Redland Library kits help residents start own book clubs

Redland Libraries are so pleased with the success of their first book club that they are making it easy for residents to start one of their own.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said Book Club sets were now available through Council’s libraries.

“The sets have been prepared so we can share the literary love and encourage residents to form their own book clubs which they can host in their homes,” Cr Williams said.

“Each set contains 10 copies of a book and a laminated sheet of questions to kickstart the discussion.

“There are already 19 sets ready to go, which can be reserved online and sent to your nearest Redland City Library for collection.”

The launch of the Book Club sets follows the success of the Redland Reads Book Club, which held its first meeting in August last year.

“The book club was formed in response to COVID-19 as a means of bringing our community back to our libraries, to get people talking and sharing experiences while focusing on the core library business – the reading of books,” Cr Williams said.

“It has proved to be a great way for people to meet, with people coming together and having a conversation and then leaving as friends.

“It fulfills a really strong need in our community. We talk about resilience and capacity building all the time and what is that if not helping people to help each other.”

The book club now has about 30 regular members who turn up to one of the monthly meetings at either Cleveland or Victoria Point Library and 99 followers on the club’s Facebook page.

“The online presence is an important aspect of the club as it means you can be part of the monthly book discussion from the comfort of your own home and at a time which suits you,” Cr Williams said.

Club member Diana Penson said she joined the club to keep mentally active and to meet new people who share a common interest in literature.

“As a lover of the classics, the books that have been selected for club members to critique are not ones I would normally have chosen to read,” she said.

“For this very reason I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to broaden my outlook and appreciate a range of young authors and their unique and fresh approaches to writing.

“Combined with the diversity of literary themes and styles, the sharing of individual experiences of, and reactions to, the books is what I value the most about being a member of the Redland Reads Book Club.”

For more information on the Book Club sets or Redland Reads Book Club, go to the Redland Libraries website or follow the club on Facebook.