Welcome to the very first edition of the Book Club by Numlock!
First things first: the votes are in and we’re going to read The Library Book by Susan Orlean. I’m really excited about this book, I grabbed a copy and read ahead a bit and it’s a really fun one. It feels fitting to kick off a book club with a book about buildings full of books, and the people who may or may not have burned one down.
If you voted for one of the other books, don’t worry, they’ll be up again next vote. By then I’ll try to be true-to-form and roll out ranked choice voting so we can do it Oscars-style.
This will come out on Saturdays but the ensuing conversation can last however long you want. Most posts will be vastly shorter than this: a couple of questions to riff on and chat about, the plan for the following week, and an invitation to hop into the discussion thread. On that note, comment on this post!
By next Saturday, try to pick up a copy of the book — from your library, from your local independent bookstore*, from Amazon, whatever works for you — and this time just read the first 30 pages, which is the first two chapters. That’s just so we can get the ball rolling while accommodating shipping times and what not.
Here’s the goal with this project.
I enjoy reading books, but as an internet user in 2019 I tend to find that I spend lots of time on the immediate news, which can at times be shall we say overbearing. The science is still out on all this, but I don’t really enjoy what that does to my brain? Every time I read a solid book, I always think “why on earth am I just not doing this all the time” and then, like two days later, I’m just looking at a cascading Tweetdeck when there’s a solid stack of paper in arm’s reach that would probably leave my head in a better place.
So this is just as much for me as it is for y’all, a reminder that I should be reading more because it’s treating myself, like when I do guided meditation for the first two weeks of the new year, but without the giving up.
Think of it as a recurring social club / weekly encouragement to read something good / opt-in read-along.
Main thing that I’d love to get across is that this will be really discussion-based. Sometime along the way Reddit accidentally ate all the internet forums, and I miss them. I think Substack is neat in that regard and it’s their cool discussion thread feature that will be hosting the conversation. I’ve seen it in action a few times and it’s downright pleasant. So please, participate, toss in your opinions. Hundreds of y’all voted on the books so I know you have feelings and don’t be shy, just be cool. And don’t hesitate to forward this to folks who may enjoy it, the more the merrier.
Thanks for signing up and let’s kick it off in the comments below: what is a library that means something to you?
*Full disclosure, we’re doing this Wirecutter style and if you buy through one of these links they’ll kick us a small percentage of the sale. Don’t feel any pressure to buy through these links — seriously, try the library — but if you do, I just wanted to be on the level.
I am a first-time book club member! I am so excited to see how this works. I have ordered “The Library Book” (on Amazon, due to closest bookstore is 40 miles from me😢), and I will dive into it as soon as it comes. To answer the question “What is a library that means to you?”, I have to say ANY library that is geographically close to me. I achieve a “Zen-like” calmness whenever in a library.❤️
My favorite library is the manuscript room in the Cambridge University library. I spend so many wonderful hours there reading the most amazing medieval texts. One day, for fun, I ordered several old cookbook manuscripts. The recipe for rose water biscuits was delicious. You never know what you will find in a library.
I really love this idea! I hosted a book club for years, and then the logistics of it got to be too much to manage; I’ve missed the discussions! I’m sharing this link with my book club members, and I just ordered my copy of The Library Book — can’t wait to dive in!
My daughter is a librarian and we went to hear Susan Orlean talk about the book at a university. She's a wonderful storyteller and this is a tale about an unexpected subject, a fire in a library.
Looking forward to this! I live in Nashville which affords us a luxury not available in most of the US. We have free little libraries all over the city, and the library system itself is robust. Every neighborhood (almost) has a branch, and the amount of money that they entire system receives is substantial. They have full twice weekly puppet show programs for kids that are true full productions with professional full time employees. Growing up, I lived a bike ride away from the library and it was exactly in the middle of my "commute" between school and home. I was there everyday to do homework and wander around. I still remember lying upside down on this crazy long strange couch that curved all over...
