We see many book clubs germinating with great enthusiasm in Lahore. However, most of them wither away after a few get-togethers and all the fanfare. ‘The Page Turners’ is one exception.

The club was founded by Sobia Nusrat, a graduate of Cornell University, USA, in the year 2011. Nusrat says her network of friends and colleagues was saturated with bibliophiles, so she decided to launch a book club for the likes of them.

Over the years, The Page Turner has attracted lovers of books from diverse backgrounds. Its active members include academics, techies, doctors, writers, government officials, businesspersons and lawyers.

Talking to TNS about how the club has lasted where many such ventures simply perished, Nusrat says, "We have an open facility, with almost no rules.

"Sometimes we are even joined by people who have not read the book selected [for discussion]. We make a big family, and all members know that they collectively own it."

When prompted that a book club by the same name exists in the US and the UK, Nusrat says it was a democratic decision, "The name was finalised through a poll on our official Facebook page."

A Single-Title Club

The Page Turners is a single-title club, which means that all members are supposed to read the same book ahead of a discussion.

The exercise, often disapproved of by those who believe it often requires them to read books that do not interest them, has generally found a lot of takers. As Qudsia Sajjad puts it, "I used to read certain types of books but this club has given me a chance to delve into genres I never explored. I am excited to be a part of it."

Online Affairs

Sobia Nusrat leverages the powerful social media to organise monthly club meetings. The members are encouraged to suggest books and then post their lists on the club’s Facebook page. Eventually, the books are shortlisted every month via an online voting process. The final details, including the venue and meetup time, are announced later.

In a recent gathering, prominent journalist and author of Delhi by Heart: Impressions of a Pakistani Traveller, Raza Rumi was invited to join in a discourse on his book via Skype. It turned out to be a delightful event.

Outdoorsy

The Page Turners’ members are decidedly outdoorsy and have already organised a number meetings in open-air venues like Bagh-e-Jinnah and Model Town Park.

One of the meetings was held in a garden outside the Jehangir’s Tomb. To get there, all participants parked their cars outside the Gaddafi Stadium and boarded the then recently launched Lahore Metro bus.

The adventure didn’t end there. The voracious readers then walked more than a kilometre through the city from the bus station to the Tomb.

Most of the meetings are, however, held at cafés that don’t play loud music. The club held its last GT at The Pantry in Mall 1, Main Boulevard. A total of 16 members showed up to discuss In Cold Blood, a non-fiction book by Truman Capote.

After a quick round of introductions, Nusrat (who moderates the discussions) requested Madeeha Maqbool, a government official, to introduce the book and tell the group why she had nominated it. People were then invited to comment.

At one point, some members started a conversation while someone was still speaking at the other end of the table. The moderator politely asked them to stay with the main discussion. After making sure that everyone had a chance to express their opinion, Nusrat collected suggestions for the next meeting and promised to create an online poll soon.

Inspiring Excursions

The Page Turners also allows its members to coordinate their literary excursions and share information about upcoming events. Last year, some members met Omar Shahid Hamid, author of The Spinner’s Tale, at Liberty Books. Earlier this year, many went to the Lahore Literary Festival.

Some excursions are inspired by books. During a club discussion on Majid Sheikh’s Lahore: Tales Without End, some members expressed a desire to take a walk through the Walled City of Lahore and visit some of the places mentioned in the short stories. That they went ahead with it and had loads of fun is another story altogether.

Whichever Books

There is absolutely no restriction on the types of books that can be discussed. Any book, be it George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game or Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything, can be selected, read and discussed by members of The Page Turners.

Discussions often steer away from books, and it is not unusual for members to find themselves in the middle of a conversation about a new superhero movie. But all that is taken in good stead, and serves to make the venue lively.

The Page Turners is thriving, five eventful years later. Only a fraction of the book club’s 249 members actively take part in the discussions. But the active members keep it alive and kicking, and go the extra mile to attend as many club meetings as they can. It continues to attract bibliophiles from across the city. To quote Kate Vyborny, a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University and an active member of The Page Turners, "I attribute the success of this book club to Sobia Nusrat’s leadership. She is organised and keeps everyone motivated."