Whatcha Thinking Thursday

It's been awhile folks- so I'll start by apoligizing for that. I've had a very busy week with school (apparently week 6 means first big assignments must be due...in every class), and then I went ahead and hit a deer, which monopolized my entire Sunday, which is when I usually get all my posts lined up for the week. Needless to say, it was pretty hectic around here. Still, the lesson plan (big assignment numero uno) has been turned in, which means I can spend a few minutes catching up!! So without further ado....

It's time for Whatcha Thinking Thursday, hosted by me! Here's how it works. Each Thursday I'll simply blog about something book related that's weighing on my mind. Feel free to comment away if you agree or disagree (just keep it clean, okay?), or if you want to post to your site either on the same topic or about whatever it is you're thinking about go right ahead. I just ask that you link back to here. Also, make sure you let me know in the comments if you've participated so we can find you!

This week I listened to some students discuss why they joined the local HS bookclub. I volunteer at the HS and have pretty much hitched myself to the train that is their book club ("hi my name is Kate, and I'm a book club addict). The answers were all over the place, which is great, because it means that people read, and want to discuss what they are reading for so many reasons that are personal to them. Which led to my thinking about why I suddenly am a book club junkie, why I read.

So that is this weeks Whatcha Thinking: Why do you read? and if you are a book clubber, why do like to participate in a book club?

For me, it seems like I've always read. Both my parents are readers, so it was probably a given that I would be one too. I was that kid who would take a book and flashlight and huddle under the blankets to read all night (thinking my parents would never know). I remember being totally ecstatic when I found a bed that had a book shelf as a headboard. It was clearly made for me. I read all the time, snuck extra books into english class so that I could read what I wanted (I would slip my books into the required book). I love to read because there is just so much to learn, about everything, and I think that's what gets my interest more then anything. Even when you are learning about something completely made up, there is still something to gain from it. For me, there is no downside.

So what about book clubs? A year ago I had never been in a book club. In fact, I didn't even like to go to the library, I just headed over to the Barnes and Nobles and bought the book, went home a read it. Sometimes I'd obsess over it, but mostly it ended there. Then I read Twilight, and I loved it, and to be honest, I was embarressed that I liked it, so I had no one to talk to regarding this new book that I loved. Turns out I wasn't alone, I found TwilightMoms and there it was, the TwilightMoms Book of the Month club. New books every month to read, discussions, author chats and contests. People who were as nerdtastic as I was about books. By January I was lucky enough to join the team of moderators for Book of the Month and pretty soon we had our own site, Eve's Fan Garden where we also run a Book of the Month club. Then I went back to library school and found a spot volunteering at my old stomping grounds, aka my High School. They had a book club too and I couldn't resist asking to come along and see 1.) how a high school book club works and 2.) how an in-person book club works.

I love the ability to talk about the books I'm reading. What I like about them, what I don't and why. The discussion adds so much to the experience of reading the book that it felt like I had been missing something before. I was missing the interaction. Now I've got it, and I love it (and I'm addicted to it.)

So how about you, why do you read? Do you participate in a book club and what do you love about that?