I have never been a member of a book club and I am looking forward to this discussion. I went to college in the evening for 10 years and spent time doing research at 2 different libraries in Manhattan. We now vote in a library! After we vote, I always stop to look at the array of books and how much information and research and services are available. I called 3 different libraries in the surrounding areas and was able to locate the book! I will pick it up on Monday.
I have attended only one book club meeting where we watched the movie of the book. Huh? So, needless to say I am looking forward to restarting my first book club experience. My local library is walking distance! I was there three times this week picking up books I had reserved. I count on the library to increase my knowledge but also to give me avenues of escape and entertainment.
The smell of old paper and pressed bindings springs a calmness and comforting nostalgia for my youth. Spending hours just sitting on the floor, between stacks, vacuuming up chapters from a myriad of different titles... while weaving my own narrative linking disparate story lines.
Public libraries have been a pretty important part of my life. I think the only chapter of my life I didn't go to a public library was during college...and then, I went to the campus one.
My grandmother still works at the one I grew up closest to. That was also where I went to my first haunted house, volunteered at my first haunted house, and did my first stint of CPR training.
Now, we go with the whole family off and on, getting books for the kiddo and for ourselves.
Reading this first section reminded me of both how amazing some of the big libraries are, and made me think with horror at what would happen if any of the libraries I frequented would burn down.
How appropriate of a first selection for me to finally get my public library card to check it out. My wife has been suggesting it for years now and my mother-in-law just recently retired from her service as a public librarian (she’s also already read this book), so I’m excited to kick this one off.
As far back as I can remember my mom took my sisters and I to the library once a week. I too then took my boys (we moved a lot). What I love about them is how they always reflect the town they are in. I just moved to a new town so will use this book club as my excuse to investigate this new to me library.
OK, Ramona, so most of us haven’t read even the first page yet, much less the whole book. Maybe we should wait until we’ve read further to post a whole review of the book. The “cover is clever”??? Really?
Its funny, I voted for this book because it was the only one I could get the ebook of from my library. Now I’m already halfway through it! Thanks for putting this together, I feel the same way about scrolling when I know I’d been happier diving into a book. Looking forward to the discussions.
I love working in libraries, and especially the NYPL Main Library in 42nd and 5th. I try to go there a few days a month, in the big reading room, to do work that requires a long stretch of quiet and no distractions. Being in a huge room that’s dedicated to reading, writing and thinking, surrounded by people all trying to do the same thing, helps me maintain focus.
I love books, book clubs, libraries. It’s just such a difference experience to hold the book, and all that information right in your hands.
I used to be an avid user of the library, as a child I went there after school to “study” with my friends. As an adult I would check out movies, books and even studied for the bar there. Now I travel so much for work, I’m not even a member of my neighborhood library! I’m hopeful this group helps me start back again, and finish a few new books along the way!
I miss my old hometown library in Burlington Ontario! Classic 70s architecture. Great Sci fi section. It is gone now and replaced with the modern equivalent of 70s architecture.
I belong to two book clubs and enjoy them both very much. One of my clubs relies solely on Book Club Kits which are provided by our local library. I also download e-books. I think the library is a wonderful asset to any community. I read The Library in one of my book clubs and found it very informative and enjoyable. It gave me a whole new appreciation and perspective on libraries. Looking forward to the discussion.
I should say I’m in 3 other book clubs (where we meet “live”) and love them. We read such varied books, even though one is focused only on crime/mystery/suspense fiction. As for libraries, it may surprise you that I’m not a fan. I’ve created my own home library, where I feel most comfortable. I acquire books from bookstores, not libraries.
Though I'm already reading something else I recently picked up (Blueprint by Nicholas A. Christakis), can't wait for Susan Orlean's book to arrive and get into things. Haven't joined any form of book discussion in years.
I am very excited about finding g a book club again! I moved away from my book group and I miss the discussion about a book and books in general. I voted for this book and am looking forward to reading it!
I have read this book and have to say I didn’t enjoy much of it. The best part could have been the mystery about the fire. Information about preservation of damaged books is also good. But, the author tries to do too much, IMO. Stories of the history of librarians are dull. The book lacks focus, and bouncing around detracts from readability. The cover is clever!
