Progressive Book Club

A new “books in the mail” book club started up today – Progressive Book Club operates similarly to a typical Book-Of-The-Month-Club, and is targeted to those readers with a liberal bent.  The club will highlight a number of progressive books each month, reviewed and vetted by a panel of experts in their fields.  PBC claims to have improved on the original formula of such book clubs by eliminating the clutter of a paper catalog, providing a social networking site within the club, and giving members the opportunity for local “meet-ups”.  Two dollars of every full-price book is donated to a progressive cause of the member’s choice – the environment, human rights, literacy, etc.

The PBC website’s lead banner offers members the prospect of staying current on “the latest and best progressive books on the environment … the economy … healthcare … election ’08 … fiction”.  I really like the tag line “READ.  THINK.  ACT.”

This month’s Editor’s Pick is Mudbound, a novel by Hillary Jordan.

Do you belong to a book club that delivers books to your door?  One, like PBC, that offers you “3 books for $1 each” (plus shipping and handling, of course), with the obligation to buy a set number of books over the next two years?  Once the obligation has been met, you are free to quit the club, or to take advantage of lower prices and special offers for your continued patronage.  There are dozens of these clubs out there; a quick Google search led to:

•  Book-of-the-Month Club
• Children’s Book of the Month Club
• Crafter’s Choice Book Club
• Doubleday Book Club
• Mystery Guild
• One Spirit Book Club
• Quality Paperback Book Club
• The Good Cook

(Please note these are clean links; I’m not a member of any of these clubs, and I’m not receiving any books or services should you decide to join the club after following the link!).  I’m sure there are dozens more; one to fit whatever your particular area of interest is.

I’d like to hear from readers who are members of this type of club … what draws you to it?  Is it the convenience?  lower price once you meet the initial obligation?  the review process that brings you “better” books than you might find on your own?  the exposure to books that you simply wouldn’t find without the pre-sorting the club offers?  Enlighten me as to the draw!