Creating the CLCSC Book Club
The CLCSC Book Club members hold up copies of Anzu the Great Kaiju by Benson Shum and One True Loves by Elise Bryant, at Grant Park in Pasadena, California.
The idea for the CLCSC Book Club came as the result of a conversation during one of our board meetings. It was brought up that during the pandemic, many authors were having an extremely hard time promoting their new releases. Engagement with our members and supporting local authors has always been a priority for our organization, and with many people staying at home, the virtual book club was born. The main purpose of the book club is to help promote new releases by authors and illustrators in Southern California.
A screenshot of the CLCSC Book Club members discussing Laura Taylor Namey’s A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow on a Zoom meeting
Every meeting, we have a picture book as an icebreaker discussion. Past picture books have included I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne, illustrated by Julia Kuo. This one was a group favorite; many book club members loved the story and connected to it. Another one was Oona by Kelly DiPucchio, which was illustrated by Southern Californian Raissa Figueroa. Our members loved the illustrations in this picture book, and all of us commented on how much we loved Oona’s hair. We also loved the wit of Atticus Catticus by Sara Maizes, and many personal cat stories were shared.
One of the things I love about Southern California its diversity, and that is reflected in the books published by authors in our area. We read stories about a Cuban girl traveling to England, to a young girl from Haiti moving to New York City (A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey, and The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold, respectively). We got to read about one girl’s feminist manifesto in high school, and a young alien experiencing changes in his body during a stressful time (Not Here to Be Liked By Michelle Quach and Weird Kid by Greg Van Eekhout).
I think what is special about this book club, aside from highlighting local authors and illustrators, is introducing readers to books and authors they’ve never read before. Whether they loved the book or hated it, it was a great new experience. As a bonus, along the way they supported a library or bookstore when they checked out or purchased a copy of the book.