By Gregg Wamsley
Checked Out
As a young man, I spent a good deal of time reading science fiction for entertainment and relaxation. Reading and wanting to share my reading experiences with others was a major factor in my becoming a librarian. However, as an older man, I read considerably less science fiction. Not because I no longer like it, but because I became a librarian.
There is a mistaken belief (one I held myself) that being a librarian means primarily dealing with books and information. Of course, librarians do deal with those things. But the job is really about people and interactions, the work is easily 70%, if not more, people work. So, just be aware of this fact if you are considering entering the profession.
My point in mentioning this is that after many years of library work, I no longer read for pleasure as much as I once did, having most days filled with reading reports, articles, and other work-related information. By the time I get home, my “reading muscles” are tired. The habit of reading for pleasure is like any other habit, if you skip it for a while, you tend to skip it more often and for longer, and before you know it, it’s no longer a habit.
But there are ways, even for librarians (and you), to get back into the habit. One of the best ways is joining a book club. Book clubs give you goals and deadlines just by the nature of what they are. Book clubs let you join together with like-minded folks to have a friendly discussion around a shared experience. Book clubs also give you the opportunity to read authors you might not choose for yourself or ever run across otherwise.
When one of my co-workers proposed a science fiction book club at the start of 2012, I took the plunge and helped get it going, hoping that it would force me to get back in the habit of reading for pleasure. We started in 2012, supposedly the last year of existence according to the Mayans, and we read nothing but science fiction with an apocalyptic theme. So, despite being quite depressed at the end of the year because of all the apocalyptic doom we read, I found that I had not only read 12 books, but I had rekindled my fascination with science fiction.
The group that kicked off the 2012 science fiction book club at the library stopped meeting during the pandemic. There was a lull while that whole situation played out. But another co-worker proposed a new club, and that group is now meeting to read and discuss science fiction. The club is called Strange New Words and meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 6 p.m.
We just finished Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary” and are currently reading “Hole in the Sky” by Daniel Wilson. The library has books available for you to check out, so trying out Strange New Words costs you nothing. And if you are not a science fiction fan, the library sponsors several other regular book clubs to help you make a habit of pleasure reading including mysteries, contemporary fiction, and several others. Give it a try, and maybe, like me, you can expand your reading horizons, make a few new friends, and form a new healthy habit.
Gregg Wamsley is a librarian and director of the Hutchinson Public Library. He can be reached at gregg.w@hutchpl.org.