Book Club has been a club at Leesville for several years. The first meeting was Wednesday, Sept. 28 in the library.
Students are given a book chosen by the librarians to read before the next meeting. Wendy Dragone and Erica Knightstep, librarians and sponsors of the club, choose books from different genres for each month.
Dragone said, “We don’t want to read all graphic novels, all historical fiction, so we like to pick something from each of six or seven different genres.”
Kathryn Falcinelli, a sophomore who attended book club last year, said, “[Book Club] helps you get into books that you wouldn’t normally pick out for yourself.”
Many of the students in the club typically only read books from one or two genres, and through the club they were able to broaden their horizons and explore different genres, ranging from science fiction to non-fiction memoirs. This month, members will read the novel by Khaled Hosseini, And The Mountains Echoed.
Formally named Pizza Book Club, the club drew in many members with the promise of pizza. Even though meetings do not have pizza now, students are still invested in the club.
Another factor of the club that brings students in is the atmosphere.
Kelsey Holt, a sophomore who plans to join book club again this year, said one of her favorite parts of the club was her connection with the other members. Holt said, “There was kinda like a sense of community.”
Falcinelli said, “My favorite part overall was just discussions with other people, and bonding with other people who like to read books.”
Dragone and Knightstep have high expectations for the club this year. Dragone said, “We’d just like to see more people join. We had a lot of seniors who graduated out of it last year, a lot of regulars who came every month.” The club works best with a smaller amount of people, but the librarians want to gain more students interested in the club.
Book Club is an amazing activity for students who love to read, as well as a way to make new friends who share similar interests with you.
