Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life - Paperback

by Elizabeth Long (Author)

Long spent years observing and participating in women's book clubs and shows how they have become a vital arena for self-information, one that has as much currency now as it did a century ago.

Front Jacket

Book clubs are everywhere these days. And women talk about the clubs they belong to with surprising emotion. But why are the clubs so important to them? And what do the women discuss when they meet? To answer questions like these, Elizabeth Long spent years observing and participating in women's book clubs and interviewing members from different discussion groups. Far from being an isolated activity, she finds reading for club members to be an active and social pursuit, a crucial way for women to reflect creatively on the meaning of their lives and their place in the social order.

Author Biography

Elizabeth Long is an associate professor of sociology at Rice University. She is the author of The American Dream and the Popular Novel and the editor of From Sociology to Cultural Studies.