With the continuous growth of the club’s Geelong Chapter, we saw a great opportunity to expand geographically while also accommodating more Goons. And although Geelong is a great place, we wanted a bit of a sea change and looked a little further for this new chapter: Torquay. And the Surf Coast Chapter was born.
The first book that the new chapter talked about was Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; not a read for book club novices but a great one nonetheless. Regardless of how well the book was understood, the new chapter on the Surf Coast had a good mix of veteran Goons from Geelong and a bunch of new Goons as well; all of whom had a damn good time and a drink or two.
What’s also encouraging to see at new chapters is how the new members approach the group. Some blokes are able to jump right in and you’d never know it was their first meeting. Others sit back a little, reading the room and seeing what’s up. Book club isn’t hard, but no one really knows how to book club until they book club. Hell, no one really knows how they like to book club until they come along.
Beyond that, through meeting new friends, having a laugh, and a beer or two, we did manage to talk about Notes from Underground from time to time. And we reckon that’s how we see this chapter going forward - friends, joy, beer, and books. And if you’re bloke who thinks this sounds like you, come check us out.
