For the Love of Books: Faulkner’s New Book Club

by Madelyn Furlong

If you like to read and meet new people, Peyton Jenkins and Gus Nichols Library offers students, staff, and alumni the opportunity to pursue both.

For an hour once a month, Peyton Jenkins, Gus Nichols Library’s assistant director of libraries, organizes a book club. The idea behind the book club is to read and discuss classic books people read when they were kids.

Since March 2022, the group has covered books such as, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C. S. Lewis, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman, and “Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

With a background in public library, Jenkins has often planned events and entertainment for the community. He’s constantly trying to find ways to connect with the student body and use his past experiences at Faulkner. “My personal goal for my job is to make the library welcoming and fun, and this book club is one way we’re trying to do that,” Jenkins said.

Not only does the group encourage people to read books they might not have read before or would like to revisit, but its purpose is to also create community with one another. Jenkins stresses this aspect of a fun social space where books bring people who may not regularly see each other together. “Because we have multiple generations of people at our meetings,” Jenkins said, “we can interact with others in different stages of life.”

Before each meeting begins, Jenkins asks the group, “What’s one thing you would like to talk about today?” He facilitates inclusion and the exchange of ideas, and makes sure everyone gets a chance to speak.

The book club is open to anyone, and Jenkins welcomes everyone to come. Even if someone hasn’t had time to read the book, he thinks they would still enjoy the discussion.

To meet more people’s schedules, the book club recently opened another time slot for meetings, with one meeting taking place in the afternoon and the other occurring after-hours.

For more information about Faulkner’s monthly book club, email Jenkins at pjenkins@faulkner.edu