Interestingly, if your library lets you check out ebooks with a service like Libby or Overdrive, then even if the book isn't available immediately, the service lets you read the first two chapters while you're waiting for a copy to free up. And two chapters is just what we'll want to have read by next Saturday -- a pleasant coincidence!
I am really looking forward to reading this book. I've been meaning to for a while so this was a good impetus. I am a medical librarian at a university so that is one library that means something to me and where I spend a good of time! My favorite library of all time though is the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, specifically the Radcliffe Camera. I studied there for a semester and I found that I worked so much better surrounded by all that beauty and inspiration.
Haven't been in a Book Club since college so this is quite exciting. As for Libraries I still remember the magic of getting my first Library Card and the possibilities that awaited me on each shelf. Plus all the newspapers and data that made my small city a much bigger worldly place. Thankfully my joy of books, discovery, info and libraries has never gone away.
My hometown library Cuyahoga Falls Library in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Spent a good portion of my childhood hiding out in that library. The Twinsburg Library in Twinsburg, Ohio is pretty amazing as well.
I love the smell of a library. The hushed voices trying to be quiet, the loud voices oblivious … the children's department, husting and bustling with painted windows, stuffed animals, story times and picture books displayed atop the chest-high bookcases. I love the nooks and crannies and all the places to hide away. Find the 811's high in a corner and sit on the floor and read some poems … wander the stacks and find a book you'd never otherwise find, and start reading. To me a library is a safe and wonderful place. And by contrast, an academic library was always institutional -- but still wonderful because it's where my undergrad study group would meet to work problem set after problem set, ten or fifteen of us, late into the night on multiple nights, loudly arguing about math and putting examples on the white board, fussing about negatives and why we did something or where a step got lost …
Libraries are my place! I wish I had more time now with busy job and life and kids, to find a quiet stack and read and nap and transport away!
Although I am a reader I haven't done well with book clubs. I'm not sure why but I am looking forward to taking part in this one. I would have happily read any of the possibilities but I am glad we chose this one and I was able to get it from my local library as an ebook. The book checks several boxes for me: It's about books and a library; it's about how libraries function; there's a mystery; it's about loss and recovery; and it's a piece of California history about which I knew nothing.
Having my own personal library of books is something I really enjoy. It is cool to be able to lend them out to friends and it makes me feel rich. Being able to brew some coffee, put on music, and grab a book off of my shelfs to read whenever I want are all luxuries that were only available to the wealthiest most powerful people on Earth for the vast majority of human history, which is pretty awesome, I think.
I've had this in my tbr pile for a while so I'm pretty excited for this choice. I live around the corner from my library branch and have been pretty involved with our Friends of the Library group for many years. I love that I can sit on my couch and download or put books on hold plus our library cooperative has so much to offer! Really, what's not to love.
The Library in the HS I work at is special for me. My wife works there so I get to see her but then 2 of my daughters attend here also and amazingly I continue to find them in there. It is a place for them to read, to learn, to congregate and just be close to their mom. I have started reading and can't wait to pass this book onto the other readers in my family.
I am a first-time book club member! I am so excited to see how this works. I have ordered “The Library Book” (on Amazon, due to closest bookstore is 40 miles from me😢), and I will dive into it as soon as it comes. To answer the question “What is a library that means to you?”, I have to say ANY library that is geographically close to me. I achieve a “Zen-like” calmness whenever in a library.❤️
My favorite library is the manuscript room in the Cambridge University library. I spend so many wonderful hours there reading the most amazing medieval texts. One day, for fun, I ordered several old cookbook manuscripts. The recipe for rose water biscuits was delicious. You never know what you will find in a library.
I really love this idea! I hosted a book club for years, and then the logistics of it got to be too much to manage; I’ve missed the discussions! I’m sharing this link with my book club members, and I just ordered my copy of The Library Book — can’t wait to dive in!
My daughter is a librarian and we went to hear Susan Orlean talk about the book at a university. She's a wonderful storyteller and this is a tale about an unexpected subject, a fire in a library.
