I've got Neutral Granny up on the design wall, and as you see, it is All But Borders. I do hope to get those attached this weekend and send it off for quilting next week.
What do you think, does that block on the far right stand out too much? Should I replace it with one that has a lighter feel? Those darker taupes really make the runner feel heavy on the right-hand side. I don't mind the darker one in the center, as I think it has a grounding effect.
I've got loads of fabric. I can keep making blocks indefinitely! The odd block can always go on the back.
While I have your attention, I have a question for you. In our next podcast, Sara and I are going to talk about what we are reading, as always, but will dive deeper into another topic. Book clubs. Do we love them or hate them and why?
Have you ever been or are you now in a book club? What has your experience been like? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
26 Responses
Personally, I’d leave the table runner block where it is.
Second, I don’t belong to a book club Although I am interested, I find a lot of the genres of books discussed at the clubs I’m aware of are not of my liking.
I think the block in the middle and the one on the far right are darker. I’d move them both to positions 2 and 4? They don’t bother me as being darker.
Book clubs – meh. I have belonged to a few. One was staff at the school I taught at. Surprisingly half the people would not have finished the book and only wanted to show up for the social dinner meet up! Is this a teacher thing? Too busy? Another one is through our public library and the satchels they set up. It was ok, but I wasn’t always into their choices. My best experience has been a one on one with an old college roommate. We are 6 hrs apart, so we Facetime call every Saturday morning. Sometimes we text during the week. Mondays theres a Facetime of foursome of old (we’re all 70’s) college choir friends and we compare things we’ve read. I much prefer talking more often than the monthly chats. We can process certain developments more in-depth. We are more often into nonfiction and take some diversions into fiction for relief!!
Had you not pointed out the darker colors, I wouldn’t have noticed it. I think it depends on whether you will continue to put the brighter tones in random order. Only my thoughts.☺️
Book clubs can be hard. It’s a commitment. Not only going, but reading something that might not interest you that much. I might be the odd person out though. I tried one, and felt like I was back at school. Several hours of my life I’ll never get back.😉
I love your table runner. I was into Japanese taupes for several years after seeing their beautiful quilts in Houston. Remember Yoko Saito?
Book clubs ? No thank you. I love to read legal and mystery’s mainly.
I read strictly for entertainment. A week after I finish a book I couldn’t tell you what it was about nor do I try to. I do keep a list so I don’t buy the same twice though!
I think the block on the far right does seem as though it doesn’t fit as well as the others. I will be a wonderful quilt!
I’ve never been interested in a book club, as the reading lists of most have not appealed to me. I grew up reading the classics, so I just can’t enjoy most modern books.
I love Nancy’s idea of moving them around and making one in #2 and other #4. Book clubs, I have never belonged to one. I am a romance novel reader, I will binge read a bunch and then not read much for a month or so.
I think moving the darker ones to 2 and 4 would work well.
Am a member of a book club currently. Books have been fine; ladies are lovely. Just not sure it’s how I want to spend time. But it has “forced” me to read outside my usual stuff…..maybe a good thing?
I agree with Nancy and Ginny, I’d rearrange and position the darker blocks in the 2nd and 4th position. It’s beautiful! I’ve never belonged to a book club, I read for enjoyment and entertainment not because I have to read a book someone else has chosen. I have some friends that are in book clubs. In one club I get the gist that not everyone reads the book, it’s all about the brunch after. 😁 The other group has better results with reading and discussion but again food is involved. The meal is coordinated with the book, country, timeline, what ever stands out.
I agree with you, that block has too much contrast where in the others the colors flow into each other. I’m currently in a book club with my church knitting/crochet group. We discuss our books at our “Caring Hands” meetings because no one was coming out to the separate book club meeting. I like that it pushes me to read different genres and the discussions can be very interesting, especially when we have very differing opinions on characters and their behavior. I thoroughly enjoy the book club, even when the book is terrible!
I was in a book club for 20 years but it didn’t survive Covid. I miss having one. Most of my friends go south for the winter but that is currently changing with the political situation. Maybe another BC will happen! Love all your blocks!
