‘If we can make just one person feel less lonely, our job here is done’

While the coronavirus pandemic brought the country to a standstill, in Yeovil a new book group was born and has flourished ever since.

Read With Yeovil has a couple of main aims, to share a love of books and to combat rural loneliness in the local community.

Elaine Sharp, one of the group’s founders, has spoken to Somerset’s Alive! about the growth of the group and their aims moving forward as they look to reach out to the far corners of Somerset and beyond to bring people together.

Speaking about the inception of Read With Yeovil, Elaine said: “Our book group grew out of lockdown. Taking the meetings at that strange time onto Zoom opened up a new world for as it did for so many people.

“Returning to a more normal routine we discovered that we gained but also lost something. Utilising technology had opened up a very local club to the possibilities of bigger world, including accessing those for whom social isolation is their forever reality.”

Elaine continued about what the group has been aiming to achieve, as well as the discussions about books.

She said: “Somehow it felt necessary to reach out and try to connect with those trapped by disability, lack of transport – particularly relevant in our rural location, parenting or caring – the list is endless once one starts to really think about it.”

The use of online technology brought more possibilities and Elaine added: “The main aim, therefore, was to hold hybrid meetings that allowed those at home to be part of the group actually in the room.”

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The good news is that it seems to be working. Elaine explained: “It has taken us a year to achieve this but now we are ready to start having people join us from wherever they are and feel included in a community activity.

“In the meantime, we established a dynamic social media profile, sharing our monthly titles and inviting readers and listeners to come along on our book journey with us.

“This has brought many interesting opportunities and new people into the group.”

While lockdown meant that many were stuck behind closed doors, Elaine said that Read With Yeovil found they could reach out into homes at that difficult time for many.

She continued: “An unexpected treat at our lockdown Zoom meetings was that we were able to invite authors along who were happy to break out of their own isolation to join us.

“We were even entertained by Damian Barr; the host of his own literary salon and The Big Scottish Book Club, so we were in the presence of literary royalty.

“Once you realise that you can actually reach out to authors via social media it is a short step to including them in the meetings.”

After a number of months being an online group, Read With Yeovil eventually had the opportunity to come together for physical meetings.

Elaine said: “Since we returned to physical meetings in September 2022, we have been delighted to welcome Nikki Coppleston (D.I. Lincoln novels) and Nikki May (Wahala) to discuss their novels.

“On August 7, we celebrated a year of Read With Yeovil by welcoming Vanessa De Haan, another local writer to talk about her book, The Restless Sea, and in October Jon Woolcott will be coming along to tell us about the publishing company ‘Little Toller’ based in Beaminster.”

So what are the plans for year two? Elaine explained that there are hopes of reaching further than the immediate locality.

She said: “The aim is to embrace the technology still further and encourage people to join us on screen via Zoom.

“If, as a book group, we can make just one person feel less lonely, our job here is done.

“However, the potential is enormous as we strive to utilise the best of social media and technology; visiting on screen the settings for our current reads, chatting to overseas authors in short Q&A sessions, having a storyteller give us a flavour of how stories were accessed before the written word.”