From the 1930-1931 booklet, a listing of the topics of discussion since 1898.

85 more years of the Wilson Book Club programs are now available online, thanks to our partner, the Wilson County Public Library.  We have previously posted about the earliest of these programs, dating back to 1901.  With the addition of 93 years of programs starting in 1911 and going through 2005, one can now have a good glimpse into changing interests in the literary world and how book clubs operate over the past 100 years.  The earliest programs in this new batch often had a subject for that whole year, whether it was based on genre or topic, such as “The Netherlands” or “Modern Irish Literature“.  Later years tended to have much more diverse set of subjects across the year, although on occasion still have a primary focus for the year.  The 1975-1976 program reflects the bicentennial being celebrated and many of months have a colonial era focus.  In addition to the information on the books read, a listing of the club members and who hosted each month is also included in the programs.

Perhaps a question many of us were asking in 2005.

To view all the book club programs, visit here.  And to learn more about our partner Wilson County Public Library and view their digitized materials, visit their partner page.