Hey, the fix that you emailed me worked!! I am able to bring up your blog on my iPad like I can on my laptop so thanks for looking into that for me! In regards to the runner, once it is quilted and on a table, I don’t think that block will stand out as strongly as it does on the design wall. I once belonged to my local library book club and it was a book and cook…two things that I love to do. We would read a book that had a heavy theme of food and then have a discussion while we made Mexican hot chocolate, homemade pasta or coconut cake. It was so much fun! It wasn’t the books that I drew me in, but the socialization. It is hard to stay committed to a book timeline sometimes with my full and busy life, but life is not quite so full as it once was so maybe I would rejoin given the opportunity.
I’ve been in a book club since Covid. I have a friend group here in NJ and we have a mutual friend who lives in Toronto. Her book group went on Zoom in 2020 and she asked if we wanted to join. With moves, etc. the Toronto membership has dwindled so they stayed on Zoom. So with moves and so on, we have club members from Canada (multiple cities), NJ, CT, LA, and OK. We meet every other month on a weekday evening on Zoom, about 90 minutes. Roughly half the time is chat unrelated to the book. No need to dress up and no one has to provide food! I’ve been introduced to books and authors I would not otherwise have read so that’s been good. I do enjoy it.
Like Nancy B. I used to be part of group that met periodically to talk about what we’ve been reading and watching, just to exchange likes and get ideas. It was great, we met at Panera so no work for anyone, and I got lots of good recommendations from it. It just sort of stopped, I’m not sure why.
Your Granny blocks are beautiful! Your sister will love it. I agree with others, thinking maybe the 2 darker blocks go in position 2 and 4. But even if you left it as is, it would be stunning. I’ve never participated in a book club, but my mom does and she enjoys it very much.
First, I would like a lighter block than the one on the right. I do like the idea of the center block grounding the others.
I joined a book club when we moved to a small Texas town from Austin. It was a way to meet people and talk about books too. That book club is still going strong, but the character of the membership has changed. Originally it was a hand-picked group of women who selected rather literary books for reporting on. There was no discussion….just the report by one member. When the original members died off or retired, the remaining members started meeting at the library and its membership was opened to folks who wanted to join. We read an assortment of books suggested by the members and voted on each June. I still enjoy the group…..actually more than I enjoyed the first group. I was a bit intimidated by that group!!!!! Now I’m sort of the leader of this one…..I wish that were not the case, but it has just come to that. Next month we’re reading The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. I liked that book very much. This month we read The Secret Book of Flora Lea. I liked it just fine, but not as much as many of the members did. We are now suggesting books for the next year. It will be interesting to see what crops up on the list!
I think the easiest thing to do with the runner is make a different block to replace the ‘slightly darker’ one. As you mentioned, it could be used on the back or perhaps as a one-block coaster for a pitcher or vase. I’ve never been in a book club. It seems like a big commitment to have to read a book that’s not in a person’s interest area. But, I’m probably in the minority on that! The Life Is Good company’s motto ‘Do what you love. Love what you do.’ comes to mind when choosing how to spend your time.
To my eye, the block to the left of the far right block seems to be the odd man out. It appears to have less contrast than the other four! As for book clubs, I’ve never tried one. I’m too busy just trying to get through my huge backlog!
Totally agree with all the position 2 and 4 comments.
I love my book clubs. I’ve been in two one of which I started in 1992. That book club is still going strong after all these years. I moved away and joined another where I live currently. There is nothing better than discussing a book with friends and getting different perspectives and opinions. The books I’ve read that I would not normally pick have been some of my favorites. I’ll always be in a book club as long as I can.
I have to agree with the 2&4 idea. Hope you give it a try and show us!
I so totally read for enjoyment, I just don’t feel the need to analyze the characters and why they do what they do. It might be because of my normal genre too. Pure enjoyment.
I have been in a book club for 43 years. I am still the young one at age 74 as the club has been together for 52 years! It started as a neighbourhood group for some moms who were staying home with their young children. When I joined, I was new to the area and had three children under 4. It was a wonderful night out once a month and a reason to read a good book. We met at each others homes so it was also a reason to bake a dessert once a year.
I think our book club works as it is very informal. We choose a book together…often Canadian authors and have a discussion about the book. The rest of the time is talking about life and having tea and dessert. One of our members wrote a self published book about our club for our 45th anniversary. We are all getting older and we have lost a few members. We managed to meet on zoom during COVID which was a learning curve. We still meet on zoom during the winter so we don’t have to travel.
I still look forward to our monthly meetings and reading a good book.
