Book Clubs and Leopard Print

Over the weekend, I came across an article about the Pulpwood Queens Book Club, which started in Jefferson, Texas and whose queen is now located in Hawkins, Texas.  This book club looks like a lot of fun.  Start with the backstory.  The original queen, Kathy Murphy (nee Patrick), was downsized from her job as a publisher’s rep.  She cast about for something to do and her sister suggested she go back to “doing hair,” which is how she put herself through college.  Kathy decided to go one better and opened up a beauty salon cum book store appropriately named Beauty and the Book.  She also started a book club—the Pulpwood Queens.  Pulpwood refers to the area of Texas in which she resides, the Piney Woods, a prime location for paper pulp industries.  Fast forward a few years and the Pulpwood Queens is an international concern with affiliate clubs called chapters, big events, including a Girlfriends Weekend that ends with a “Hair Ball,” authors and even her own book.  Their motto is “Where tiaras are mandatory and reading good books is the RULE!” And the queens really do wear tiaras, check out their website.  If you do go to the website, you will notice something that unfortunately tarnishes the whole effort for me.  It is an unabashedly commercial enterprise.  The clubs are about reading and fun and I am sure, based on the pages and the article I read, that they do a lot of good work in building literacy and excitement about books.  But it is obvious from the website that it is also about making money. 

You may be wondering why I am writing about this today and I am about to get to it.  Recently, on the TLC listserv, Sandra Carswell posed the questions, “How do you cultivate a ‘culture of reading’ in your school?” and “How do you find time for your readers to meet in person?”  It looks like Kathy Murphy has found a great answer to these question and she has the book clubs, worldwide, to prove it.  How can we translate this into something we can use in a school library?  I know that many school librarians have book clubs, some are successful and others not so much.  What I would suggest is that we look at what the Pulpwood Queens have done and see what elements we can use. Here we go…

• First, it is unusual and attention grabbing—a beauty shop and bookstore in one?  What aspect of your school could you capture to capitalize on for the “intrigue” factor?

• Second, she reads good books and everyone reads the same ones.  Now, I know good is in the eye of the beholder, but the bottom line is that she has a committee that selects the books (apparently they have quite a bit of clout) and one of the requirements for membership is that you agree to read the monthly selection of your club.  On the website there are choices, so although I have not attended a meeting, it looks like different affiliates may select according to their preferences.  I believe that reading the same book is key to the question Sandra posed about meeting in person.  When we do not read the same book, we are not really having a conversation about a book.  We are telling others about a book we read and listening to them tell us about one they read.  Having a conversation about the same book is a totally different experience and one that I believe goes much deeper.  We all relate to the book in different ways and when we talk about it together, we see the different points of view of the different readers and how different readers received the same book.  It enlarges our worldview and we also get to know other readers, which will lead to them wanting to make the time to meet in person.

• Third, she has a lot of fun with her club.  While I myself would be unable to pull off the big hair and leopard print, it works for her.  What can we do in our settings to make the clubs fun?  Have a combination event—book club discusses a book and does something related to it, like go to a movie or make something, or play a game.  We may not all be able to plan a whole weekend around books like the Queens do, but we can all do something fun.

• Fourth, she turns the clubs loose to see what they can do.  Kathy Murphy started with six women and grew to 150 in Jefferson, Texas.  There are now over 50 chapters in the US and 15 international groups affiliated with the Pulpwood Queens.  She has a book, reading lists, and authors and publishers send her books hoping to get them on the reading list. I am not suggesting that we run a book club like a business.  What I am suggesting is that we start something and stand back to see what happens.  Students are energetic and resourceful; they may turn your book club into a dynamo given the chance.

Take a page from Kathy’s book and start a sensation at your school.  I know I am thinking right now of ways to start a book club near me, tiaras optional.

Special thanks to Sandra Carswell for her permission to use her questions.  

Leopard Print graphic licensed for reuse.