the first books chosen was “Empire Falls” by Richard Russo. “Empire Falls” was chosen a short
time after it won a Pulitzer Prize, America’s highest writing award. Winning the Pulitzer is known to increase a
book’s sales.
VOICE TWO:
At least four television shows also have formed book clubs. A-B-C Television’s “Good Morning America”
started a program called, “Read This.” It invites members of existing book clubs to suggest things to read.
This is different from a new club organized by N-B-C Television’s “Today Show.” On that show, bestselling writers are asked to suggest a book. In the first program, writer John Grisham chose “The Emperor of
Ocean Park” by Stephen Carter.
At first, there were two-hundred-forty-thousand copies of “The Emperor of Ocean Park” in publication. After
the “Today Show” announcement, the number of copies in American bookstores rose to almost five-hundredthousand.
On C-N-N television, financial reporter Lou Dobbs chooses books that he believes investors will enjoy. Many of
the books he suggests deal with economics or financial issues. Another television show, “Live with Regis and
Kelly,” has a less serious book club. All books chosen there are said to be easy reading with no deep hidden
messages. Club members say reading for them is meant to be fun and light.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Several cities in the United States, such as Chicago and Seattle, also have started book clubs. Public library
officials in Washington, D-C, hope their club will create a feeling of togetherness in the city, and help those
people who can not read.
Smaller, local clubs may read works that already have been popular for centuries, like "The Odyssey" of Homer.
They may read poetry or mystery stories or love stories. Or, they may read books about people, politics, or
current events.
VOICE TWO:
Book clubs are more than reading groups. They are social groups, too. Most of the book clubs have only women
as members. The women often become good friends. They discuss their families and jobs, as well as the books
they read. The meetings give members a chance to learn what other women are thinking. One club member says
she thinks it is valuable to talk about what you read with good friends.
Other clubs help unmarried men and women meet each other. A Christian religious center in Cincinnati, Ohio
organized one such club. Members have to be unmarried and more than forty years old. This group reads a lot of
books about relationships between men and women. One was called “Men are from Mars, Women are from
Venus.
”
John Gray, an expert on communication and relationships, wrote this book. It discusses differences in
how men and women think and act.
VOICE ONE:
Some reading clubs in the United States are for husbands and wives. One woman says this is a great idea for a
book club. She says husbands and wives often talk to each other only about their children, or work, or money
problems. “Talking about books,” she says, “opens a whole new level of communication.
”
American children belong to reading clubs, too. They may be as young as four years old or as old as eighteen.
Some children’s clubs get help from the Great Book Foundation. This educational organization provides lists of
books to read. It also trains people to lead discussions about the books.
VOICE TWO:
Young children read stories like “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen. Other popular
books for young readers include “How the Elephant Became” by Ted Hughes. Older children might read
works such as “Antigone” by Sophocles and “On the Limits of Government” by John Locke.
One woman has belonged to a book club in Washington, D.C. for more than twenty-nine years. She says some of
the best books she has read are the ones she would NEVER read if she did not belong to a club. She says her
reading group has opened her eyes to a wider and more interesting world.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson and Jill Moss. Our producer was Caty Weaver. Our engineer was
Maurice Williams. I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
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