FLC Book Club

Want to know which book we will be reading next? Or what we've read so far this year? Click 2011-2012 Books for details!

What We Are & When We Meet

            We are a social ministry group of Faith Lutheran Church, 2726 W. Market St., Fairlawn, Ohio.  Our first year was 2008-09 when we read The Year of Fog (Michelle Richmond), Three Cups of Tea (Greg Mortenson), Plain Truth (Jody Picoult), The Killer Angels (Michael Shaara), The Zookeeper’s Wife (Diane Ackerman), Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson), and All the Way Home (David Giffels).   Copies of these books and their study guides can be found on the FLC Book Club shelf in the church library.  Feel free to “take, read, enjoy, and return”! 

           We usually meet September, October, and November, and then again in the winter/spring months of January through May.  We don’t meet in December, but we will sponsor a book sale for the congregation and friends in late November and December, providing folks an opportunity to buy wholesome books for Christmas presents—for both kids and adults.    We don’t meet during the summer months. Please see our 2011-2012 Schedule for upcoming meetings!

            Our meetings are in the library at Faith Church and begin at 7:00 pm.  We are usually over by 8:30 pm (see monthly newsletter for more info. on upcoming meetings).  If bad weather requires cancellation and if you are on our phone/email list, we will contact you.  

            Members and friends of members are welcome to join!  We read an in-common book ahead of the meeting date. For some sessions, the books come to us free of charge from the Akron Public Library’s “Books to Go” program.  Other times, we purchase copies of a title from Amazon.com and make them available to members on a cost basis. Securing copies from public libraries, bookstores or other locations is a third option. Come and enjoy the fun…….join in on the discussion as much or as little as you wish…..we want you to feel comfortable! 

Co-leaders 

            Co-leaders are Faith members Karen Mallison and Steve Thompson.  Karen is a former middle school librarian and Steve is a former English teacher.  Reach Karen at (330) 836-5979 and Steve at (330) 666-5065.  Members are invited to lead the monthly discussion groups when they are inclined to do so, but that is not required!   

Our hopes 

            We meet because we all like to read and share our responses to what we’ve read.  We think that happens best when there is a warm and accepting welcome for everyone’s point of view.  Hearing and considering multiple “takes” on a book enriches everyone.  However, just coming, sitting, and listening is ok, too.  Above all, we want everyone to leave a book discussion feeling that they’ve had a good time with friends! 

            Our further hope is that our choice of in-common books is based on these factors:  that a book inspires our better natures….that it uplifts our spirits.  That doesn’t mean that a book has to have a happy ending!  But rather that it puts us in touch with characters and events that gives us hope and encourages us to lead grace-filled lives.  Books thus chosen are likely to be well written:  the dialogue sounds like the conversations we hear real people have;  the characters are multi-dimensional;  the plots are usually linear in time and are not multi-layered;  the descriptions amaze our senses;  and we don’t have to worry about unbecoming language and situations!  Overall, there’s a truthfulness and authenticity in the narrative, which, although hard to quantify, is discerned by heart and mind.  These factors can be found in fiction and non-fiction alike.         

We hope to see you at our next meeting.  We have a chair waiting for you!