A New Year’s Resolution

Around December last year, I started brainstorming the old-fashioned New Year’s resolutions like one does. I could eat healthier, probably drink a little less, and it would be nice to read more. The first two flew out the window as fast as any, but the last one stuck in my head. I couldn’t let it go.

I want to read more, just not Vonnegut for the 15th time. I want to learn something. I was feeling stagnant in my woodworking; as a professional in a production shop setting, I had fallen into the cut-assemble-install routine, killing the motivation of the hobbyist woodworker in me to create anything thought-provoking. Maybe my waning intrigue in woodworking was my resolution to, well . . . my resolution.

Inspirations

Inspiration comes in many forms, but mine was in the form of my friend Michael, an acclaimed woodworker and avid reader. When I would ask him a question, his answer usually included a reference to a chapter in a book. I would go off and order the book and read the chapter.

Only then, understanding his answer, was it time to implement. It’s not the book alone that I need to grasp a new technique, but the conversation with others that completes the circle of understanding. It’s just like taking a class and learning how to make a chair. The real knowledge would be knowing how to build the chair when you are home alone in your shop six months after your class. It takes reference material (i.e., notes, a book—heck, even a YouTube video) and experience.

Growing up in the ’90s, I was well aware of Oprah and her book club, reaching broadly across all different communities, uniting people under one title. After the month, she would televise a dinner with the author and have a Q&A with other members of the club. You can see where I’m going with that. I don’t have a television show, and besides that, what about the people who can’t make a Zoom meeting?

I found out about the app Discord through a podcast I listen to, where you watch bad movies and then chat about them afterward. There are even live Q&As with the hosts of the show. This is the same basic frame I was searching for in my future book club: the flexibility of the chat room, plus the space to hold live video meetings. Also, the ease of setting up an account is something attainable to even the least tech-savvy woodchuck.

How we choose books

The book club works like this: After a blanket poll, 12 titles are selected and one is allocated to each month. Throughout the month, as you read the book, discussion on the text channels is encouraged. On the first Sunday of the following month, we hold a meeting virtually with a special guest moderator and have an open group discussion. Six months in and five meetings down, the club has instantly become a community, where members share book recommendations and favorite quotes alongside practical and theoretical woodworking.

Authors, editors, or other woodworking experts are asked to join in and help moderate—basically a fancy word for sharing stories and expertise related to the book. We have been beyond fortunate with the caliber of guest moderators who have joined the club meetings, and we are very thankful for their time and engagement.

If you would like to join the club, be sure to subscribe at thewoodworkersbookclub.com to get updates on meetings and guest moderators. Also, follow along on Instagram @thewoodworkersbookclub and, most importantly, join the Discord and read along!