Books on Tap book club -- something for everyone

Looking for a book club? The Cape Girardeau Public Library has just the thing.

Books on Tap is a monthly book lovers' gathering that flips the idea of "book clubs" on its head.

Adult service coordinator, Kayla Thompson, said that Books on Tap is a somatic book club. Meaning that instead of like a traditional book club, where there is a vote on which book will be read or pick one book to read as a group, Thompson creates a general theme.

July's theme is books with bad reviews. Thompson said that she tried to come up with a mixed list of book ideas for those participating.

"I try to pick some from fiction and nonfiction. That way, there's just something for everybody. Pretty much if they can fit it to the theme, they can read it. We decided to go that route just because in the past we've had issues with people getting stuck in one genre. And other people not liking those books and then falling away from book clubs. So we thought that by choosing a theme, everybody gets to participate. And if somebody wants to stick with one genre they can without having to force other people to read that genre over and over again, if that makes sense." Thompson said.

Books on Tap started in 2019 and has had all types of general themes such as get judgey with it, back in time, monster mash, Irish authors and more. The book club meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at Ebb and Flow Fermentations in Cape Girardeau. As this is an adult service program, the age requirement is 18 and older to attend.

"It's pretty open and laid back. We love seeing new faces. I just like to stress that if you're interested in it, that if you haven't had a chance to read a book for that month, if you just want to come and just talk about books, also perfectly fine. It's pretty chill. We just want to be open and welcoming to everybody. So we've really tried to tailor it to that." Thompson said.

Thompson and those in the book club will be meeting Tuesday, July 11, this month due to Fourth of July being on the first Tuesday of the month and will return to the regular schedule in August.