Sometimes, I feel silly that I took so long to join a book club.  I think since I have a somewhat idiosyncratic taste in books, I was afraid that joining a book club would entail reading a lot of books I disliked. Not only was I wrong, I was missing the entire point of being in a book club.  In a book club, even if you end up disliking the selection, you still get the satisfaction of venting about why you disliked it.  This is just one of the ways book clubs turn the normally solitary activity of reading into a social one, and I think the value of that really can’t be overstated.  I’m also happy to report that since I started attending the Sheboygan County LGBTQ Alliance book club, I’ve liked or loved far more of the selections than I’ve disliked, and many of the ones I’ve loved the most were books I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise.  Unfortunately, there are too few hours in the day and too few days in the week for me to get involved in all of the amazing book clubs you can participate in through Mead Public Library.  We have book clubs for readers interested in mysteries, nonfiction, readers who want to make art based on what they read, and so much more.  Consider this blog post a snapshot of the amazing experiences I’ve had with a book club, and an invitation to try one that matches your interests and see what you might discover.

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters is famous for two things: her beloved trilogy of historical novels portraying the experiences of lesbian women in the Victorian era, and her mastery of the art of the plot twist.  Affinity delivers in both departments.  The story follows Margaret Prior, a woman struggling with a stifling family environment and severe depression, and her relationship with Selina Dawes, who is serving time in prison for conducting fraudulent seances, one of which led to the death of one of the participants.  Since Margaret is, as far as anyone knows, a law-abiding gentlewoman, her visits are intended to aid in Selina’s moral rehabilitation.  However, as the pair become closer, Margaret becomes captivated by Selina’s magnetic presence and convinced that her abilities as a medium are entirely real.  Affinity is probably the most underdiscussed of the Victorian Trilogy, possibly because it’s easily the bleakest and most pessimistic in tone. At times, it reads like a descent into the psychological underworld – and I devoured every page of it.  If you’re craving a merciless historical thriller that never lets up for a moment, complete with a tragic gut-punch of an ending, Affinity is your book.

Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash

Rainbow Black is another combination thriller and period piece focusing on the experiences of LGBTQ people, this time in the United States in the 1990s.  The book follows Lacey, a teenage girl whose life is torn apart after her parents are falsely accused of Satanic Ritual Abuse.  Lacey’s world rapidly unravels in the midst of the trial, the destruction coming to a head when her stanchest adult advocate is brutally murdered. Before long, the bond Lacey forges with another young girl similarly failed by the system is her only lifeline. Pushed to the brink and with little left to lose, Lacey’s rage explodes in violent retribution against her girlfriend’s abuser.  The two flee under assumed identities, but years later, the ghosts of their past are discovered, dragging them back into the heart of a media circus more concerned with scandal and spectacle than any pretense at justice.  Obviously, this is not an emotionally easy read, but even so, I couldn’t put it down.  No matter how bad things got, I turned every page hoping that Lacey would ultimately find some kind of happiness, or at least some kind of closure.  Maggie Thrash’s eye for setting and character voice is superb, capturing a vivid snapshot of the 90s and the voice and perspective of a young woman growing up in that time.  Rainbow Black is a bit of a departure for Maggie Thrash, who was previously known for YA and autobiographical graphic novels, but if she ever writes another book like this, I’ll be first in line to read it.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Camp Damascus follows Rose Darling, a neurodivergent young woman coming of age in the devoutly Christian community of Neverton, Montana, home of the conversion therapy center at Camp Damascus.  Rose is haunted by gaps in her memory, deeply repressed feelings for other girls, and eventually, by literal demons.  To stop the haunting, Rose will have to return to Camp Damascus to face the horrible truth of what was done there, to herself and to others like her.  The protagonist of this book, eccentric, socially isolated, and at times painfully earnest, immediately won my heart.  Rose Darling will make you laugh, make you cringe, and most of all, have you rooting for her every step of the way as she fights to escape the nightmare she’s found herself in.  In spite of the supernatural element, there are aspects of the horror in this book that are very much grounded in reality – and perhaps those are the most disturbing of all. Chuck Tingle clearly did his research when it comes to how cults recruit, retain and abuse their members.  The Peter Pan references here are no mere set dressing, but an invitation to question what kind of society would actively try to keep young people from growing up.  Camp Damascus doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to religious horror, but the way Chuck Tingle chose to tell this story and the heroine he placed at its center make it a truly unique experience, and one which I hope you’ll enjoy just as much as I did.