A few days back I shared with you the plans for a new event in our area, Books, Burgers, and Brews. Our kick off event was this past Monday and I spent much of the day prepping the details and at the same time fretting about the details….
What is it about new things that makes me a mess of butterflies in my tummy? I went over…. will they show up? Will they talk? Will they find the layout fresh, fun, and engaging….. will they find ME fresh, fun and engaging? Will I be able to fill up two hours or will we end early? Will they leave wanting to come again?
I need not have worried. We had 21 attendees for this debut event. I had a sign up sheet for those who wished to be notified of upcoming book selections and they almost all signed up.
Let me give you a little visual…
We used power point so everyone could follow along easily with the format and the questions. I showed a 15 minute interview with the author Andy Weir while everyone ordered their food and drinks and chatted. Oh and speaking of the food and drinks…
Our venue, Prairie Bay, made this awesome menu to go with our book discussion. SO MUCH FUN! I loved the Potato Farm and brought that home for Al.
One of the tasty burgers… the Potato Farm.
NASA water was a fun prop.
Some of the group who attended Books, Burgers, and Brews.
Suggestions for future reads or attendees could write down their own ideas.
The overall night was a lot of fun. We had a great discussion, and one guy who really did not like how the book was in journal entries and felt he did not need all the math and science info…. this different opinion than most of the other attendees was also fun as it added to the discussion. A friend of mine in the group who really enjoys science fiction reads found that The Martian was overly light to be considered Science Fiction, where others in the room found it to be heavy on the science side. In the end, I asked the group if they had the opportunity to write a three sentence synopsis on the back of the book what would it say. I challenged the guy who did not like the book to come up with one and he did… of course for the life of me I can not find his synopsis but it did have something to do with…
“The Martian… all of the suspense and magical appeal of Harry Potter at Hogwarts with the addition of shit potato’s.”
Anyhoo… something like that – but it was funny – and really, isn’t that what makes a great discussion is the difference in opinions and how we all see things a bit differently when we read?
I would wrap this one up as a success. It was good to see the group engaged in the discussion. I think everyone spoke up at one point. They enjoyed the food… and the little extras we put together. At the end people thanked us for doing this and that is really what is was meant to be…. another way for The Friends of the Brainerd Public Library to reach into the community and build value in what we do and in what our local library can provide.
Next months selection – by vote of our attendees….
That will give me the push I need to get this one read and find the little something somethings to make this one a great discussion.
Book Journey 
This is such a great idea and I love it. You and the other librarians always seem to have great ideas to bring reading and literacy into the community. Not to mention how cool the library is and how much it is a part of the community.
I am lucky enough to be with a library that embraces trying new things and thinking out of the box 🙂
Yum! Now I am hungry for burgers…and I just got an e-mail from Marie Callender’s, saying burgers come with free pie today…lol.
I see In a Dark, Dark Wood on your list of selections. That’s one I want to read.
Sounds like it was meant to be Laurel 😉 Yes Dark, Dark Woods but in their choices pile…. liked that one a lit and thought it would make for good discussion.
Sounds like fun. I have to admit that I thought for a moment that you stole the title of this post from my shopping list.
LOL…. Potato vodka? I want to hear more about that!
Boys in the Boat is great! The focus is a sort of local guy here so it was a big deal when launched. However, did you know that Hugh Laurie’s(House)father was also involved?
I did not know that! I am excited to read it myself 😉
This event sounds amazing! I listened to The Martian (and liked it) so I had no idea it was written in journal entries.
I listened to it as well… I really enjoyed it.
Sheila, this sounds like a wonderful event! You worried a bit beforehand because you CARE (I do that, too). That Potato Farm burger looks delectable! Thank you for sharing your pics. 🙂
Sure – excited to see what this next month will look like 😀
First off, what a fun event. I love the themed burger menu!
For next month, The Boys in the Boat should be good. I chose it for our club and we all had lots to say.
Awesome! I think it will be a good discussion….
How fun! I wish I could have come!
Kathy I would love to have had you there!!!
what a confusing set-up. Eat? Drink? Read? Yarrrr!
No no.. you got it wrong…..Books first…. then eat….then drink…. not confusing at all 🙂
i have this tendency to order the burger and beer, then drink before the burger arrives, then all is lost. but now i see!
LOL… I understand. 😀
This sounds like so much fun.
Thanks it was 🙂
That’s an awesome event. If I lived closer, I definitely would have wanted to go!
What a fabulous event. I love the way you matched the menu to the event.