A note from our Book Club Editor and information for the “Wuthering Heights” sessions
At our A Christmas Carol book club last month, we discussed a variety of topics, from the merits of the Muppets’ iteration of the story to our moral obligation to be in a good mood. We zoomed in on Dickens’ puzzling descriptions of the spirits and reflected on how they seem much more terrifying in the movie and stage versions than they do in the original. Overall, it was a lively discussion that greatly enhanced my appreciation of the story. It also reminded me of the merits of reading in community—when we come to a text with other people, especially people we may not get to interact with on a daily basis, the reading experience is a lot richer because we approach it in so many different ways.
This is our primary goal for book clubs here at Orange Blossom Ordinary—to create rich reading experiences. We started our review with the goal of having “one foot in Florida, one foot in the life of the mind,” and we have mostly achieved this through reviewing a variety of books and interviewing a variety of authors, some with direct connections to Florida and others not. In our book club, we want to create a space where we can engage similarly with literature that hasn’t necessarily been published in the last 12 months. Also, it’s easier to tackle rigorous pieces of literature when you have a book club pushing you to keep reading.
As we close out our first (partial) year of book clubbing together and look toward the next, I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself as the new “book club editor.” My responsibilities include setting a reading schedule, coming up with discussion questions/prompts, and guiding the discussion as necessary. Most importantly, I want to cultivate a community where lots of people feel like they can come and participate when they can. Our readership has grown a lot over the past two years, and my hope is that book club is a space where many of us can come to discuss the things we care about in real time.
So, here is what you can expect if you want to join our book club. One of the best things about it is that it is flexible—by signing on for one book, you are really only signing on for one book. Join us for Wuthering Heights this spring and then take a break until the fall if you need (or don’t!). For the sake of building a community, if you do sign up for a book, it is nice if you can commit to most meetings for that book. We’ll also offer more “one-off” book clubs in the future, like we did for A Christmas Carol, so that you can join us without committing to multiple meetings.
During our meetings, we’ll start with a fun “get to know you” question, and then we’ll leave space to share our favorite passages. We’ll then move on to some more pointed questions, posed by me or anyone in the group. Some of the best discussions spring up organically after someone shares a passage or a question they came across while reading.
So, that’s our vision for book club. We’ll start with Wuthering Heights in a few weeks and meet every other week as we work through that text. Future books may include The Old Man and the Sea, The Yearling, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and maybe even East of Eden. We’ve also thrown around the possibility of coming back to the Jeeves books every now and again. This isn’t a hard and fast list, though—we are open to suggestions and seeing where reading in community takes us. Who knows, maybe we will finally tackle War and Peace one day.
—Sarah Linville, Book Club Editor
Here's our schedule for Wuthering Heights. The sign-up link is here! We’ll be meeting 8-9:30pm on Zoom.
January 13: Volume I chapters 1-7
January 27: Volume I chapters 8-12
February 10: Volume I chapter 13- Volume II Chapter 4
February 24: Volume II Chapters 5-11
March 10: Volume II chapters 12-20
