Among the many clubs at Mounds View, there is a little book club called Books Without Bounds. Students meet every week on Tuesdays after school for about an hour to read books, discuss stories, occasionally watch book-adapted movies and eat snacks. 

A typical book club meeting begins after school in room 229B. After snacks are laid out, group members discuss their plans for that meeting and the following weeks. Most of the time is spent talking and analyzing the book in a pressure-free environment. “The discussions that we have, we get into some crazy topics, but it’s so much fun,” said senior Gillian Anderson. 

Last year, after realizing that our school was missing a book club, alumni Nora Anderson and senior Maya Betti invited other students to get together and read new books. A friend of Betti who also enjoyed book discussions, senior Marie Diffley, joined Books Without Bounds and became a co-president this year. Diffley enjoys being a part of the club and would like to share it with more students. “It’s a really fun group of people, and I love that it’s one of the only opportunities I can see everybody, and we get to talk about really good literature and have deep conversations. So it’s a really fun club,” she said.

The difference between discussing a book in class and discussing it in the club is the passion the members have for such topics. Senior Garima Khatiwada said, “Everyone there, they just want to read the book. They want to talk about it. So [we have] really nice conversations.”

Starting in the second semester and continuing until the next school year, the members of the club are trying to find ways to promote the club and increase the number of students participating. They would like to put posters up around the school like they did last year and see if they can get on the morning announcements to spread the word. 

Diffley encourages word of mouth and inviting friends to club meetings. “Just reaching out,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of people reach out to their friends to help them join as well.”

In the past, they have read books like “Graffiti Moon”, “Little Women” and “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.” Right now they are reading a book called “White Noise” by Don DeLillo and will watch the newly released movie on Netflix after they finish. For the future, book club leaders have discussed possibly reading more well-known novels. 

There are many reasons why students joined Books Without Bounds. Some wanted to try new things, while others revitalized old hobbies or just wanted to do something fun. “I joined because I love reading books, and I also enjoy the people in the book club,” said sophomore Greta Lunstand. 

Lunstad, the only underclassman in the group, who is a candidate for president next year, has a couple of ideas regarding changes in the 2023-24 school year. “I want to read more books that educate us about minorities,” she said. “An idea that I had [of a book to read] was ‘Wonder’ and then maybe we could help raise awareness somehow in the community.”

The members of Books Without Bounds are enthusiastic about the club. As the senior members graduate in the spring, they would love to get more students to join. “It’s really fun. Yeah, the people in the club are amazing,” said Gillian Anderson, “We have a lot of fun, and we joke about a lot of things. And we also get to read really interesting books.”