What makes for a successful book club? Ask Gary Kagan (’72), and he’ll tell you it’s a constitution.
“Having a process for making decisions that’s well spelled out makes the book club more efficient,” says Kagan, a sociology alumnus and the unofficial commissioner of his book club. “We’ve come a long way from our Madison days, when we weren’t always the best rule followers.”
He and his fellow book club members often reminisce about their time at UW–Madison. All but one of the members were L&S students in the 1960s and ’70s and remember what a dynamic time it was to be on campus. They also remember inspiring lectures from historians like Harvey Goldberg, George L. Mosse and William Appleman Williams, who nurtured their lifelong love of learning.
“I want to give a tip of the hat to our professors at Wisconsin,” says political science alumnus David Tabacoff (’71), who is a member of the book club along with Kagan, Ken Wiseman (’71), Steve Glauber (’60), Howard Klein (’71), Joel Cohn (’72) and Richard Appel, who received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972. “Our professors brought perspectives that I think helped train us for some of the books we’ve read, because we’ve read many, many nonfiction books.”
Kagan had the idea to start a book club in 2020. It was the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he was influenced by a book he had read about a decade earlier: The Great Influenza by John M. Barry. So, he started brainstorming about launching a book club to have a social outlet as the country entered the shutdown. It would also be a way to keep in touch with old friends, read other perspectives and have in-depth discussions about current and historic events.
The opportunity to meet virtually made it accessible to connect people from across the country, and after a successful constitutional convention, the group started reading. And they haven’t stopped since. In fact, early next year they’ll crack open their 100th book.
“I think the fact that we were all liberal arts majors and had a curiosity and interest in those subject matters has stayed with us our entire lives and helped shape us,” says Kagan.
They stick to a rigorous schedule, meeting every three weeks and averaging nearly 20 books a year. They keep track of their books in a spreadsheet, which also notes whose turn it is to nominate the next read. Book picks should be under 375 pages long but can be any genre. The group has read a remarkably diverse list of stories ranging from classics (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), political thought books (Poverty, by America), modern fiction (A Gentleman in Moscow), historical analysis (The Puerto Rican War) and even deep cuts (Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds).
“Having the book club gives us an opportunity to hear each other analyze issues in ways that would not be part of our conversation otherwise,” says Wiseman, a history alumnus. “It’s brought us closer together, helped us understand each other, and it’s really been a learning experience.”
This bond makes it possible for them to have thoughtful dialogue about complex topics that are shaping the world. And while their book club does set aside time at the beginning to catch up on life and current events, it’s not a social hour. They make sure they dive into analysis of each book and come prepared with discussion questions.
“Being able to read so many books has been a remarkable experience,” says Cohn, a sociology alumnus. “The exposure to different topics and people’s different points of view — I don’t think that’s something most people experience on a regular basis. It’s enhanced my life for sure.”
Everyone in the group has had big careers and is either close to or fully retired. Collectively they have experience in law, media, politics, health care and the corporate world, and they bring this insight into their discussions. Klein says their college-aged selves would’ve been pretty surprised to know that they were reading this much for fun. Kagan jokes that other things would’ve surprised them a whole lot more.
“Ken likes to say he’s impressed with how smart we all are, and so am I,” says Klein, who’s a history alumnus. “I’m impressed by how much background everybody has in their particular area and what they have to offer to the group.”
Ask any of the members if they recommend starting a book club with your old friends from college, and they’ll give you a confident “absolutely.”
“I would recommend this experience to anybody,” says Wiseman. “To other alumni who attended Wisconsin and want to maintain relationships with the people they met in school, a book club is a way to solidify those friendships and bonds.”