Library Book Club

Hi All,

I don't know if you know this or not, but the library has a book club.  Yep. We do. Actually we have two book clubs.

The first book club meets on Monday morning at 10:30am and second book club meets on Monday nights at 7pm.

Click on this link to the Farmingdale Public Library Eventkeeper calendar.  You'll be able to search for all future book club events - and other library related events for that matter. 

Click on this link from the Iowa Center for the Book for an insightful article on 'How to Begin and Lead a Book Discussion Group'.  This is a great gateway article as it includes 'Great Resources to Get Started' and 'Articles' about book discussion groups. 

Here is just a smattering of the variety of links:
1. American Library Association - Book Discussion Groups  - link has a long article about book discussion groups.  Headings include 'Resources for Getting Started', 'Selected Print Resources', 'Websites', 'Quick Start Guide', 'How to Structure a Meeting', 'Basic Ground Rules', 'Meeting Format', 'How to Select Books' and 'If You're Leading a Book Discussion'. Insightful, unbiased, clearly written and very, very authoritative!

2. Seattle Public Library - Book Group How-To's - Has sections on 'Choosing Good Books for Discussion', 'Leading the Discussion' and 'Learning More About an Author'.

3. About.com - Top 5 Resources For Starting and Maintaining a Successful Book Club - entry has topics like 'How to Start a Book Club?', 'How to Lead a Book Club Discussion?', 'How to Structure a Book Club Dinner Group?', 'Ready-to-Go Book Club Discussion Questions', and 'One Year Book Club Reading List'.

So there you have it....3 great links on how to start, maintain and grow a book discussion group!

Good luck and regards,
Stu

How To Start Your Own Book Discussion Group

Hi All,

So the fall is here and winter is slowly approaching. Now is a great time for readers and book-lovers alike to get ready for this foul weather by starting a book discussion group.

And while for many people reading can be a solitary endeavor, many other folks like to read and talk about the book with other people. Enter book discussion groups and you have the making of a beautiful relationship - reading books and talking about them in a collegial, adult, pleasant environment. What could be better than that?

A good book discussion group has the following characteristics:
1. A book that all members are willing to try to read.

2. The book - unless all members agree - probably should not be a huge, esoteric, difficult-to-read tome.

3. A good book discussion group usually - notice I said 'usually' - has a moderator. While this isn't always the case, I've found that free form book discussion groups tend to run off the topic of the book.

4. The moderator should have a few general questions to get the discussion started.

5. Finally - and readers would be wise not to underestimate this point - bringing food (coffee, tea, crumb cake, cookies, etc) will help increase attendance to a book discussion group.

Click on this link from ReadingGroupGuides.com - an interesting website that discusses 'How to Start a Book Discussion Group', 'Choosing What to Read for a Book Discussion Group' and more.
The site also has a blog and an interesting newsletter link.

Click on this link from the Amherst town Library - in New Hampshire - that has a veritable treasure trove of book discussion group links. Included in these links are sections' from Amazon.com Reading Group Guides, BookBrowse.com, a link to Reading Group Choices.com, and a link to SparkNotes (similar idea to Cliffs Notes - summaries of some of the worlds' great titles).

Click on this link for a great list of books to read so that you can get your book discussion group off to a great start. The titles are on book discussion groups' choices - your satisfaction and appreciation of the books in the list might vary....Also note that you can type in the phrase 'book discussion group title list' into Google and you'll find many, many different lists from different book discussion groups and the books that they feel are good for a discussion.

Finally, readers might want to visit this link from About.com entitled, 'How to Lead a Book Discussion Group'. Reading this article might give you insight on how to make a more interesting and educational book discussion group experience.

Enjoy the links and enjoy the books! Have a great time!
Stu