Photo by Tracy Shawn

By Tracy Shawn, M.A., Noozhawk Columnist | First Published on 02.06.2015 3:41 p.m. in Noozhawk.com

If you are in a book club, you’re definitely not alone. According to a New York Times article by James Atlas (March), an estimated 5 million Americans meet every few weeks to share impressions from their latest read.

Atlas notes that book clubs allow readers to share the emotional experience of entering a book’s story. When you read a book, you perceive it in your own way — but when you share the difference of perceptions, it raises your understanding even more. And when you invite a guest author, your book club can engage on an even deeper level.

Amy Goetsch, one of the organizers of the Thousand Oaks Book Club (which has 11 book groups, with 244 members), states that they are anticipating their first local author visit in July. She feels that the benefits of hosting a guest author include “Inside information concerning character development, plot, and why an author chooses to go in a certain direction.” Goetsch wants to support local authors, and feels that inviting them helps further embrace the spirit of the book club community.

Santa Barbara novelist, songwriter and teacher (an instructor at Santa Barbara Writers Conference since 2001) Monte Schulz (published novels include Naughty, The Big Town, The Last Rose of Summer, This Side of Jordan and Down By the River — with an upcoming novel that will be published in three parts by Fantagraphics based on his previous writings on the Jazz Age), feels that book clubs can gain significant insight into how books are conceived by asking guest authors why they chose a particular subject matter.

Schulz’s favorite questions include which authors influenced his own style, as well as why he chose a certain setting and historical period. The answers, Schulz feels, helps readers dive further into the story by providing them with an author’s explanation of how he or she renders fictional family history within the storyline.

If you decide to invite a local author as a guest speaker, Goetsch suggests that the organizer should read the book before setting up the author talk to make sure it’s a good fit for the group.

“Not everyone likes every book,” she said, “but I wouldn’t want the author to be bombarded by negative comments. I would want some supportive, encouraging remarks and general interest in the book.”

Once the date is set, Goetsch states that members should, of course, read the book before the meeting and come up with some discussion questions before they attend.

Schulz is in agreement. As an author who was invited to one book club that actually had quite a passionate disagreement with two members who hadn’t even read his book — but who felt the need to criticize it — Schulz notes that book clubs should choose novels everyone will agree to read, and that it helps when members come in with prepared questions.

Whether a book club decides to invite a local author, who can visit in person, or enjoy either a phone or Skype appearance with a writer (you can usually find the contact information on an author’s website or check out sites such as Reader’s Circle or Galley Cat for info on authors available for guest/phone/Skype visits), a more spirited and enriching meeting is likely to occur.

As Goetsch stated in her interview: “I always feel an author wants to leave us with something … a thought or even a feeling that will change us in some way.”

— Tracy Shawn, M.A., lives and writes on the Central Coast of California. Her award-winning debut novel, The Grace of Crows, is about how an anxiety-ridden woman finds happiness through the most unexpected of ways — and characters. Dubbed a “stunning debut novel” by top 50 Hall of Fame reviewer Grady Harp, The Grace of Crows has also been hailed as an accurate portrayal of generalized anxiety disorder and a healing opportunity to the readers. Click here for more information about Shawn, or click here to visit her author page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter: @TracyShawn. The opinions expressed are her own.