[nesfa-reading-group] Attendance and book choices

[Wes Brodsky]

I could take some flyers and discreetly leave them in the Sci-Fi section of my local library.

Wes

 

From: reading-group [mailto:reading-group-bounces at lists.nesfa.org] On Behalf Of M M via reading-group
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2017 11:51 AM
To: NESFA Reading Group
Cc: M M
Subject: [nesfa-reading-group] Attendance and book choices

 

Hello everyone,

 

it has come to my attention that last night's meeting was cancelled due to low attendance. Every so often this may occur due to illness, scheduling conflicts, family obligations and so on. That is to be expected of any group. I belong to numerous social groups that are similar in many regards to this Reading Group, and from time to time specific events are cancelled, due to low attendance.

 

Advertising would help to increase the number of people that attend these meetings, but I doubt that the club would agree to pay for ads, even inexpensive ones. For September's meeting, I posted a few flyers locally, and encouraged one new person to join us. Louis and I have been working on creating an eye catching, enticing flyer format for the group, to be distributed about a month in advance of each meeting. Once that is completed, it will be updated for each month and distributed locally on a regular basis. 

 

Anyone who would like to assist in the distribution of flyers is welcome to help out. 

 

Another option to increase attendance would be to, say, serve pizza to attract new members. Free food usually serves as an inducement to attract individuals to events like these. Again, it is difficult to find support from the club for such inducements, as noted above. Some feedback I've received from people expressing interest in our Reading Group meetings is that it is time consuming for them to get to the clubhouse via the MBTA. Other book clubs meet in more T accessible locations, notably the Comicazi book club, which regularly reaches numbers in the 20's, even 30's. The day of the week that a book group meets may also be a factor in attendance. 

 

Choosing book selections is a group process. Suggestions are made either in person or on 'the bounce'; if no one speaks against a suggestion, or most people neglect to respond at all, especially via email, then it's more likely that a novel will be chosen without further scrutiny. 

 

For the record, I read Jack of Shadows over 20 years ago, and had forgotten many of the details. Re-reading it, I must agree with the criticisms offered towards this novel. Its many shortcomings were forgotten over time; its failings stand out with age and perspective. "Nuff said".

 

The book choices made for the rest of the year have been discussed and agreed on. If anyone has concerns about a future book choice, please be sure to comment on it before a final decision is made. 

 

Best wishes,

 

Michael

 

 

 

 

 

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