Most clubs at Elizabethtown College are solely for students and will meet exclusively on campus; Dr. Kathryn Caprino created the #EtownCollegeReads online book club that’s not only for students but for faculty and alumni as well.
Caprino is an assistant professor PK-12 New Literacies in the education department at Elizabethtown College. Caprino describes herself as being “interested in literacy, children’s literature, and how technology intersects with literacy.” Caprino identifies as an advocate of literacy, trying to do different things around campus to promote literacy—the #EtownCollegeReads book club being one.
The #EtownCollegeReads book club is just like any other book club, only online. When the College went remote at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caprino made the decision to make the book club solely online and opened it up to faculty and alumni along with students. The book club only meets once a semester through Zoom to discuss the book that’s currently being read, but there’s discussion posts on Etown Edge where not only the current book can be discussed but members can give book recommendations or discuss reading goals for the year and more.
To join the club, it’s fast and simple. Go to edge.etown.edu and click enroll if not already. And you’re done! Once enrolled, anyone can see the book for the semester and participate in the discussion posts. If not interested in joining the Edge course, anyone is welcome to email Caprino (@caprinok@etown.edu), and she will give out the Zoom link for those who have read the book and would like to attend the discussion.
For the current semester, Caprino chose for the club to read “Carrie Soto is Back” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The Zoom discussion will be held on Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
“Carrie Soto is Back” is about 37 year-old tennis star Carrie coming back for one last season after six years of retirement in order to reclaim her record. To get a better overview of the book being read this semester, visit: https://taylorjenkinsreid.com/books/carrie-soto-is-back/.
Caprino mentioned she chose the book for this semester because “readers can reflect on whether or not that’s the best approach to have…” but she didn’t want to ruin it for people who haven’t read the book so if you want to find out for yourself, you’ll have to join the #EtownCollegeReads book club.
