For those who love to be lost in a good book or want to hang out with others who share their interest, the Edmond Memorial High School book club is the place to be. This club centers around discovering new books, encouraging others to read and providing a space to bond while sharing thoughts about literature. The club explores a wide range of genres through each selected read, from engaging science-fiction epics to sappy romance reads.
Readers around the school come together to discuss their favorite–or least favorite–parts of the selected book by coming up with questions, starting debates and having parties throughout the school year.
The club was organized long before the current librarians, Bekah Joash and Myka Gilliam, came to EMHS but was not fully established or organized. Gilliam, a co-sponsor of the book club, helped rearrange the club seven years ago to make it what it is today: a place for readers to join together.
The librarian’s goal is to welcome everyone and connect the school through reading. They especially wanted to allow readers a space to meet other readers, since that can be challenging.
“People who are avid readers struggle to find other avid readers because it is a quiet and solo activity,” Gilliam said. “We want to get people in the same room together so they can talk about, if not the same book, books in general.”
One of the club members who took advantage of Gilliam’s setup was Katie Kinkade. Although she is currently a junior, she has been in the book club since she came to EMHS as a freshman. Kinkade has been an avid reader since middle school. Through book club, she met other readers and has enjoyed attending all the meetings throughout the years she has been in the book club.
“We read the book every other month, and when we meet before finishing the book, we talk about what we have been reading and what is happening,” Kinkade said. “It is really fun hearing what other people have been reading and what their thoughts are.”
The growth in students has been tremendous and makes the club more welcoming with the large numbers of readers. With up to 25 students in the club, there are more perspectives when discussing the books. The librarians hold meetings during lunch and during advisory, depending on the schedule. All members can be seen at the advisory meetings and the club is split up during the lunch meetings.
“My freshman year it was a lot smaller, then sophomore there was more,” junior Annie Compton said. “And then this year there are even more. We have done some advisory meetings too, and those are fun because you can see the whole club and everyone there.”
With the club’s growth, there had to be a form of income so that they could provide books, t-shirts, parties and other library activities such as puzzles, coloring and games. A year and a half ago, the librarians decided to use Edmond North High School’s book club as inspiration and start selling coffee to the teachers and students of EMHS. The coffee was a big hit last year, but with the busy coffee schedule, they had to cut back how often it is sold for this school year.
“Coffee last year was a big undertaking, and we essentially became baristas,” Gilliam said. “Since we sell it usually at lunch, we started doing it seasonally this year instead to eliminate the craziness, but overall [it is] a huge success.”
Due to the sales from coffee, the book club can continue to grow over many years in the future, hopefully growing in numbers. This school year’s book club thrives by sharing passions for literacy and creating friendships through books.
Contact Anna Vitiello at [email protected]
