• Sign Up
    • Yearly by Check
    • Monthly Recurring
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Account
  • Log In
The Hendersonian
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Business
    • Local
    • Police
    • Politics
    • Schools
    • Science
    • Sports
    • State
    • World

    Deaconess Henderson Hospital Advisory Board gives $70,000 to local nonprofits

    Chill out at the Friends of the Library membership meeting July 12

    Two new honorees added to Juneteenth’s impact sign display

    Two new honorees added to Juneteenth’s impact sign display

    Wind turbine ordinance, which would be the first in Kentucky, is key to what ultimately occurs in Cordelio project

    Wind turbine ordinance, which would be the first in Kentucky, is key to what ultimately occurs in Cordelio project

    Macy talks socks,1978 UK champs and more during author visit to promote his book

    Macy talks socks,1978 UK champs and more during author visit to promote his book

    Alliance dedicates new Henderson County Mine

    Alliance dedicates new Henderson County Mine

    Trending Tags

  • Tech
    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    In some parts of the U.S., the grid of the future might be closer than you think

    Trending Tags

  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    2025 Handy Fest photo gallery

    2025 Handy Fest photo gallery

    Gritty Lady Cols advance to Final 4

    Gritty Lady Cols advance to Final 4

    Summer blockbusters finally arrive in June

    Summer blockbusters finally arrive in June

    A former Japanese tennis star champions Henderson County athletes

    A former Japanese tennis star champions Henderson County athletes

    Stanley hopes his exhibition is a reminder ‘to be open to joyfulness…from whatever ridiculous source it may come’

    Stanley hopes his exhibition is a reminder ‘to be open to joyfulness…from whatever ridiculous source it may come’

    Henderson joins West Kentucky Film Commission with hopes of luring movie makers here

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
    Grants available from Deaconess Henderson Hospital Community Program Fund

    Hospital CAO: Deaconess Henderson will not close

    Enjoy the fresh taste of summer

    Enjoy the fresh taste of summer

    Regional collaborative assists those suffering from mental health challenges with online resources

    Regional collaborative assists those suffering from mental health challenges with online resources

    Plenty of baseball to watch without stepping into a big league stadium

    Plenty of baseball to watch without stepping into a big league stadium

    Matthew 25 cuts the ribbon on new mobile sexual health unit

    Matthew 25 cuts the ribbon on new mobile sexual health unit

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    Trending Tags

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Business
    • Local
    • Police
    • Politics
    • Schools
    • Science
    • Sports
    • State
    • World

    Deaconess Henderson Hospital Advisory Board gives $70,000 to local nonprofits

    Chill out at the Friends of the Library membership meeting July 12

    Two new honorees added to Juneteenth’s impact sign display

    Two new honorees added to Juneteenth’s impact sign display

    Wind turbine ordinance, which would be the first in Kentucky, is key to what ultimately occurs in Cordelio project

    Wind turbine ordinance, which would be the first in Kentucky, is key to what ultimately occurs in Cordelio project

    Macy talks socks,1978 UK champs and more during author visit to promote his book

    Macy talks socks,1978 UK champs and more during author visit to promote his book

    Alliance dedicates new Henderson County Mine

    Alliance dedicates new Henderson County Mine

    Trending Tags

  • Tech
    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    In some parts of the U.S., the grid of the future might be closer than you think

    Trending Tags

  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    2025 Handy Fest photo gallery

    2025 Handy Fest photo gallery

    Gritty Lady Cols advance to Final 4

    Gritty Lady Cols advance to Final 4

    Summer blockbusters finally arrive in June

    Summer blockbusters finally arrive in June

    A former Japanese tennis star champions Henderson County athletes

    A former Japanese tennis star champions Henderson County athletes

    Stanley hopes his exhibition is a reminder ‘to be open to joyfulness…from whatever ridiculous source it may come’

    Stanley hopes his exhibition is a reminder ‘to be open to joyfulness…from whatever ridiculous source it may come’

    Henderson joins West Kentucky Film Commission with hopes of luring movie makers here

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
    Grants available from Deaconess Henderson Hospital Community Program Fund

    Hospital CAO: Deaconess Henderson will not close

    Enjoy the fresh taste of summer

    Enjoy the fresh taste of summer

    Regional collaborative assists those suffering from mental health challenges with online resources

    Regional collaborative assists those suffering from mental health challenges with online resources

    Plenty of baseball to watch without stepping into a big league stadium

    Plenty of baseball to watch without stepping into a big league stadium

    Matthew 25 cuts the ribbon on new mobile sexual health unit

    Matthew 25 cuts the ribbon on new mobile sexual health unit

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    Trending Tags

No Result
View All Result
The Hendersonian
No Result
View All Result
Home Entertainment

Commentary: Joining 101-year-old book club was daunting, but rewarding

Donna B Stinnett by Donna B Stinnett
January 13, 2024
in Entertainment, Words and Ideas
0
0
SHARES
157
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A little more than a year ago, I joined a book club.

