Bridging Pages Book Club
Looking for Youth New Members

— by Alexandra Steel and Susanna Tomasini

We’re 12 years old, and both of us have always loved reading – especially books you can get lost in. When we helped develop the idea of a book club through the Rainbow Initiative, our group didn’t just want a typical one. We wanted to bridge the gap between all generations, and get other people’s views on social and global issues by reading and discussing books that explore these problems.

One thing that makes our intergenerational book club unique is that, instead of everyone reading the same book, we choose a social issue to focus on (such as racism). Each person then chooses their own book connected to that topic. It can be any genre – fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, or memoirs. This makes the reading more enjoyable and inclusive for all people.

When we meet, we take turns sharing a bit about the book we read and what we learned from it. No one is expected to summarize everything or sound like an expert. People just talk about what was interesting to them and why. Because everyone reads something different, the conversation ends up more diverse and interesting, even though we’re all discussing the same issue.

The club is intergenerational, which means it’s open to people of all ages (10 and up). At first, we weren’t sure if that would work, but it did, because reading is a wonder appreciated throughout all generations. People of different ages bring different kinds of knowledge and experiences, and that can expand other members’ perspectives.

The club is youth-led, and adults participate, but no one dominates the conversation. Everyone is treated as a reader first, not by how old they are. Right now, most of the club members are adults – we need a few more kids! Anyone can come as long as they’re ten or older.

What we like most is how our perspectives are expanded by the discussions and the books that other members recommend to us.  It’s also nice to have a month or two to prepare, so we don’t have to pick out and read a book in just a week. 

Bridging Pages has shown us that reading isn’t only for enjoyment – you can learn something from it too. It’s also shown us that there are some pretty cool people in our community we might not have met otherwise.

We meet every two months, and our next meetings are March 25 and May 20, in Orillia. Reach out to bridgingpagesbookclub@gmail.com today for more information and to join us!