Reading Local
Choose Your City
Feb 4, 2009 0
Whether you are “absolutely clueless,” or an “experienced” graphic novel reader, the Portland Graphic Novel Book Group is ready to make you part of their family. Their aim is to create a “well-rounded graphic novel reader, featuring multiple genres varying from superhero to horror, single works and anthologies.”
Past readings have included:
Flight, Volume 4
edited by Kazu Kibuishi
Jan 28, 2009 0
Offering a way “for bibliophiles to share their passion for literature and public life,” the City Club of Portland’s book group, “Citizen’s Read,” is a great example of a group incorporating local authors into their reading schedule. Including a “wide variety of titles: non-fiction, both serious and lighthearted, memoirs and some fiction,” the group pledges to “discuss books written by Portland or Northwest authors, or that focus on topics relevant to the city or region.” To further increase turnout and the depth of conversations the group tries to “include participation by the author or guest moderators whenever possible.”
Past reading selections have included:
Jan 21, 2009 5
Though started only the beginning of this year, The Classics and Coffee of East Portland book club has already garnered 58 members. A number that grew so fast it forced the organizer to switch the locations of their first scheduled meetup, as well as split the club into two groups.
Davinna (the organizer) says in her profile that she started the group “because I want to know more classic literature and to have stimulating exchanges of ideas about these timeless reads.” The groups home page refers to using this club to “partak[e] in what Robert M. Hutchins called ‘the Great Conversation that began in the dawn of history and that continues to the present day’.”
The group chooses their book selection in a very democratic way via Meetup’s provided polling mechanism. At the end of each meetup books are nominated for the next meeting, those are then placed online for everyone to vote on, at a certain point (long enough to give members time to read the book) the poll closes and the winning book is chosen. They just had their initial meeting and the voting has begun for the March 1st meetup. These are the books on the chopping block: Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 14, 2009 5
In a shameless bit of self promotion, today’s book club is you guessed it the Reading Local Book Groups. This is the last time these groups will be promoted like this, other than highlights of the meetings themselves, as I want to spend more time covering the great book clubs that already exist in Portland.
Although our book groups have just started I have some ideas to hopefully make them a very entertaining place to spend an evening. Including: bringing in local authors to discuss their publications; local brewers to share their crafts; local winemakers to help get us tipsy; local publishers to talk about the books they are marketing; local musicians to perform their latest hit; local booksellers to talk about their new favorite books; maybe figure out a way to get local chef’s to cook up a special dish just for us; local filmmakers to give a private screening; in addition to invigorating discussions about the chosen book and wherever else the conversation takes us.
The groups have been broken up by genre, one for Fiction Lovers that will meet on the first Wednesday of each month (February’s book is Molly Gloss‘ Hearts of Horses), another for the Nonfiction Lovers out there that will meet on the second Wednesday of each month (February’s book is Steven Bender’s One Night In America), and lastly a Poetry Lovers group on the third Wednesday of each month (February’s book is Kate Gray’s Another Sunset We Survive). Or, if you are a lover of all things written like I am, by all means we would love to have you attend each one of them.
Jan 7, 2009 0
The group organizer having chosen the name of the book club wisely, the first result in a google search for “portland book clubs” was The Portland Book Club (whoda thunk it…). A look at their meetup page shows that this is a lively and active group, currently consisting of 87 “readers, shakers, and debaters“. The group was founded in January of 2004 (I think that was a particularly cold winter…good time to start a book club), and has gained 11 new members since just late December (this has been a cold winter…good time to join a book club).
Their About Us page describes the group as such:
“This group doesn’t have a specific Genre of books. We read fiction and non-fiction, as well as any book the members choose. The members themselves put forth books they personally have enjoyed. Polls are created so we can all vote on and discuss the books before choosing them. Please feel free to share your ideas of books and authors you enjoyed, so the group gets a wider and more diverse feel. Not everyone in the group is able to read the whole book for each meeting. We don’t require it. Please note that you don’t have to have read the book in order to participate or attend the meetings. There is always a lively discussion that exceeds any of the books possibilities. We don’t all have to like all of the books, or stop sharing because we didn’t finish. Each of us has a story to tell. Come join our story tellers.”
Reading Local presents Read to Rebuild: A Haiti Benefit Reading, March 16th at The Writers' Dojo.
An All-Star lineup includes Ariel Gore, Margaret Malone, Laura Moulton, Ben Parzybok, Kevin Sampsell, and Tom Spanbauer
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