This spring, the Lancaster Branch debuted a different take on the book club: a book tasting. The idea draws inspiration from food tastings (think wedding cake or wine and cheese tastings), where participants are encouraged to try a variety of flavours, find new favourites, revisit classics, and decide which flavours just don't work for them. This concept has been used by Librarians to allow their readers to get a "taste" of books from a certain genre, sub-genre, or theme.
A menu is presented to participants, with an appetizer of background information about the theme, this month's nine picks as entrees, and even more selections from our collection as dessert. After perusing the menu, participants will get to take a closer look at the books available, and are encouraged to take notes about what they are or are not interested in. The nine books might seem overwhelming at first, but everyone will get a minute or two with each book before they are passed along to the next person. At the end, each participant will have a few moments to fill out a ballot where they may rank the books they're most interested in reading and choose which book they thought had the best cover and first sentence/paragraph. We compare notes and see how similar and dissimilar our tastes are.
The main inspiration for Lancaster Book Tasting comes from an understanding that traditional book clubs, although offering very fun and rewarding experiences, are time consuming. Not everyone has the time or energy to read an entire book for a meeting each month. Book tasting offers the same experience — the chance to talk about books and your reading interests for an hour each month— without the pressure to finish a book beforehand.
Book tasting, as its inspiration implies, is also designed to allow patrons to get a better understanding of all the different books that are available to them in the SDG Library collection. It is a chance to try genres that are outside of your comfort zone and to find new favourite (or least-liked) books and authors with less pressure than trying it on your own. Most of the books that have been reserved for the tasting will be available to be checked out at the end of the meeting and holds can be placed on books from the dessert section of the menu. It's also a chance to get recommendations from fellow readers and Library staff.
Lancaster Book Tasting's next meeting is Saturday, May 3rd from 12:30 PM-1:30 PM, where we will explore a bouquet of books from different genres and authors, all with flower names in their titles. Register here and join us at 195 Military Road in Lancaster to have a taste of your next read!
Can't make it to our May meeting? Stay tuned for more information about summer sessions of Lancaster Book Tasting.
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