[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message]This post is an update on the Lit League Book Club. It talks of the last book read, some of the challenges the club has, and a hint of future plans.[/vc_message][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]They say that if you fall 7 times, what is most important is that you just get up 8. So, it’s not the falling that counts; it is the trying.
By that measure, this book club should be – and WILL BE!! – a resounding success!
What last happened was: we chose a book (Good Kings Bad Kings, reviewed here). Lots of us read it. It was great. We fell down when we tried to figure out how to talk about the book.
A virtual book club
The thing about the Lit League is that it’s a virtual book club that reads books with themes of disability. It’s by and for the cross-disability community, and with that, there are a lot of people with various disabilities present. Which is interesting! And why we want to do this in the first place – to get all of these really neat perspectives!
It also presents some interesting challenges, like, how do find a format that is accessible for everyone?
The problem is, there really is no perfect access with a myriad of disabilities. Furthermore, I myself am in a weird boat as I’m deaf, I do speak clearly but don’t sign well. I can talk about the book on Facebook live and thanks to some new hearing aids, I can participate well enough in a zoom/skype conversation that I may lead (- and so have control over), but how to translate that to my deaf friends when I don’t sign well and when Facebook hasn’t caught up with live captioning?
Do we go ahead with twitter chats or other chats when some people with some disabilities can’t stand that sort of thing?
Do we do a combination of them, and if so, how can I find the time to do this?
So many questions!
At this point, I expect to continue to try and figure it out, little by little, with everyone’s help and patience. I expect this move forward and for us to learn so much in the process.
I expect that we will be learning a lot more than just about what we are choosing to read, too :)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
A different tactic
In figuring it out, I’m going to try a different system for the next few months to keep the ball rolling: I’m going to go ahead and make some decisions about books and times and just post them.
We can always tweak this later, but it seems that one of the reasons we are floundering is because there is no real plan in place, not even a plan to adjust or adapt, right?
So, let’s try that out and see if it works. I’ll also slip in some plans for access, and give it all a try.
Look forward to the upcoming book list and calendar – and as always, please send in the titles of the books you love or want to read!
- Lit League Facebook Group linked here
- Email me here
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Meriah Nichols is a counselor. Solo mom to 3 (one with Down syndrome, one on the spectrum). Deaf, and neurodiverse herself, she’s a gardening nerd who loves cats, Star Trek, and takes her coffee hot and black.
