A collection of the members from BookTalks. Jaden on the far right runs the BookTalks club.
This fall St. Mary’s student Jaden Baragar revived the campus book club, BookTalks. Once led by Dr. Jocelyn Williams, BookTalks offers to St. Mary’s students the opportunity to get together and share their love of literature.
Jaden’s passion for reading inspired her to resurrect the club and her love of books became apparent when she explained that “each book has a purpose and a different meaning and sentimental value to me.” This passion for reading is shared by several other St. Mary’s students who have since joined the club. At first, Jaden was unsure of what book to start with. However, when the “Little Free Library” she started outside of her family home was one day filled with books by author Jo-Ann Siepert she knew that this would be the perfect place to start.
The club has a consistent membership and continues to grow. Once up and running, Jaden suggested that they open the club to the community. She was hoping to invite her grandmother to join who shares her love of reading. One of the other Book Talks members thought that it was a great idea and Jaden has since started bringing her grandmother to the weekly meetings. She says that the club has evolved to become “a students and grandmas book club.”
The club meets weekly on Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. This semester the group read and discussed Aberrant by Jo-Ann Siepert. On December 2, Jaden and the other members of Book Talks will welcome Ms. Siepert to McGivney Hall for a reading and question and answer period. There will also be a book signing where attendees can purchase copies of her books and 25% of the proceeds will be donated to the Humanities 101 Program.
Members of the club would like to encourage all students and community members to join them for this evening of reading. This event is free and open to all and light refreshments will be served. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m.
Next semester Jaden hopes the club will accommodate more students’ schedules to increase their membership. Book Talks is open to all students, and grandparents, and if you would like more information on this exciting initiative you can e-mail Jaden Baragar at jaden.baragar@stmu.ca
