PRINTBook Clubs Turn the Page
DearReader.com introduces new books and encourages reading among Columbians
June 3, 2009 | 12:00 p.m. CST
There’s online shopping, online classes, online TV shows — now online book clubs? The Columbia branch of the Daniel Boone Regional Library system has teamed up with a program called Dear Reader to introduce this new trend to you lazy, er, technologically savvy folk. DearReader.com founder Suzanne Beecher created her Web site in 1999 to encourage people to get into the habit of reading, and her club now boasts a membership of over 350,000 people.
Beecher says she began partnering with libraries in 2000 to try to steer members to a library in their hometown that offers the online book clubs. “We’re very library oriented,” she says. “We love libraries here.” Anyone in Columbia can sign up by providing an e-mail address on the Columbia Public Library Web site (dbrl.org) and choosing one or more of 11 genres: business, fiction, good news (inspirational), mystery, teen, science fiction, nonfiction, romance, thriller, audio books and pre-publication. Beecher says not every library that partners with Dear Reader has to offer all 11 genres, but Columbia Public Library does.
Fiction:
STAND THE STORM
Breena Clarke
WHERE: Barnes & Noble
COST: $24.99
Slaves Annie and Gabriel Coats buy their freedom and move to Washington, D.C., but they soon realize that surviving in a white world involves more hard work and sacrifice than they ever imagined.
Non-Fiction:
CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
Mark McEwen
WHERE: Barnes & Noble
COST: $26.00
The Early Show’s former weatherman suffered a stroke after being misdiagnosed with the flu. McEwen discusses his escape from death and his long rehabilition. He offers tips on stroke prevention and treatment.
An excerpt from the current book will be sent out each weekday, and all it takes is about five to 10 minutes to read the selection. But don’t feel ashamed about letting those e-mails pile up. “You don’t have to feel the need to read everything that comes your way,” Beecher says. “Read guilt-free, and keep it fun.” A book forum is also available online for members to contribute their own thoughts about the books or respond to someone else’s comment and begin a discussion.
Beecher wasn’t always an avid reader because her mother had a rule that once she started a book, she had to finish it. “When I was a kid, I kind of shied away from reading,” Beecher says. “I had this great array of books that looked beautiful. I only went for thin books.” Years later when Beecher worked at her husband’s business, she typed up sections of books in the company newsletter. “I took that idea and expanded it,” she says of how Dear Reader was born. “I wanted to make it easy for people to make time to read.” Beecher used the saying, “If you build it, they will come” as her motto for developing her Web site.
Dear Reader’s fans include readers and authors alike. Doyne McKenzie, a librarian at the Daniel Boone Regional Library, is a member of the fiction and pre-publication clubs. “I usually do it on my lunch hour,” she says.
One of the major differences from a typical book club is that these online versions only allow members to sample about two to three chapters of each book by the end of the week. “This is kind of a teaser,” McKenzie says. “It introduces you to the book.” Members can then find the book at the library or a bookstore to finish it, and the e-mail includes what page the selection ended on so readers can pick up right where they left off.
Blaize Clement, author of the Dixie Hemingway mystery series, says she credits Dear Reader for making her books bestsellers. “Having my first mystery featured on Dear Reader helped my career tremendously,” she says via e-mail. “I was an unknown writer, so being introduced to hundreds of thousands of readers was huge for me.” To date, all of Clement’s books have been Dear Reader selections, and she praises Beecher for offering such a useful program. “It’s a wonderful way for busy people to sample a lot of books without wasting precious time,” she says. “I’ve discovered several writers through the clubs that I’d never have known about if I relied solely on browsing at bookstores or libraries.”
When you have everything available at the click of a button, who needs human communication? Becky Fisher says you do. As one of the owners of Village Books and a participant in Chick Lit and Chocolate, the store’s book club, Fisher doesn’t believe book clubs will go completely digital. “As much as we are plugged in to the Internet, there’s still a great need for face-to-face interaction,” she says. “The tangible factor is still important: the smell of the book, the weight of the book, the physicality of it.” Chick Lit and Chocolate is a nontraditional book club because it doesn’t assign specific reading. On the fourth Friday of every month, about 10 to 15 regulars, generally women, gather to discuss everything they’ve read recently and eat chocolate.
Beecher also thinks face-to-face book clubs are important, but says, “Online has been successful of personal connections.” This is why Beecher makes every effort to bond with her readers through personal columns about the little things in her life, constant invitations for reader feedback and contests for readers to win her home-baked chocolate chip cookies.
Participants throughout the country appreciate Beecher’s program. Dorie Furman of Denver says it’s been at least three years since she joined through her library. “It helps people who don’t know how wonderful reading is,” she says. “It’s informed a lot of people.” Furman says the e-mails make her day, and it’s become an addiction for her because it’s the first thing she checks for on her computer every morning. Lois Cairl, who lives in St. Petersburg, Fla., found the online book clubs through a friend. “My friend said, ‘If you like reading, you have to check into Dear Reader,’” Cairl says. “I think it’s great. I quite often find an author I like.”
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