Though I’ve been an enthusiastic life-long reader, the book club experience had seemed like a better pursuit to explore as more leisure time became available in retirement, so I’d just never joined one.

Instead, I happily listened to friends who were in book clubs talk about what they were reading and discussing. Truly, I picked up great tips about some really enjoyable books through their experiences.

As it so happens, the particular book club I was eventually invited to join has a pretty interesting pedigree: The Outlook Book Club started a little more than a century ago, in 1922. I was familiar with it because in my previous career as a journalist for the hometown newspaper I had written about the club’s milestones and activities a few times over the years.

Local historian and educator Susie Thurman is a member of the club, and for its 90th birthday she compiled a history. If I had read her account before joining the club, I might have been even more intimidated than I already was by the thought of being included in such a group.

By early accounts (and indeed reports about the Outlook club were published in The Gleaner every time they met) this was a group of very focused readers. When the club formed in October 1922 with a motto of “Onward we reach the heights,” they were planning to study the countries of the Far East through their collective reading.

At their first gathering on Nov. 5, 1922, China was the focus and members discussed the characteristics of the people, natural resources, great rivers and current events. Definitely a pursuit aimed at education rather than merely reading for fun.

Today at our book club gatherings we might learn about history (as we did recently through books about a legendary Irish potato famine ship and Alexander Hamilton) or the marvels of the world (as we did through a book about the Panama Canal), but we might also appreciate a real-life story about a journalist’s friendship with a Supreme Court Justice or read a good old-fashioned murder mystery. Maybe a best-seller.

The book club life inspires a lot of variety.

One of our members cited that very thing as the best part about the book club experience — being exposed to books, stories and information that you might not ever choose for yourself and hearing fellow club members’ perspectives on them.

Another club member echoed that thought: “Book clubs bring diverse reading, great discussions and an opportunity to learn more about the world and each other,” she said. “It’s definitely educational. There’s nothing better than getting lost in a great book.”

Yet another member, self-described as a “lifelong reader” whose teacher mother had her reading books when she was three and got her special permission to read books from the adult section of the library when she was age 7 or 8, said the friendship aspect of a book club is valuable.

She said she was a “happy hermit” during the pandemic, but when things started improving, the first activity she wanted to do was the book club. “It was the one thing I missed most,” she said.

Yes, finding — and having others find — a good book to read is addicting.

You don’t have to wait until retirement to join — or start — a book club. The Henderson County Public Library actually has approximately 100 Book Club kits in several different genres that can be checked out for use by a group. Each Book Club Kit includes at least 10 copies of each book, and many include one large print copy. You can see a list of the kits available on the library’s web site, HCPL.org, under the “Services” tab.

The library also offers a Book Club called “Plot Twist” that meets on the first Thursday of the month at Tacoholics. Check out the library calendar on the website for details.

Need a good book for winter reading?

Here are a few books recently read, reviewed or recommended by members of the century-old Outlook Book Club.

  • “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver
  • “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese
  • “Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships” by Nina Totenberg
  • “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride
  • “The Second Life of Mirielle West” by Amanda Skenadore
  • “The Bullet That Missed” and “The Last Devil To Die” (Books 3 & 4) in The Thursday Murder Club Mystery Series by Richard Osman
  • “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt
  • “Falling” by T.K. Newman
  • “Lessons In Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
  • “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks
  • “Spying On the South” by Tony Horwitz
  • “The Marriage Bureau: The True Story of How Two Matchmakers Arranged Love in War-Time London” by Penrose Halson
  • “Agatha Christie” by Lucy Worsley
  • “Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914” by David McCullogh
  • “All Standing: The Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, Legendary Irish Potato Famine Ship” by Kathryn Miles
  • “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow
  • “The River We Remember” by William Kent Krueger
  • “The Maid: A Novel” by Nita Prose, and its sequel “The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel”
Previous Post

Trash collection altered this week because of MLK Day

Next Post

Tax moratorium changes would go for whole city

Donna B Stinnett

Donna B Stinnett

Next Post
Tax moratorium changes would go for whole city

Tax moratorium changes would go for whole city

Recent News

Deaconess Henderson Hospital Advisory Board gives $70,000 to local nonprofits

June 21, 2025

Chill out at the Friends of the Library membership meeting July 12

June 21, 2025
Two new honorees added to Juneteenth’s impact sign display

Two new honorees added to Juneteenth’s impact sign display

June 21, 2025
Henderson civic, industry leader Joel Hopper dies

Henderson civic, industry leader Joel Hopper dies

June 21, 2025
  • Sign Up
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Account
  • Log In

© 2025 The Hendersonian • Henderson, KY 42420

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sign Up
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Login

© 2025 The Hendersonian • Henderson, KY 42420