Elizabethtown College Assistant Professor of Education, Kathryn Caprino, initially organized a book club for her education students to talk about contemporary books to be used in the classroom. The idea was that these students could read the books and then discuss incorporating them into their future lesson plans. The success of the book club inspired Caprino to think bigger and offer a way for wider members of the Etown community to connect, especially in a time when the campus and the world feels so disconnected, through a global pandemic.
With the help of the Etown Education Department, Professor Caprino began Etown College Reads, a virtual book club open to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The club selects a book each month and then comes together (via Zoom) to discuss it just as a traditional book club would. The innovative twist to Etown College Reads, however, is that they utilize a hashtag, #EtownCollegeReads, where participants can share their thoughts in real-time using Twitter.
“The goal is to make the club as accessible as possible for the entire Etown community,” said Caprino. “We love that our education major students participate but we would also like to expand the group and create a reading community across campus and beyond. The hashtag piece makes it easy for those with a busy schedule to communicate with the group on their own timeline.”
The club has already selected a book for the month of October: Nicole Paneleako’s “Planet Earth Is Blue.” Etown College Reads will meet on October 20 at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom to discuss the book, but you can join in conversation now by using the #EtownCollegeReads hashtag on Twitter. You can also keep up with the upcoming book selections, meeting dates, and find out more about the program at the hashtag as well. For further information on how to be a part of the club, contact Katie Caprino at caprinok@etown.edu.