Introducing... Drake's Annotated Traveling Book Club!

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Reading books, as we all know, is a fantastic way to engage our imaginations, learn new practical skills, improve our communication abilities, increase our memory, build empathy, and reduce stress.  Each book we read allows us to consider people and situations, whether real or imagined, from a different point of view than our own.   

Usually, reading is a solitary pastime.  We curl up with a cup of something delicious, wrap up in a snuggly blanket, and transport ourselves into a new world, escaping our frustrations for a short time.

Book Clubs offer a chance for people to come together in groups, read together, and share impressions and insights of what they read.  But at the end of the meeting, all those thoughts disappear into the ether of memory as we pick up another book and start again.

There's a fantastic line from Jim Henson's, The Dark Crystal, that comes back to Drake and me each time we read a new book:
As Kira and Jen discover a meeting place built by the Ancients, Kira finds a wall full of symbols, and asks Jen about them. 
Jen: "Oh, that's writing."
Kira: "What's writing?"
Jen: "Words that stay.  My master taught me."

For centuries, the impressions of what we read stays with us.  That's why a book club is so wonderful. We share with each other about all the amazing and impactful things we've read, and what the experience of reading a particular book has meant to us.  But what if we kicked it up a notch?

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What if, as each member of a Book Club reads, they were to ANNOTATE the book  to include their favorite passages, strongest memory triggers, deepest emotional connections, questions that tickle their curiosity, or the moments that really made them think, or perhaps consider a different perspective?  If we Annotate, those ideas would forever STAY with the book.

It's a curious idea, isn't it?  The concept of keeping a written record of the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of other readers who have also experienced the same book you're reading?   It could enhance your enjoyment by a factor of six... because as you read, you'll essentially be intuiting the thoughts of five other people who have read the same book before you.

Is this a challenging idea to wrap your brain around?  Okay, think of it this way...

Do you remember when your parents, grandparents, teachers, or librarians read to you as a child?  Most of the time, not only did they read the words to or with you... but together, you took time to talk about how those words appeared on the page, influencing the story, and taking note of how they touched you or made you think.

Annotation within the context of a Book Club is just like that, except instead of doing it orally, you're writing notes to the other people who will also read the book "with you."  When it's all over, you'll have a book with a collection of incredibly insightful experiences from five other voices, tucked inside every page. 

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What an amazing keepsake that would be... not only for now... but as a legacy to pass to other generations of readers, sharing how we thought about these things during our time, and perhaps giving them some insight to perspectives they've not yet considered.

What an remarkable discovery that would be... a tremendous gift for someone to find years later... Not just the words published on the page from the author, but the thoughts and ideas of people who read the book STAYING inside the book for generations!

Now, Drake and I realize that this approach to forming a book club isn't for the average reader.  We completely understand that not everyone wants to approach books this way.  After all, most of us read to escape and forget the real world for a time.    Heck, that's what Drake and I enjoy most about books, that imaginary disconnect from the real world.  And sure, we can see how this kind of reading might feel like a school assignment... "I have to read AND take notes?!" 

But it might also feel like a grand adventure, if we want it to.  What little nuggets of amazingness can we highlight for other readers, that perhaps they might have missed?  How can we really share the impact the book had on us, and why we felt that way when reading?  How can we share OURSELVES with other readers as we open up our brains to them about how we read and how we interpret it all?

For writers... it might be an even greater gift... How can we focus a spyglass on the wonderment someone else has created so that perhaps we can learn a new technique and improve our own writing?  Think of how our writing horizons can expand when we dig deep and compare the original author's work with  other writers who are all searching for what impacts readers most... and then blending those ideas inside the pages we write.

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​If you're tail feathers are twitching with curiosity about what Drake's Annotated Traveling Book Club might look like in practice, ​click the emblem at the top of the page to learn more and sign up to join the Club.  

Please note that Drake's Annotated Traveling Book Club is intended for Readers who are fully committed...
so although the page will live on our website, it's not going to be easy to find. 
You'll get access only if you're an established Reader Member, or click through using the emblem above.