Dear my friends, have you ever wanted to be more literate?

Well now's your chance!!!!

But in all seriousness... I'm using my blog and Facebook to get out the word about something we're starting over at the comic shop I own (Stand-Up Comics, if you didn't know, which you probably did). It's an idea I've had since before we opened the shop and I think it's high time we got it done... a Comic Book Book Club, or, if you will, a (Comic) Book Club.

Basically what happens is every month a member of said club will pick a graphic novel for everyone interested in participating to read. Around the last Sunday of every month, all club members who want to will congregate at the Baker's Square down the street from the shop at about 4:00 for refreshments and discussion of the book at hand. It's like what Oprah does except with books by Grant Morrison instead of Toni Morrison (to all store customers: yes, I used this same joke in my email announcing the club. I feel like it's funny enough to re-use. We'll call that nepotistic continuity, and thanks for that term TJ!).

There is definitely no obligation to being in this club; you can opt in and out certain months if necessary. All that you have to do is, if you want to be part of a discussion on a given month, you'll have to have your own copy of the book in question, and you'll have to have read it prior to the discussion. If you already own the book that's cool, and if you don't you can buy a copy at Stand-Up for 10% off (we will spotlight our "book of the month" in the store).

And I feel it's important to note that almost any graphic novel or trade paperback is fair game for the club--mainstream or indie, superhero or not, it makes no difference as long as the book is accessible to newcomers (for instance, picking volume 6 of "Y the Last Man" is probably not a great choice, but volume 1 is!). As I mentioned above it's up to the club members to pick the book we read each month; we will probably do something like assign choices in the order in which people joined. That said, us shop owners have the first few picks and then we'll turn it over to our customers. I already know what the first month's book (chosen by Pat) is, and I think it's a great mix of indie and mainstream, but I will be announcing that soon...

We'll be starting this off in January, which is only a few weeks away. If this sounds like something you might be interested in please let me know. So far response has been really positive and I think we will have a pretty sizable club. If you've ever been curious about graphic novels or wanted to expand your library, this would be a great way to do it!

So, in summation, I apologize for using my blog/Facebook for what is essentially store promotion but I feel like this is an exceptional circumstance. Thanks for reading folks!