Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

Christmas goods have replaced the Halloween gear in the stores, and so I suppose the season is officially upon us. I feel compelled to issue a word of warning. You’re going to be very tempted in December to assign holiday theme reading to your book group: a nice little book in the spirit of the season. Joy to the world, noel, noel, and fa la la. My advice: think twice. Santa’s book bag is full of dreck.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not generally against Christmas (at least not on my good days.) I love the gatherings of friends and family, the familiar songs, the decorations, even giving and receiving a few thoughtful gifts. I’m even secretly hoping you will pass along dozens of wonderful titles that will force me to reconsider this opinion, but from what I’ve encountered, Christmas books are a sorry lot. Choice titles are more scarce than Rudolph’s childhood friends.

One learns early in a library career to avoid the temptation to put up the holiday fiction display. Sure, it sounds like a good idea, an obvious choice, but then one starts assembling the books–Oh! the pitiful books. They circulate once a year, saved from the no-use reports by our own misguided displays, eating up shelf space for the other eleven months, saved from withdrawal by our own sorry attempt at merry-making.

For every gem like A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Memory, or A Child’s Christmas in Wales, there are twenty blatant cash ins, those dreadful little books by the most commercially-oriented of writers. Even if you like these writers, for the most part a falsely sentimental and repetitive choir, you’ll do better reading their regular output. It would be easier to indulge their homilies about the deeper meaning of Christmas if they weren’t so obviously writing them to make bucks off our holiday feeling. Let’s say no, let’s say no, let’s say no.

Think I’m wrong? By all means play the Ghost of Christmas Literature: share good holiday reading in the comments. If you must go gentle into that silent night, I’ll try to round up a few of the worthwhile holiday reads in my next posting.

I know I’ve been on a kick lately pairing books for discussions. I  like having all the related reading in one place. Also, I want to give readers a choice in titles if the topic is going to be difficult for some to handle.

Possibly no subject is more harrowing than the tragedy at Columbine High School in April, 1999. Many nonfiction books have been published about this bedroom community outside of Denver, Colorado. Many novels have explored this story from numerous angles; embellishing, suppressing, tweaking, details to create a narrative that makes sense of a senseless act.

As horrific as this event was, people will still be reading about it and especially this year, the tenth anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. Two books that present balanced, thoughtful accounts, and offer new insights are The Hate List by Jennifer Brown and Columbine by Dave Cullen.

Brown’s young adult novel tells the story of Valerie, the girlfriend of Nick, the junior who tired of the bullying and name calling, and brought a gun to school one day. Even though Valerie tried to stop Nick by throwing herself in front of a student who regularly tormented both of them, she is deemed an active participant in this heinous act. Authorities found the “hate list” she had started one day out of frustration and had loaned to Nick. After spending the summer in seclusion, Valerie makes the courageous decision to go back to high school to graduate. Many of her classmates have changed, some for the better, some for worse, and don’t know how to view Valerie. Is she to be lauded or blamed for her part in this piece of school history?

Brown’s novel will appeal to adults as well as teens and the author carefully crafts a character both frustrating and sympathetic to tell the story of one’s school’s brush with death.

Dave Cullen, an award-winning journalist who has been researching the Columbine tragedy for almost ten years, also offers a powerful, truthful account of what led up to that violent spring day and the terrible aftermath. He debunks a few myths that have sprung from this event.

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were not sullen, friendless, outsiders as portrayed by the media. Cassie Bernall did not have a chance to speak before she died, but survivor Valeen Schnurr did. There were reports and files that were kept hidden and some interviews that will not be revealed to the public until 2016.

Readers will have no trouble comparing Columbine to another classic in the true crime genre, In Cold Blood. The research and narrative are unparalleled and much as readers will want to look away, Cullen writes in a manner that keeps eyes riveted to the text.

If these two books are too raw, consider presenting a third selection from an author who is a book group favorite, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Picoult’s novel provides multiple viewpoints of a high school shooting with a twist ending. It’s much lighter in tone than The Hate List or Columbine, but readers will find connections between all three.

