The Second Annual “Book Club Night” at the Lawrence Public Library was a blast! Okay, I was kinda spent after nearly 90 minutes of solid, non-stop Silver Shoes talk, but it was a genuinely fun evening and well worth any effort on my part.

The Lawrence Public Library entrance at night.

I was impressed and surprised by how many people turned up on a rainy Thursday evening in Lawrence, Kansas, but you can tell just how much these dedicated people enjoy their clubs, reading, and discussing books in a social setting. I couldn’t have asked for a more engaged and appreciative audience. And the Lawrence Library went all out with prize drawings, giveaways, and refreshments (killer cupcakes, too!).

A Book Club Night flyer posted on a hallway wall.

I have to say I love the whole idea of book clubs in general, taking the somewhat isolated experience of reading a book and then sharing and comparing individual experiences with a group of friends or peers who have similar interests and passions for the printed page.

Maria Butler, the Community Relations Coordinator of the Lawrence Public Library, introduces the event and gives a few announcements about the proceedings while author Paul Miles Schneider looks on.

There may be thousands of Internet “chat boards,” growing as I type this, where books and authors are discussed in great depth and detail, but, after spending an evening like this, I can’t ever see them surpassing the kinetic energy of basic, social, human interaction and the sharing of thoughts, face to face. No way.

Paul Miles Schneider, mingling and having a great time at Book Club Night.

The whole reason I became an author was to communicate ideas, taking a cool story that had been brewing in my head for a year and sharing it with others. But the act of reading is a very private experience. The words that began in my mind and imagination were passed on and interpreted by another mind and imagination. One brain to another. And taking that solitary experience one step further and sharing it with a small group of people who are eager to understand what others have experienced is quite remarkable. In many ways it makes characters, plot, and themes spring alive for me beyond anything I’d hoped for. These fictional people and their situations are discussed among the group as anyone would share details about a friend or comment on someone else’s behavior, motivation, or circumstances. They become just as real as you and me. It’s the ultimate gift for an author, in many respects.

Julie Trowbridge-Alford of the Raven Bookstore sells the authors’ books, including “Silver Shoes,” at Book Club Night.

The “speed-dating” aspect of the event was a lot of fun. The authors played musical chairs, rotating between five book clubs, each arranged in a circle inside the library auditorium. I spent roughly fifteen minutes with each group, answering questions about Silver Shoes, discussing the plot and characters, the creative inspiration for the story, and my experience with the publishing process. Then it was a quick gulp of water and on to the next group, starting all over again. Exhausting? Yeah, just a little bit, especially after the fifth group. But I took away so much more than I gave that night.