Bloomfield Book Club Stimulates Literary Discussions

Book clubs are a time-honored tradition, a way for reading enthusiasts to come together and share their thoughts and passion for the written word. 

The Bloomfield Public Library Book Club provides an outlet for local book lovers to meet once a month and make new friends in the process. 

Township residents Jane Hanson, Carole Sklar, Steve Iavarone and Mary Lou Markwith gathered at the library earlier this month to discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s "Cat’s Cradle," a satiric novel about science, politics and religion.The club enthusiastically praised the book for about an hour and discussed the larger implications of Vonnegut’s sci-fi work.

Sklar, a painter, praised Vonnegut for his style, creative imagination and unusual cast of characters, which include a midget, a beauty queen, nuclear scientists and foreign kings. "It has a wild history and a presence. … It’s a satire on how scientists can come up with things that destroy the world, and it’s a playful game."

The other members agreed with her assessment about the novel’s originality.

"It’s kind of remarkable, (like) Alice falling down the rabbit hole," retired homemaker Markwith said, comparing sections of "Cat’s Cradle" to "Alice in Wonderland."

Website writer Iavarone said "Cat’s Cradle" was one of the best novels he’d ever read and he liked the satirical take on the made-up religion Vonnegut created for the book, Bokononism.

"You open it up and the first thing (it says) is everything is a lie," he said. "It’s crazy."

The book club, which was formed earlier this year, has an informal atmosphere and anyone is open and welcome to join the group, Sklar said. Prior books read by the group include "The Outliers: The Story of Success," by Malcolm Gladwell, and the novels "The Friday Night Knitting Club," by Kate Jacobs, "The Alchemist," by Paulo Coelho and "The Reader" by Bernard Schlink.

Sklar, who previously participated in another library-based book club with her deceased husband Martin for several years, said she considered the book club a second home, a sanctuary because the library is one of the most important places in her life. Her favorite part of the meeting is "the chance to hear someone else’s point of view."

Hanson, a romance writer and receptionist, said she enjoys the club because it always good to explore books outside of your own normal reading limits. Hanson said the plot in "Cat’s Cradle" was hard to understand initially and she read it twice. She said it made her more interested in the history of the atomic bomb.

Her favorite part of the club meetings is talking about the books and sharing her opinions on a wide variety of issues in the books. "Where else can you do that?" Hanson said.

For More Information: The Bloomfield Public Library Book Club’s next meeting will take place 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at the library, 90 Broad St. "The Loved One," by Evelyn Waugh will be discussed. For more information, call the library reference desk at (973) 566-6200 ext. 502 or e-mail reference@bplnj.org.