If asked to name authors who more people should be reading, Adam Langer would be one of the first names from my mouth. He’s a Chicago-born author and playwright, now living in New York City, a marvelous choice for book groups.

Books with interesting characters in varied relationships are the easiest for groups to discuss, and Langer’s pen spins out fascinating characters with seeming ease. His first novel, Crossing California, follows three families, the Wasserstroms, Wills, and Rovners in late 70s Chicago. These characters jump right off the page and Langer captures the time and place with great facility as well. His second novel, The Washington Story, (named for Chicago mayor Harold Washington) follows the same characters through the mid 1980s. By the time you finish the second novel, they’ll feel like old acquaintances. In particular, Langer is good at capturing the volatile world of young people: he’s both funny and poignant, sometimes in the same sentence.

If you prefer New York to Chicago, try Ellington Boulevard, which follows a clarinetist and his dog through eviction from an Upper West Side apartment, but mixes in out-of-work actors, a broker, an editor, and graduate students. There are even lyrics to a musical, supposedly written by two of the characters, at the end of the book.

Or if you prefer nonfiction, Langer’s new book is a memoir, My Father’s Bonus March, that chronicles his physician father’s fascination with the Bonus March of 1932, when WWI veterans came to Washington in pursuit of better compensation for their sacrifices.

No matter which of these tickles your fancy, give Langer a try. His work is easy to access, full of laughter, but worthy of careful examination as well.

Dreamers of the Day, by Mary Doria Russell, was chosen as the book to be explored at the most recent meeting of the Adult Reading Round Table Quarterly Literary Fiction Book Discussion Group.  I didn’t lead the discussion this time, but enjoyed sitting on the other side of the table as a participant.

Russell’s novel is her fourth and most recent work.  Many readers of this blog will be familiar with her first book, The Sparrow, which has been used by numerous book discussion groups.  Dreamers of the Day couldn’t be more different from The Sparrow — it doesn’t wear the same cloak of science fiction and spirituality as the earlier novel, but wraps itself in a brilliant historical tapestry, as its intrepid heroine, a reserved spinster from the Midwest named Agnes Shanklin, charges uncharacteristically off on a journey to the Middle East and becomes embroiled with all sorts of famous figures from the early part of the 20th century, ranging from Winston Churchill to Gertrude Bell to Lawrence of Arabia.

Before I forget to mention it, Agnes narrates this tale from the grave, which is only one of the unusual aspects of the book.  Our leader admitted that she not only read the book, but she also listened to it on CD, which she claimed gave her new insights about the story and really offered two distinctly different approaches to the book.

Russell’s novel is well researched and definitely appeals to readers who enjoy learning about history through reading fiction.  If you’re interested in discovering  how the configuration of countries in the Middle East was created following World War I and the dissatisfaction stemming from the Versailles Treaty, read this book.  The tone of the novel is sometimes lighthearted and whimsical, but it deals with many serious issues, including the great influenza pandemic, and the exotic settings are well drawn.  It even offers a bit of a love story, and for dog lovers, there’s a wonderful dachshund named Rosie who travels everywhere with Agnes and really functions as an important character in the book.

Our discussion leader brought many related books and DVDs to the meeting to stimulate further exploration of the topics raised in the novel.  Several participants said they planned to dig deeper and learn more about the people and ideas they encountered in their reading of this book.  One of the best compliments an author can receive, I think, is when readers express a desire to travel further down the road on which the book has carried them.  Congratulations to Mary Doria Russell!

I love adding to my shelf of book group resources. My latest addition is The Book Club Bible, a book that offers over 200 titles for book group facilitators to choose from.

The Book Club Bible

The subtitle is “The Definitive Guide That Every Book Club Member Needs.” That may be pushing it a tad. The BCB is a balanced mix of classic and contemporary fiction and nonfiction selected by Richard & Judy, British television personalities with their own book club a la Oprah. Misha wrote about them some posts ago.

This book collects some of Richard & Judy’s favorite reads. Each entry includes a synopsis of the book, a reader or critic opinion, a short list of discussion points, and companion titles for further reading.