Looking forward to this! I live in Nashville which affords us a luxury not available in most of the US. We have free little libraries all over the city, and the library system itself is robust. Every neighborhood (almost) has a branch, and the amount of money that they entire system receives is substantial. They have full twice weekly puppet show programs for kids that are true full productions with professional full time employees. Growing up, I lived a bike ride away from the library and it was exactly in the middle of my "commute" between school and home. I was there everyday to do homework and wander around. I still remember lying upside down on this crazy long strange couch that curved all over...
I have never been a member of a book club and I am looking forward to this discussion. I went to college in the evening for 10 years and spent time doing research at 2 different libraries in Manhattan. We now vote in a library! After we vote, I always stop to look at the array of books and how much information and research and services are available. I called 3 different libraries in the surrounding areas and was able to locate the book! I will pick it up on Monday.
I have attended only one book club meeting where we watched the movie of the book. Huh? So, needless to say I am looking forward to restarting my first book club experience. My local library is walking distance! I was there three times this week picking up books I had reserved. I count on the library to increase my knowledge but also to give me avenues of escape and entertainment.
The smell of old paper and pressed bindings springs a calmness and comforting nostalgia for my youth. Spending hours just sitting on the floor, between stacks, vacuuming up chapters from a myriad of different titles... while weaving my own narrative linking disparate story lines.
Public libraries have been a pretty important part of my life. I think the only chapter of my life I didn't go to a public library was during college...and then, I went to the campus one.
My grandmother still works at the one I grew up closest to. That was also where I went to my first haunted house, volunteered at my first haunted house, and did my first stint of CPR training.
Now, we go with the whole family off and on, getting books for the kiddo and for ourselves.
Reading this first section reminded me of both how amazing some of the big libraries are, and made me think with horror at what would happen if any of the libraries I frequented would burn down.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the book!
How appropriate of a first selection for me to finally get my public library card to check it out. My wife has been suggesting it for years now and my mother-in-law just recently retired from her service as a public librarian (she’s also already read this book), so I’m excited to kick this one off.
I placed a hold at the library, but I'm 10/21 copies so we'll see how it goes!
As far back as I can remember my mom took my sisters and I to the library once a week. I too then took my boys (we moved a lot). What I love about them is how they always reflect the town they are in. I just moved to a new town so will use this book club as my excuse to investigate this new to me library.
OK, Ramona, so most of us haven’t read even the first page yet, much less the whole book. Maybe we should wait until we’ve read further to post a whole review of the book. The “cover is clever”??? Really?
Its funny, I voted for this book because it was the only one I could get the ebook of from my library. Now I’m already halfway through it! Thanks for putting this together, I feel the same way about scrolling when I know I’d been happier diving into a book. Looking forward to the discussions.
I love working in libraries, and especially the NYPL Main Library in 42nd and 5th. I try to go there a few days a month, in the big reading room, to do work that requires a long stretch of quiet and no distractions. Being in a huge room that’s dedicated to reading, writing and thinking, surrounded by people all trying to do the same thing, helps me maintain focus.
I love books, book clubs, libraries. It’s just such a difference experience to hold the book, and all that information right in your hands.
I used to be an avid user of the library, as a child I went there after school to “study” with my friends. As an adult I would check out movies, books and even studied for the bar there. Now I travel so much for work, I’m not even a member of my neighborhood library! I’m hopeful this group helps me start back again, and finish a few new books along the way!
I miss my old hometown library in Burlington Ontario! Classic 70s architecture. Great Sci fi section. It is gone now and replaced with the modern equivalent of 70s architecture.
I belong to two book clubs and enjoy them both very much. One of my clubs relies solely on Book Club Kits which are provided by our local library. I also download e-books. I think the library is a wonderful asset to any community. I read The Library in one of my book clubs and found it very informative and enjoyable. It gave me a whole new appreciation and perspective on libraries. Looking forward to the discussion.
