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To
read part one of this article, click
here.
After
finding a copy of Aimee Bender's An Invisible Sign
of My Own with a list of women's names in the front
inside cover, I decided to follow the previous readers'
example. I read the book, added my name to the list,
and have decided to offer the book to others to read.
Curious
about the previous readers of the book, I managed to
track down the first person on the list: Linda Baggelaar,
a Southern California educator who spent 22 years as
a middle school teacher and six years as a special education
resource specialist. Currently, Baggelaar is a Special
Education Program Specialist for the Hawthorne School
District in Los Angeles County. She agreed to discuss
the book and revealed that its seven-reader history
is tighter-knit than one might expect.
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There
are six names in the book, not including yours and mine. How
many of the people listed are people you know?
I know them all. We were all part of a somewhat unique book
club. We would read books—everyone read a book of their
choice—and then we would meet and share our books with
the group. This way, we would have access to new books and
authors. This was a great way to find out about books that
we might not choose otherwise. I was the first one to read
the book, and it ended up being one of the few books that
caught everyone's interest.
That
sounds pretty amazing, actually. Tell me more about your book
club. How long has the book club been in existence and how
often did you meet?
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| The
eight signatures (including Yennie's) inside the book. |
Our book
club started in 1999 by Toni Kerker. We called ourselves FBX
(Friendly Book eXchange). We would meet about every six weeks
for dinner, and each member of the group would bring one or
two books to talk about, focusing on the theme, the characters,
and why we liked the book. This was a time when book clubs
were getting lots of notice and we were excited about our
"club." There was no pressure for everyone to read the same
book; our "club" gave us the opportunity to read our personal
choices, but it helped us all expand our interests and introduced
us to books and authors that we might not have chosen otherwise.
We had nine members: two sets of sisters, a mother/daughter,
and a 35-year age span. We were three educators, a lawyer,
two health care professionals, a U.S. customs agent, a homemaker,
and a retiree.
Did
the group members each have specific interests, or did you
all tend to have similar tastes?
Our literary interests were extremely varied, ranging from
romantic fiction to classics to nonfiction to literary prize-winners,
and everything in between.
Do
you remember why you chose An Invisible Sign of My Own?
I found out about An Invisible Sign of My Own from
the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List. It caught my
interest because the main character was a teacher and she
seemed like quite a "character." I wasn't disappointed and
truly felt a connection with Mona and her students. I distinctly
remember reading the book over a few days, except I stopped
reading toward the end and waited well over a week before
finishing the book. This is what happens when I don't want
a book to end.
Why do
you suppose this book worked for so many members of the group?
Seven of the nine members of our group read this book. In
talking to the other members, [I found that] there were very
few other books that were shared by so many of us. Even though
we are all good friends, we all have very unique personalities,
and it was difficult to find books that we all wanted to read.
That is probably why we weren't your typical book club.
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| The
book is now signed by Aimee Bender herself. |
Having read
the book first, I was very enthusiastic to talk about the story
and Mona at our meeting. I shared a few highlights of the story,
but primarily shared my feelings about Mona and how much empathy
I felt for her. I found myself rooting for her throughout the
entire book. I also appreciated the unsettling humor found in
the story. Bonnie [Kerker, one of the book club members] decided
to take the book home and returned a month later equally enthusiastic.
My sister took it next, and so on. Each of us found our own
special connection to the main character and her story. Mona's
story touched our emotions and each of us connected to her in
a different way. Each person that read the book wanted someone
else in our group to experience it. I distinctly remember everyone
starting with a statement something like…"This is a really weird…strange…odd
story…but you have to meet Mona and her family and her students…"
Did the
group members always write their names in the books they read?
The group always wrote their names and the date in the books
as we passed them around. It was a way of making sure that the
book got back to the original owner and a way of keeping track
of who read each book.
I
assume that I found the book at a used book drive because
you donated it. Do you usually give away the books after you're
done?
All the books that were not taken back by the original owner
were kept in a library at Toni's house. After a time, books
would be donated to the local libraries or charitable book
sales.
I'm
making the book available to the website's readers so that
they can read the book and leave their names in it, too. Do
you have any other books to recommend? Or perhaps you could
tell us which other books caught everyone's interest in the
FBX?
Other books that were read by most of the group were Girl
with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, The Handyman
by Carolyn See, Feast of Love by Charles Baxter, and
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg.
If you would like to continue the FBX's work by reading this
copy of the book, please send an e-mail to hipsterbookclub@gmail.com.
In the subject line of your e-mail, please write "I want to
read An Invisible Sign of My Own." Until we can figure
out a more efficient way of handling this (without giving
away your address to a bunch of strangers), we'll handle this
via e-mail.
(September,
2008)
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