| Children’s need to belong, or the fear of exclusion, can be as intense as the need for sleep and sustenance, so they often band together in cliques and clubs. One of the weirdest fictional clubs I’ve come across, is the arson club in Jesse Ball’s novel, How to Set A Fire and Why. Memoirist, Irene Waters, is after your memories of joining a club: when did you join, why did you join and are you still a member? |  |
I remember being far too young to join the Brownies; I must have been barely out of nappies to consider those seven-year-olds alarmingly mature. I remember creating clubs for the sake of designing the badges, when anyone prepared to stick a pin through their clothes could join in. I don’t remember being part of any formal organisations until a few of us joined the Junior Red Cross when I was about twelve. I joined because my friend was going, and we could walk the couple of miles there and back together on a Friday evening, with a bag of chips to fortify us until we got home. Like the Brownies, of which I never became a member, although my sister did, we worked towards badges in First Aid, Home Nursing and the like, and wore military-style uniforms for competitions with rival branches in which our practical skills were put to the test. I remained a member into my teens (in the picture I’m the one with the longest hair seated to the right, and probably about fourteen) but dropped out when my friend, who was a year older than me, left school.
Irene was also in the Red Cross but it’s interesting, given that she became a nurse and I didn’t, that she didn’t stay as long as I did. (Apologies for the competitive tone creeping in, but those trophies were important to us back then!) . But the Red Cross isn’t the kind of club she’s looking for in her Times Past project. However, I’m struggling to conjure up any others. Ours wasn’t the kind of school for organised clubs, although there was a drama club for a while in which, despite crippling shyness, let me play Alice in a performance of The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at the school fete.
Nowadays, I haven’t the time or the sociability to join clubs, apart from the not-quite-monthly book group with a few friends. But I did have the pleasure of attending my first book group as an author recently, which was great fun. I’ve done a few bookshop signings and library events, and I’ve even managed to cobble together an entertaining story of what my book’s about, but it’s quite different meeting with a group who have all read my novel and formed opinions of their own. While it’s possible that my presence meant some held back on the negatives, we were able to discuss different perspectives on both the book itself and the issues it raises.
Not knowing quite how it would go, and wanting to ensure that the group members had space to hear each other’s reactions, rather than over-privileging the author’s point of view, I’d prepared some questions in case we got stuck. In the end, they weren’t needed, but I’ve posted them on the site for the use of other groups. If you have time, please have a look at them and let me know if you think they could be added to or improved.
Irene was also in the Red Cross but it’s interesting, given that she became a nurse and I didn’t, that she didn’t stay as long as I did. (Apologies for the competitive tone creeping in, but those trophies were important to us back then!) . But the Red Cross isn’t the kind of club she’s looking for in her Times Past project. However, I’m struggling to conjure up any others. Ours wasn’t the kind of school for organised clubs, although there was a drama club for a while in which, despite crippling shyness, let me play Alice in a performance of The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at the school fete.
Nowadays, I haven’t the time or the sociability to join clubs, apart from the not-quite-monthly book group with a few friends. But I did have the pleasure of attending my first book group as an author recently, which was great fun. I’ve done a few bookshop signings and library events, and I’ve even managed to cobble together an entertaining story of what my book’s about, but it’s quite different meeting with a group who have all read my novel and formed opinions of their own. While it’s possible that my presence meant some held back on the negatives, we were able to discuss different perspectives on both the book itself and the issues it raises.
Not knowing quite how it would go, and wanting to ensure that the group members had space to hear each other’s reactions, rather than over-privileging the author’s point of view, I’d prepared some questions in case we got stuck. In the end, they weren’t needed, but I’ve posted them on the site for the use of other groups. If you have time, please have a look at them and let me know if you think they could be added to or improved.
 | As for my own reading, I achieved my Goodreads “challenge” of 100 books for 2016 a few days ago. Although I haven’t reviewed every one on Annecdotal, I have reviewed most, so thanks and congratulations to those who read my posts regularly: that’s a lot of books you’ve considered! If you’ve any energy left, click on the image for any of this month's thirteen you might have missed. |
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