Book club to use SNL flair

Travis Perry

When it comes to classroom book discussion, the average college student seems to spontaneously become verklempt, but with the latest book club on campus, people should have no trouble finding a topic to discuss amongst themselves.

Led by seniors Morgan Rockhold and Lacey Keller, the Quoffee Tawk (think “coffee talk” with a Yiddish accent) book club is hoping to help promote the newly-fostered iRead program, as well as reading on the whole on campus. As of publication, the group has garnered a strong following, with 84 members listed on its Facebook group, 25 of which are registered through the Student Activities and Greek Life office.

“I thought, ‘I’m sure there’s a book club on campus to pitch this iRead thing to,’ and there’s not,” said Keller. “The university faculty and staff have their own, but there are no student ones.”

Inspired by the famous “Coffee Talk with Linda Richman” sketch starring Mike Myers from Saturday Night Live, Keller said that Rockhold and she had originally thought of the idea as a joke. The plan for their first meeting is to pay homage to the famous sketch by having the two of them dress up as Linda Richman and her co-host. The first meeting is set for 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, in front of the Corner Store in the Memorial Union. Subsequent meetings will be the fourth Monday of every month, meeting either in front of the Corner Store or in Mabee Library.

“It’s kind of reinvigorating that passion for reading,” said Keller, who thinks the laid-back atmosphere will encourage more students to join and enjoy reading of their own choice.

Keller said most recruiting so far has been through word-of-mouth and that while she would be thrilled if the group became a hit, she would be just as content with a small group of students engaged in the same discussion. The first book the group plans to read is “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” by Ismael Beah. After that, Keller said books would be decided by the group as a whole.

“I’ve heard [suggestions] from ‘Kite Runner’ to the ‘Odyssey’ and the ‘Iliad,'” said Keller.