For June's 2515 Coast News cover story, Janice Creenaune spoke to Jeramy Pope and Gideon Rogers, enthusiastic members of the Austinmer chapter of the Tough Guy Book Club.
There are only two rules within the Tough Guy Book Club charter: there is to be no talk about work, and respect is essential for others and the opinions they offer… always.
“We read books. That is our central focus,” Jeramy Pope says. “The big rule is we don’t talk about work because we consider each other as more than just our jobs. It doesn’t really tell us much about any person, it just limits the conversation to the surface-level.
“It is also important that when discussing our featured books there is no judgement on each other. Respect is essential for views and opinions. We do, however, veer off course into hobbies and personal interests.”
The common interest for the Tough Guy Book Club is definitely books.
“I have read more books in the last year than I have in my entire lifetime,” Gideon Rogers says.
“Sharing and talking is confronting in book clubs, but I am surprised at the joy and elation from reading and discussion of books in our group.
“It is always fiction.
“Fiction tells a story and it can tell the truth even better than ‘truth’ in a documentary-style piece.”
“The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien,” Jeramy says, “encompasses Vietnam war stories, but this fiction work depicts it far better than any historical piece could ever do.
“Fiction gives the opportunity to offer the periphery of the story rather than just the story.
The group reads books by tough guys, rather than as tough guys and is loosely guided by a central theme of masculinity. Even this is broadening within the club. Ernest Hemingway, John le Carre, Tim Winton, James Baldwin, John Steinbeck, Ray Bradbury, Zadie Smith, Ahmed Saadawi, William Faulkner and Jennifer Egan are just a few of the authors featured in the Tough Guy Book Club collection.
Both Gideon and Jeramy recognise that each book will not be embraced by all readers, but often it is the ‘texture’ of the book, the themes and the thoughtful discussion that is important.
“White Teeth by Zadie Smith and Neuromancer by William Gibson, immediately come to mind, too, where perspectives changed personally and within the group,” Jeramy says.
“It is also very nice not to have to choose a book. It is offered to us for a reading,” he says.
Their enthusiasm for reading is palpable.
About 12 men attend the Tough Guy Book Club meetings, held at Headlands Austinmer on the first Wednesday of the month. The pub gatherings provide a safe place for discussion and trust is imperative.
“We find connections between and within each other and the texts,” Jeramy says. “We are a group of men, of all ages, feeling comfortable in our discussion of books. We essentially find common ground and, though we start with a number of starter questions, it is a huge release to discuss and find common ground together.”
The gentlemen agree on one thing. “It is completely respectful in manner and thoughtful in response,” Gideon says. “It is about acceptance and inclusion in discussion, but we can gently challenge each other too.
“We are dealing with opinions on a fiction book, and disagreement is just another perspective. It is the fiction which is important.”
Both men are quick to point out that the club’s aim is not to provide a mental health solution, it is rather about making connections in the community thanks to a shared personal relationship with books.
Jeramy was initially a member of a Sydney chapter of the Tough Guy Book Club, and he and Dan Mowbray brought the idea to the Illawarra. There are about 500 members in the Tough Guy Book Club network, with an impressive 41 chapters in Australia and three overseas. A Melbourne chapter chooses books each month. Books are borrowed, some are bought, some utilise audio readings and some venture further on various authors or themes.
“Like a Fight Club for your mind, a book club for the thinking tough guy” reads the website.
“The Tough Guy Book Club has been going for over five years now and is growing all the time both here in Australia and overseas,” Jeramy says.
“There is no cost involved to attend and no compulsion to buy the books. Some read the book, some half, some not at all.”
Spend even a short amount of time with Jeramy and Gideon and their positivity and enthusiasm for books will rub off on you.
Every Tough Guy Book Club Chapter meets on the first Wednesday of every month.
The local chapter meets at Headlands Austinmer Beach Hotel. New members are always welcome – go along to meet these generous, enthusiastic and increasingly well-read gentlemen.
Visit the website toughguybookclub.com and follow @ToughGuyBookClub on Facebook.