Like most book clubs, the bell hooks Book Club at the Pennyroyal Area Museum, meets monthly.
But this group differs in some significant ways from most book clubs.
First, as the name indicates, it is devoted to studying just one author — the Hopkinsville native who was a prolific writer and feminist icon. Even the room in the museum where the book club meets is named for bell hooks and furnished with several of her personal belongings.
Second, the pace of reading is very different in the bell hooks Book Club. Rather than tackling a new book every month, this group has set a more deliberate clip by reading one chapter a month. This method has allowed the group more time to discuss important themes in bell hooks’ writing and how they related to American society today.
And third, the membership in the bell hooks Book Club is intentionally fluid. Anyone is welcome to join at any point — even if they haven’t read the current book and chapter that is up for discussion.
The next meeting — at 6 p.m. Monday, June 15, at the museum on East Ninth Street — will focus on Chapter 3 in “Salvation: Black People and Love.”
“Salvation” is available to purchase in The Vault by Planters Bank Museum Shop, or online through the museum’s Shopify store — or to check out from the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library.
The Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County, the bell hooks Legacy Group and Hoptown Chronicle sponsor the book club.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
