Bord Gais Energy Bookclub have chosen our little bookclub as their bookclub of the month:
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Full Moon Book Club was set up in 2005 and the name was chose to signify the monthly meetings that they have. Each member of the book club takes a turn to host and organise the book club monthly meeting.
Membership numbers has fluctuated from between 6 – 10 members and since 2005 they have lost some members and gained new members. Through the years the monthly meetings have overseen many changes in the lives of the women who come. Some have gotten married, some have had children and some have moved away.
The Full Moon Book Club mostly read fictional books. Book choices are submitted by each of the members to the book club and then it goes to a vote where the majority rules. Books can sometimes be chosen because they were recommended by other book clubs for example Richard and Judy, Oprah or the Bord Gáis Energy Online Book Club.
If a book is on the bestseller lists or books that have won awards like the Man Booker Prize or the Irish Book Awards this may be a reason for the book club members to choose a book. Generally the book club choose a book because it resonates with a member of the club. This gives all the book club members the chance to read genres that they would otherwise not engage in. A few of their more memorable book choice have been their first read ‘The Red Tent’ by Anita Diamante and more recently ‘The Language of Flowers’ by Vanessa Diffenbaugh and ‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett.
When it comes to interests and hobbies the book club members are as diverse as the books they have chosen to read, an eclectic mix of ladies who have been instrumental in keeping the book club going. Some of them love to dance, some to run, others love to garden and grow herbs. Some of them have a passion for cooking, some love to travel, some of to knit, others love music…it is this diverse mix of members who share so many communal and individual interests that keep their monthly meetings interesting, informative and most of all fun.
In the early days of the book club there were reading guides and questions and in-depth discussions whereas nowadays they have a much more relaxed chat about the book. The members also started a blog in 2006 for those who couldn’t make book club. Over the last few years, they have enjoyed themed meetings like their annual Mulled Wine Christmas Book club, Summer Garden Party, Book club goes to the Movies, Afternoon Tea as well as a few excursions to the Theatre and the Cinema.
The essence of the Full Moon book club is simple- ‘to share’, whether it’s the words of a story, the latest good holiday read, a life changing novel or just a simple page turning thriller. It is not so much a club as a gathering of friends who come together to share food, laughter, gossip, and most importantly share their opinions on books and how they play a part in each of the members lives. Through book club the members have become close friends and book club meetings now are as much about friendship as they are about the books.
Our next meeting was on April 28th hosted by Kathryn in her new house in Goatstown. A lovely sunny day, Kathryn treated us to burritos. Our book for that meeting was One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner. We all agreed the book was a little depressing.
Our next meeting was in July 4th in the Exchange Restaurant in the Westin Hotel. They do bring your own wine on a Wednesday of which we took advantage. There was at least a bottle of wine per person! Cue much laughter and the next day many a sore head but what fun we had! The book up for discussion for that meeting was Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. I pitied our poor waiter and our fellow diners especially those on dates! We all agreed that we started off with Fifty loving it and ended up feeling fed up and annoyed. Neither of the characters are particularly likeable and after a while, the writing started to grate and the sex scenes got boring! Only a few of us ended up reading book two and even fewer finished the trilogy.
We decided to have bookclub’s first away night and the location was Graiguenamanagh, co. Kilkenny. They host a Festival of Books in September but we choose the summer season and August 11th was the chosen date. We had so much fun – we rented bikes and cycled to St. Mullin’s; stayed in the Waterside and spent the next day in Inistioge. Read all about it by on Girl From The Hills blog.
