Whether books are read alone or in groups, literature gives us a unique way to explore lives and experience other people and places.
Endicott
In reading communities, we share our literary explorations, nurturing the human need for self-expression and making connections. For many readers, the opportunity to describe our experiences is fundamental to the purpose of seeking out and belonging to reading communities.
Currently, close to 20 million people in North America participate in book clubs, including online groups, which is a significant number gathering together to create new ways of understanding ourselves, our world, and our place in it through dialogue.
Sharing ideas about literature in a social setting originates back to literary salons in the 19th century, the predecessors to modern book clubs. From intimate gatherings among friends in their homes to nationwide reading programs broadcast over radio, television and the Internet, discussions about books have expanded beyond the physical boundaries of the last century.
Both Canada Reads and Oprah’s Book Club have successfully proven how book clubs nurture literary exploration across the country and around the world.
Does all of that reading and talking about books make a difference? According to the National Endowment for the Arts, a thriving culture of readership has implications for society in terms of the economy, culture, and civic behaviour.
Habitual reading not only increases an individual’s academic and economic well-being, but is associated with constructive social activity: readers go to more concerts and theatre, they play more sports and exercise – no matter what their educational level. For many people, the social interaction in community-reading programs is an incentive to join in and read more than ever before.
One of the original community-reading programs, “If All of Seattle Read the Same Book,” founded in 1998 is recognized for its success in promoting reading and building community.
Several cities in Canada, including Vancouver, Medicine Hat, Kitchener-Waterloo and London have followed suit. In 2003, The University of Western Ontario launched Western Reads in London to celebrate Western’s 125th anniversary.
Drawing on its success in the first year and to engage more people in the city, the program’s name changed to London Reads in 2005. Since then, London Reads has connected a loyal following of readers from the campus to the community in discussions of 33 books by Canadian writers, including Alistair McLeod, Joan Barfoot, Douglas Coupland and Joseph Boyden. During the last six years, over 60 celebrity readers, including Paul Davenport, Mike Atkinson, and Larry Haylor from Western, and Anne Marie DeCicco-Best, Joni Baechler and Paul Berton from the community, have led the way at book discussions and debates.
In an effort to grow the audience, London Reads expanded the program’s accessibility in 2010 and reached out to a younger more diverse demographic by joining Facebook, Twitter and posting videos of the book events on YouTube. Furthermore, the reading list was shortened from five to three books and the book events took place in a shorter time frame in response to feedback.
From January to March, celebrity readers, including Gitta Kulczycki, Jonathan Vance and Penn Kemp, hosted discussions at the Central Library in downtown London. The reading list featured Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese, Good To a Fault by Marina Endicott and The Outlander by Gil Adamson.
Endicott says having her book on a community reading list feels “Surprising, and slightly effervescent.” She adds, “It’s particularly delightful with London Reads, which had the wisdom to realize there’s no need for a single winner and is celebrating all three books.”
This year’s program culminates in the London Reads Celebration on April 30 at the Wolf Performance Hall. Featuring readings by two of the authors, Endicott and Adamson, live music and refreshments, the event is open to the entire community.
In a perfect expression of celebrating the connections we make through reading, in the community and beyond, Endicott says: “I’m looking forward to the final event and meeting Jonathan Vance and Jane Roy who were panelists for Good to a Fault, and of course to seeing Gil Adamson, whose book I love.”
London Reads Celebration
Friday, April 30 from 5 – 7 p.m.
Wolf Performance Hall, Central Library, 251 Dundas St., London
Tickets $10/$8 for students
To buy tickets or for more information, visit www.londonreads.uwo.ca
The writer is Communications Manager, Western Retail Services