Photo by Julie Vennitti/ Repository
By CHARITA M. GOSHAY Repository staff writer
CANTON — About a year ago, Nadine McIlwain called some friends to propose the idea of meeting to discuss and share their love of books. Borrowing the title from a poem by Maya Angelou, the “Still I Rise” book club was born. The members, a dozen or so and counting, are smart, funny and insightful. It’s not unusual for their discussions about plots and character development to evolve into conversations about life, love, relationships and other real-life experiences.
“I don’t know if more people are reading, but I think more people are getting together to read,” said McIlwain, a retired educator, and member of the Canton City Board of Education. “I’m gaining more insight that I wouldn’t have had (reading alone),” she said. “It helps me to gain a new point of view.”
Deborah Jones said she heard about the book club through friends of McIlwain.
“I told some friends I was interested in joining a book club, so when LaVaughn (Hogan) invited me, I was very grateful,” she said. According to Publisher’s Weekly, sales of adult books saw a 1 percent increase in the first half of 2001. A total of 548 million books were purchased, with retail sales of $5.2 billion. As with much of the economy, sales so far in 2002 have been soft.
Though book clubs are nothing new — they’ve been around since the 1700s — they have experienced a resurgence of interest and growth over the last decade.
Some say it’s due, in part, to the “Oprah Factor.” Books read by the club include recommendations from Oprah’s Book Club, which was founded by television talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Robin Clark said she is a faithful follower of Oprah’s Book Club.
“The best book I’ve read is ‘The Bridges of Madison County,’ ” she said. “I loved it.”
Clark said she also admires author Toni Morrison, because “she just takes it to another level. Her imagination is unbelievable.”
McIlwain, a program officer for the Sisters of Charity Foundation, said the book club also gives professional women a chance to read something other than job-related material.
“I’m reading more since I joined the book club,” said teacher Erma Smith. “I’m reading more novels.”
Though all the members of Still I Rise are black, they don’t limit themselves to black authors, or to a certain genre.
Readings have included athlete Lance Armstrong’s autobiography, “It’s Not About the Bike;” the fictional “Memoirs of a Geisha,” by Arthur Golden; Terry McMillan’s “A Day Late and a Dollar Short;” the best-selling “White Oleander,” by Janet Fitch; and Tavist Smiley’s “How to Make Black America Better.”
A group favorite is short-story writer J. California Cooper.
“I also like Wally Lamb,” Smith said. “He interweaves the characters and plot development.”
Hogan said being in the club has changed her reading habits.
“I wasn’t an avid reader, but I read,” she said. “They’re turning me into one.”
The group also has met with other clubs for joint readings. McIlwain said they’ve met twice with a book club at Borders Books Music & Cafe in Jackson Township. Not everyone likes every book, which can lead to some lively exchanges. Character, dialogue and plot believability are critiqued and dissected.
No detail is missed. At the home of Hundlean Maske, the discussion centers on the self-published “Satin Doll: A Novel.” In one passage, author Karen Quinones Miller writes that a character’s husband takes her wardrobe out of their closet, then later mentions that the character took two outfits out of her closet.
Such gaffes don’t get by this group. Though most commended the author’s efforts, “she could have used an editor,” someone said.
McIlwain said the group is considering participating in the “To Kill a Mockingbird” reading program, an effort by libraries and book clubs in Northeast Ohio to encourage groups of people to read and discuss Harper Lee’s classic story about race relations and justice.