I should say I’m in 3 other book clubs (where we meet “live”) and love them. We read such varied books, even though one is focused only on crime/mystery/suspense fiction. As for libraries, it may surprise you that I’m not a fan. I’ve created my own home library, where I feel most comfortable. I acquire books from bookstores, not libraries.
Though I'm already reading something else I recently picked up (Blueprint by Nicholas A. Christakis), can't wait for Susan Orlean's book to arrive and get into things. Haven't joined any form of book discussion in years.
I am very excited about finding g a book club again! I moved away from my book group and I miss the discussion about a book and books in general. I voted for this book and am looking forward to reading it!
I have read this book and have to say I didn’t enjoy much of it. The best part could have been the mystery about the fire. Information about preservation of damaged books is also good. But, the author tries to do too much, IMO. Stories of the history of librarians are dull. The book lacks focus, and bouncing around detracts from readability. The cover is clever!
Interestingly, if your library lets you check out ebooks with a service like Libby or Overdrive, then even if the book isn't available immediately, the service lets you read the first two chapters while you're waiting for a copy to free up. And two chapters is just what we'll want to have read by next Saturday -- a pleasant coincidence!
I am really looking forward to reading this book. I've been meaning to for a while so this was a good impetus. I am a medical librarian at a university so that is one library that means something to me and where I spend a good of time! My favorite library of all time though is the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, specifically the Radcliffe Camera. I studied there for a semester and I found that I worked so much better surrounded by all that beauty and inspiration.
Haven't been in a Book Club since college so this is quite exciting. As for Libraries I still remember the magic of getting my first Library Card and the possibilities that awaited me on each shelf. Plus all the newspapers and data that made my small city a much bigger worldly place. Thankfully my joy of books, discovery, info and libraries has never gone away.
My hometown library Cuyahoga Falls Library in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Spent a good portion of my childhood hiding out in that library. The Twinsburg Library in Twinsburg, Ohio is pretty amazing as well.
What is the easiest way for a person to get on the email list for this? My mom would like to join.
I love the smell of a library. The hushed voices trying to be quiet, the loud voices oblivious … the children's department, husting and bustling with painted windows, stuffed animals, story times and picture books displayed atop the chest-high bookcases. I love the nooks and crannies and all the places to hide away. Find the 811's high in a corner and sit on the floor and read some poems … wander the stacks and find a book you'd never otherwise find, and start reading. To me a library is a safe and wonderful place. And by contrast, an academic library was always institutional -- but still wonderful because it's where my undergrad study group would meet to work problem set after problem set, ten or fifteen of us, late into the night on multiple nights, loudly arguing about math and putting examples on the white board, fussing about negatives and why we did something or where a step got lost …
Libraries are my place! I wish I had more time now with busy job and life and kids, to find a quiet stack and read and nap and transport away!
Although I am a reader I haven't done well with book clubs. I'm not sure why but I am looking forward to taking part in this one. I would have happily read any of the possibilities but I am glad we chose this one and I was able to get it from my local library as an ebook. The book checks several boxes for me: It's about books and a library; it's about how libraries function; there's a mystery; it's about loss and recovery; and it's a piece of California history about which I knew nothing.
Having my own personal library of books is something I really enjoy. It is cool to be able to lend them out to friends and it makes me feel rich. Being able to brew some coffee, put on music, and grab a book off of my shelfs to read whenever I want are all luxuries that were only available to the wealthiest most powerful people on Earth for the vast majority of human history, which is pretty awesome, I think.
The library is a dream incubator. I can be anyone, do anything, explore anywhere.
I've had this in my tbr pile for a while so I'm pretty excited for this choice. I live around the corner from my library branch and have been pretty involved with our Friends of the Library group for many years. I love that I can sit on my couch and download or put books on hold plus our library cooperative has so much to offer! Really, what's not to love.
Super pumped
The Library in the HS I work at is special for me. My wife works there so I get to see her but then 2 of my daughters attend here also and amazingly I continue to find them in there. It is a place for them to read, to learn, to congregate and just be close to their mom. I have started reading and can't wait to pass this book onto the other readers in my family.