I am in Indiana. I currently belong to four book groups. I have belonged to three previous book groups, one or two at a time, dating back to 2012. My favorite was a classics book group that met for many years and is now disbanded. I am extremely well versed in the classics thanks to that group. Highly recommended a classic book group.
My previous three groups and my current four groups were/are sponsored by the local library system. There is a large main location and many branches.
Of my current groups – Two meet at library branches, one is a morning group, the other is an afternoon group. Another meets at noon at a local coffee/cafe. The last meets in the early evening at a brewery/restaurant and my local/middle daughter attends that group with me.
The groups are spaced out fairly well, but not perfectly. I have one a week part of the month, two in the same week, and a week with no group.
Librarians select the books and facilitate the meetings. They do a very good job with discussion questions.
I have found some of my favorite authors thru assigned books. Yes, there are sometimes books I do not like, but still read and discuss. The diversity of books is very good for me and for discussion.
I am audio only. I read books of my own choosing between assigned books, I have a very well culled To Read List. I am currently averaging 10 – 15 books a month.
My youngest daughter, in Ohio, belongs to a great book group that meets once a month. It is held at the library, but the group sets their own books for the year and members take turns facilitating the meetings. They have an interesting voting system. My husband and I both read that group’s assigned book each month and give her feedback. Her club is amused that we read along. They pick great books! It provides lots of conversation with our daughter as we read each month. This 27 year old daughter (Chemical Engineer) is well spoken if Sara is looking for a guest on book groups sometime. She reads in both English and Spanish. She floats between tablet, audio, hardcopy. She utilizes Goodreads and StoryGraph. She has me using both systems too. (This same daughter and I each do the NYT crossword puzzle each day and confer on the harder days).
I am well educated and not conservative and live in a conservative area. The librarians are well educated and not conservative either. They do a good job of choosing books that appeal to most and provide good discussion without upsetting anyone.
So hard to make color decisions from a photo! My gut feeling is it’s fine. We totally trust you to do the right thing– you’re not as lazy as I would be about making another block!
I was a great reader as a kid– not so much in my adult life and I’m sad about that. I’m going to listen to your podcasts while I quilt. Funny story– my old neighborhood had a book club– my next door neighbor left it because she said it turned into a WINE club! 🙂
Hello…good blog thoughts…I’d move that darker block…or make another.
Book clubs..I am in a ‘We never Meet’ book club…we each (4 of us) read a book we like, and then when we’re done, email our thoughts…people can either choose to read it, or not…I love to soak up mysteries, but on recommendation, I am reading The Nighting Gale by Kristin Hannah…fabulous book, for many reasons…it’s long and taking me awhile, but characters and story are so good!I probably would not have even tried it without the recommendation of the others…we do not meet, although we might this summer…just to have lunch in the park…and we all agreed, the food/wine addition seems to take the spotlight away from the book component…no one really wanted to have the pressure to get house ready for guests, and a few of us have multiple dogs(me), and it would make it more work than I am interested in…so we decided to do this instead. No pressure to read a book someone chats about, and no pressure about when you finish a book…I love it!The group of us all belong the the same quilt guild, so we see each other once a month at meetings..but the No Meet Book Club is our fun little group!
I like the idea of the middle block and the right side block being in positions #2 and 4. I was going to suggest that even before I read the comments of others!
Twice, I’ve belonged to a book club, and I don’t think I’d try one again. I was interested in deep book discussions, which was hampered by two problems. First, at least 1/2 the members either hadn’t finished the book or hadn’t read it at all. Second, only 1-2 other people were interested in deep discussions about the book. The rest of the members wanted general socialization time. I had this same experience in both groups, so I’m not looking to join another unless I happened to find a really good fit.
I love reading and read a lot (well, more than anyone else I know who has kids at home: 50+ books/yr), and I don’t need the motivation of a group to try new books or genres, or to stay generally motivated. I just finished a long book of interviews of Soviet women’s experiences during WW2, then a book about a US girl experiencing homelessness that was recommended by my 9th grader, followed by an adorable love story (of two men!) set in the UK. I love the idea of a book group, but the reality has disappointed me.
My sisters and I started a Blok club in 2001 and it’s still going strong. But I think my sister Ramey and I are the only two original members. I love our book club except when we have to read a book that I find boring.