(November 21, 2006) — “Did anyone read the book?” asks Book Club President Dalar Nazari as more than half of the members sink their heads in shame. “We’re just getting started, and we understand that it will take a while for members to become comfortable with each other.” Started at the beginning of the year to get students involved with making book recommendations and changing their outlooks on reading, Book Club is one of the latest additions to Clark’s club cornucopia. Between social meetings (where members bring food and get know to each other a little better) and structured meetings (when the book of the month is discussed), members read the assigned novel and also come up with recommendations for next month’s novel. During these structured Monday meetings, discussions ensue in an “anything goes” style. Members discuss plot summaries, authors’ meanings, prevalent themes or motifs and modern-day comparisons. To get off their feet for the first couple of meetings, Book Club members elected to follow the footsteps of the Glendale Public Library Book Club and read Feed by M.T. Anderson as their first novel. Last Monday, members met to discuss the novel’s purpose—to show the need for freedom of choice and the horrors of a technological and tyrannical future. While the club is currently composed of less than 15 students with a fairly unstable attendance record, the Book Club staff and advisor Carol Pettegrew have optimistic views about its future. “I want to get us into community service,” Nazari said, explaining the future of the club. “We want to do it all—read to children at the Glendale Public Library, sell books at expos and donate the money to charity, anything!” Field trips are already being planned for Book Club—among them is a visit to the Los Angeles Times Book Festival at UCLA in April. Other group meetings outside of school would only take place if members were able to schedule appointments or attend various events where favorite authors would make appearances.