Editor’s note: This article first appeared on page 34 of the May 17, 2018, edition of the Battle Creek Shopper News. Click here to view the edition online.
Reading might seem like a solitary activity, but a club of Kellogg Community College book lovers wants readers to enjoy the experience together.
The student-led KCC Book Club meets from 11 a.m. to 12:55 p.m. every Tuesday in the Spring Lake Room of KCC’s Emory Morris Library.
Club president and KCC student Stephanie Kartheu said the club is about a year old and there are about 20 members. A self-described bookworm, Kartheu said she was drawn to the club last year and became its vice president.
“It helps you interact with others who enjoy reading,” Kartheu said about joining a book club. “It gives you a bit of freedom. Books have a way of taking you from whatever it is you’re going through and inserting you somewhere else, if only temporarily. It’s a nice way to relax, de-stress and pretend you’re somebody else.”
KCC’s Senior Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Library Services Dr. Michele Reid is the club’s advisor. She said the group atmosphere helps readers find new worlds between book covers.
“Each meeting, people will bring the books they’re currently reading,” Reid said. “We’ll often discuss one selected book, but it could be multiple titles. For example, some people are reading romance novels. Some people are reading science fiction. People learn about different titles that they might not have known of previously.”
The group is open to all KCC students, faculty and staff, but Reid said the meetings are also open to the wider community.
That can help boost membership and make it easier to engage in some service activities the Book Club would like to start, Reid said, including work with shelter animals and creating reading opportunities for kids by working with the KCC Education Club.
Other club activities include book swaps at KCC events, allowing anyone to bring a book to the club and swap it out for someone else’s donated book.
In February, as part of the Great Michigan Read project, the club read “X: A Novel” and was also invited to attend a discussion of Malcolm X by African-American scholar Dr. Michelle Johnson at Lakeview High School.
“If anyone has an interest in reading and getting involved in reading-related activities, please come join us,” Reid said.
To find out more about the KCC Book Club, email Reid at reidm2@kellogg.edu. For more information about campus clubs at KCC, visit www.kellogg.edu/rsos.