Dear Reader,
Wow! It's been 20 years! Happy Birthday to the original Online Book Club.
In 1999 when I started the online book club the Internet was sketchy. "Under Construction" signs were parked at future websites while people were trying to figure out how to make a living using the Internet. And the even bigger question that bamboozled everyone, "What the heck is the Internet anyway?" No YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, Facebook, and the sites that were up and going, people could log on, but they had to be patient for their slow, dial-up phone connections to connect.
In the midst of all this change, I was looking for a new adventure for myself. "Do what you love..." they say, and since I loved books (I consider them "instructional" manuals for my life), I decided to try to come up with an idea to make it easier for people to find the time to read more. So I took the approach I use with most things in my life, when I'm trying to add something new to my everyday routine. I break down whatever I want to achieve into little segments, because I want to set myself up for a first time positive experience..For instance if I want to start a walking routine, in the beginning, I tell myself I only need to walk around the block. If I do that, I can pat myself on the back, "Yeah!" and I feel great because I met my goal. Of course after walking around the block for a few days, I'm enjoying myself so much that I venture a little farther into the neighborhood, and pretty soon my 5-minute walk around the block is a 35-minute stroll, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.
So I decided to approach reading in the same way. People love to read, but schedules are harried, and finding the time is challenging. What if folks could sample a book five minutes a day? And the idea for the Online Book Club was born. Five-minutes-a-day, sample a book, start reading right at page one, and at the end of the week (or anywhere along the way), if you like the book you can reserve a copy at your local library.
Okay, so I loved the concept, but I had no idea how to get permission to share material from a book. I knew nothing about publishers, but I wasn't afraid to use the phone, so I started dialing. The first publisher I approached was Random House. I was under the naive, small-town, notion that when you called a publisher, they would call you back. Fortunately I was (unknowingly), extremely naive so I kept dialing. The days turned into weeks of calling, but finally I connected with someone. I was persistent and eventually they did agree to give me a try. When I launched the book club, I featured one book every week (fiction or nonfiction). And soon after that I approached libraries with the idea, too.
Twenty years later, there are 11 different book genres featured at the Online Book Club, weekly guest authors, AuthorBuzz, my column, an annual Write a DearReader Contest, and a lot of crazy-fun giveaways every week. But the key ingredient that's made the book club successful and a lot of fun are the readers. You are amazing! Thanks for taking the journey with me.
I'd love to hear from you. How long have you been reading at the online book club? Share a favorite highlight? What do you read first in the daily email? Have you been a chocolate chip cookie winner? Do you remember a favorite book you discovered at the book club?
And what's a birthday party without decorations? To win a supply of Happy Birthday decorations and to share your comments about the book club, click here.
Thanks for reading with me--for 20 years! It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
Comments