PVCC Book Club Offers Students Reading and Community

This semester, PVCC’s student Book Club is reading a self-help book called The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins. Last semester, the club read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. For reading enthusiasts, there is no better way of getting introduced to a variety of new reads than joining a group of like-minded people. However, reading is not the Book Club’s only activity.

The club currently meets from 12:45-2 p.m. on Wednesdays, but the times and dates change every semester based on the availability of club members. Meetings always take place in the main building, but the rooms they take place in also vary.

These meetings happen at least once every month, sometimes more. The average club meeting begins with a discussion of the book the club is reading, aided by questions prepared by the club’s current Student President, Jennifer Grimm. The club will usually read two or three books in a semester, depending on the length of the books, and members are not expected to read everything at once. Club members are then given another opportunity to add to the discussion before the conversation turns to the planning of events and other club activities.

At the beginning of the semester, Grimm and the faculty adviser Crystal Newell, who is the senior director of library and academic support at PVCC, select a book for the club to read. Midway through the semester, club members are given the opportunity to vote on which book they would like to read next from a selection of books from different genres.

Participation in the club can often involve helping local communities. The club is currently building a free library to be erected in a community of need. Grimm is the one paying for and building the free library itself. Grimm said that she is building the free library as a “donation to the college for everything that they have given to me education wise.” 

The rest of the club is doing a book drive for kindergarten through sixth grade children, which will stock the free library.  “Any leftover books that we have that won’t fit in the library, I’ll be going to the local community shelters, and the women’s shelters, to drop off donations for children when they come in,” said Grimm.

Students interested in joining the club can do so by emailing the student president or faculty advisor about their interest in joining. Contact information is listed on the PVCC website under “campus life” and “student clubs.” Students who join can expect to receive email updates about club meetings and projects.

Grimm also spoke about her philosophy as club president and a misconception people might have about the club. “I think when people see the name Book Club, they assume that we just sit in our little chairs, and read, and don’t do anything else, but over the past two years for the presidency, I’ve tried to stress that we do way more in Book Club than just read books. We try to be active within the school and team up with other clubs to do service projects and to make our school a better place,” she said.