BOOK CLUB HOW-TO'S
(Courtesy of the Seattle Public Library)
- Preplanning and organizing the first meeting
- What makes a good book for discussion
- Reading critically
- Leading the discussion
- Some suggestions for participants
People often ask what qualities make a book a good candidate for book discussion. Probably the most important criteria are that the book be well written, have an interesting plot and three-dimensional characters. Good book-discussion groups present the author's view of an important truth and sometimes send a message to the reader. A good book-discussion book often stays in the reader's mind long after the book is finished and the discussion is over. These books can be read more than once, and each time the reader learns something new.
During a book discussion, what you're really talking about is everything that the author hasn't said--all those white spaces on the printed page. For this reason, books that are plot driven (most mysteries, westerns, romances, and science fiction/fantasy) don't lend themselves to book discussions. In genre novels and some mainstream fiction, the author spells out everything for the reader, so that there is little to say except, "Gee, I never knew that" or "Isn't that interesting." Librarians, booksellers, and friends can often supply you with suggestions of good books to discuss.
(Incidentally, this "everything that the author hasn't said" idea is why poetry makes such a rich topic for discussion.)
Reading critically >>>