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
Research the author using resources such as Current Biography, Contemporary Authors, Something About the Author. Find reviews in Book Review Digest and Book Review Index. The Dictionary of Literary Biography gives biographical and critical material. These resources are probably available at your local library. The Internet is often another good source of reviews of the book and biographical information about the author.
- Come prepared with 10 to 15 open-ended questions. Remember questions that can be answered yes or no tend to cut off discussion quickly.
- Questions should be used to guide the discussion and keep it on track, but be ready to let it flow naturally. You'll often find that the questions you've prepared will come up naturally as part of the discussion.
- Remind participants that there are not necessarily any right answers to the questions posed.
- Don't be afraid to criticize a book, but get the group to go beyond the "I just didn't like it" statement. What was it about the book that made it unappealing? The style? The pacing? The characters? Has the author written other books that were better? Did it remind you of another book that you liked or disliked? Remember that many of the best book discussions center on books that many book members disliked.
- Try to keep a balance in the discussion between personal revelations and reactions and a response to the book itself. Of course, every reader responds to a book in ways that are intimately tied to his or her background, upbringing, experiences, and view of the world. A book about a senseless murder will naturally strike some sort of chord in a reader whose mother was killed. That's interesting, but what's more interesting is how the author chose to present the murder, or the author's attitude toward the murder and victim. It's often too easy to let a group drown in reminiscences…if that's what the group wants to do, that's fine, but keep in mind that it's not a book discussion.