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Womens Groups Thrive!
In the early 1800's various groups of women begin meeting regularly to discuss poetry, nonfiction and publications of the day. -
Period: to
History of Book Clubs
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The first American Lyceum
The first American lyceum is founded (organizes lectures, debates, guest speakers) -
First book store sponsored club!
The first known book store sponsored club begins in Margaret Fuller's Boston shop. -
Friends in Council
Sarah Atwater Denman starts a women's study group in Quincy, Ill., known as Friends in Council -the oldest continuous literary club in America. -
Male reading groups become popular.
Male reading groups become popular– e.g. The Cadmus Club, Grolier Club in New York, the Club of Odd Volumes in Boston and the Rowfant Club in Cleveland. -
Womens literary societies
Womens literary societies are thriving. -
Book-of-the-month club
The Book-of-the-month club starts up. -
100,000,000 books shipped!
The Book-of-the-month club shipped it's 100 millionth book! -
First book club for children!
The Young Readers of America, the BOMC's first club specifically designed for children was established and became an immediate success. -
Novel about book clubs inspires book clubs.
Helen Hooven Santmyer's novel ,"And Ladies of the Club", becomes a national best seller after being chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Centering on members of a long-standing book club, Santmyer's novel inspired the formation of book clubs across the nation. -
Oprah's Book Club
Oprah Winfrey launches her televised book club sparking overwhelming interest in book clubs across the nation. The interest in book clubs spurred by Oprah continues today. -
One Book, One City approach.
The One Book, One City approach begins in Seattle and is replicated across the continent over the next decade. -
On-line book clubs
By the late 1990's on-line book clubs emerge as an alternative to face-to-face clubs. -
Social Networking Clubs
By the late 2000's, clubs hosted by social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook become popular. On-line clubs evolve from blogs to international platforms like LibraryThing and GoodReads. -
References
Information for this timeline was accessed during the month of February from the following sites:
The Book Club. (2009). Retrieved from: http://.twitter.com/thebookclubBookclubsonline
The History of Book Clubs ,[Web log post]. Retrieved from: http://www.bookclubs-online.com/guides/history/
Cole, J. (2006, January). One book project grows in popularity, [web log post]. Retrieved from: http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0601/cfb.html
Image by: Mar.tin. (2008, Oct.4). www.flickr.com/photos/
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