DULUTH — “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelley, “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder, “Arctic Dreams” by Barry Lopez, “Stones from the River” by Ursula Hegi and “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown.
What do all these books have in common? They had the biggest impact for a few members of the Friday Night Culture Club, a Twin Ports-based book club that will celebrate its 25th anniversary in November. The group met recently at host Terry Ross’s home in the South Range to discuss this month’s book, ‘Candide’ by Voltaire, and reflect on their first 25 years of existence.
“One thing about this book club that I will say is that even when I don’t really like a book, like this,” longtime member Joan MacDonnell said, “after discussed, I still like it better. You get insight from your fellow members and find it to be more interesting reading than I would have thought.”
MacDonnell is one of the founding members of the band. She started it with a friend who has since moved on, but still comes to visit from time to time. MacDonnell invited colleagues from Laura MacArthur Elementary School in Duluth, who invited other friends.
Finally, the first meeting to discuss “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt brought together 11 participants. Although the original population has changed over the past 25 years due to death, divorce, life changes and relocations, the club still has approximately 11 active members.
What’s the secret to keeping people dating after 25 years?
“We like each other,” said member Lyn Kaim. “We’re looking forward to it and we have a long enough list that even if a few people can’t get rid of it, there’s always a group.”
They also make accommodations to facilitate engagement. The group continues to meet in the summer, but on Thursday evenings instead of Fridays to allow people to travel on weekends. They also made December “poetry month” and asked members to bring or write a poem to share with the group to allow for the bustle that comes with the holiday season. And even if a member fails to completely finish the book in time for the meeting, Kaim said he is still allowed to come into the meeting.
“We spend a lot of time visiting, so they are definitely welcome to attend,” said club secretary Anita Fraundorf. “We try to be understanding with each other.”
How does the club decide what to read? Fraundorf said there are many ways. Most of the time, if someone suggests a book, they are then encouraged to lead the discussion on that book. For example, member Dale Shimmin posed a few questions to the group to stimulate discussion about their latest reading, “Candide” by Voltaire.
“I think it raises important questions about how to look at life and what it’s all about,” Shimmin said. “I first read it in a world literature class in college and have picked it up several times since.”
Overall, the book received mixed reviews from club members, earning two or three stars out of five. It is the second oldest book the club have read together, the oldest being William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, which they read for a chilling change in October.
Sometimes they pick up a book because it was recently banned somewhere, like Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel “Maus,” which was banned by a Tennessee school board in January. Each year, the club also tackles Duluth citywide reading. Kaim said they like to make sure they also read local authors.
“We try to get a variety of genres,” Fraundorf said. “We’ve had meetings where we’ve brought a favorite children’s book or read something important in young adult fiction. We’ve even asked people to bring their favorite cookbooks one evening.”
But one book the club has never read and probably never will is ‘The Bridges of Madison County’. It was curiously the book that attracted member Connie Peterson to the group.
“We had one member, Jane, who loved the book and wanted us all to read it, but we rebelled,” MacDonnell said.
“And I had a neighbor who told me to read it and I did and it was so incredibly bad,” Peterson said. “And I told Joan about it and she told me her club didn’t want to read it and that’s how I joined.”
For the Christmas book exchange one year, someone bought Jane a copy of the book, which Peterson said she enjoyed.
Next month’s book is “Kingsblood Royal” by Sinclair Lewis. The tentative plan is to read the book and meet for a picnic near the Duluth house where Lewis stayed while he wrote it.