I’m reminded of Victoria Golden McMain’s The Readers’ Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites, another one of my go-to resources. I’ve been waiting for an update of that book, and this new collection is a serviceable companion. I would have liked to see a little more to the synopsis, a website or two for further information on the author, and a couple of sentences that evaluate the book’s potential as a selection.

The Book Club Bible is going to sit on my shelf next to The Readers’ Choice and David Rubel’s The Reading List, and Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust. It’s great to pull down one of these little gems and browse for possible selections, and I’m always willing to add to the tool box. But like all good working stiffs, I want one tool to do everything.

Can you talk about a book in 140 characters? You’ll have to if you join The Book Studio’s Twitter Book Club. Now six months old, the Twitter Book Club meets online once a month to talk about a recent book. Picks for the past few months have been Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, Lorrie Moore’s  A Gate at the Stairs, and Zoe Heller’s The Believers. Coming up in November is Amy McKinnon’s Tethered.  The discussions are archived,  and authors often join in, which adds to the twitterliciousness.

In addition to the Twitter Book Club, The Book Studio offers book reviews, author interviews, videos, and other stuff that book groups might find useful. The Book Studio is an online project of WETA, the Washington, D.C. public television station.

Last week, I discussed a meeting where odd digressions by readers contributed to success, but going off subject can just as easily derail a meeting. When is a side discussion useful and when is it just an interruption? How can group leaders tell the difference?

First, know your group. Groups that use themes often welcome digressions, groups that read a common book may be less amenable to wandering. Groups that acknowledge a social purpose to meetings expect time for other subjects, while groups that want serious book talk will frown on interruptions. If your group has never discussed its goals and intentions, and members are pulling in different directions, perhaps it is time for a friendly discussion of your collective expectations.

Second, factor in the tone of the particular meeting. Were several readers unable to finish or vocal about frustrations with the book before the meeting? In these cases, digressions may be preferable to an unhappy discussion. Did life provide more than its usual share of distractions this month? Was the time between meetings short? Again, your group may need distractions. On the other hand, they might be digressing because they can’t find the right approach to discussing a book they found challenging, interesting or controversial. Measure the tone in the room: If the latter is the case, you’ll need to focus, regroup, and find the right questions to unlock the book.

My last advice is to look at who is leading the digressions and judge whether or not these interruptions seem welcome. If the digressions are divided between readers and cover a variety of subjects, don’t worry: Enjoy the give and take. But if the same person or two constantly sidetracks conversation, those are interruptions, not pleasant meanderings. If the digressions are always on the same subjects, they will annoy other readers and create friction. If that’s the case, consider some previous posts about how to battle the interruptions.

It’s safe to say that Oprah’s already gone global, but she’s taking on the webiverse with the upcoming discussion of Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan.

On Monday, November 9, a live discussion will be simulcast from Oprah.com, CNN.com, and Facebook. Anderson Cooper will also participate in the conversation with Oprah and Uwem Akpan that begins at 8pm, CST.

Interested readers can join the discussion by electronic RSVP here.

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie is one of the Great Group Reads selected by the Women’s National Book Association Reading Group Month committee. This is a multigenerational novel with global dimensions–written by a Pakistani author, it traces the intertwined history of two families beginning in Nagasaki in 1945 and ending in Afghanistan post 9/11.  The book was an Orange Prize finalist. Conversation Starters can be found at Reading Group Choices.

My blogging pal, Mary Burkey, over at Audiobooker wants to query the book group masses about methods for keeping up with book group reading. She will trade your witty insights and thoughtful comments for a narrator to be named later.

“Audiobooks & Book Clubs: not really reading or perfect partners? Curious minds want to know! I’m collecting information for an upcoming article in Booklist Magazine on the role of audiobooks in book clubs. As an audiobook blogger & columnist, I’ve received lots of requests from librarians and teachers interested in book clubs that welcome audiobook listeners with open arms, as well as questioning whether listeners face disdain from book club members who think audiobooks are cheating. Do you have experience with an audiobooks-only club? Have stories to tell about book club members who are dedicated listeners, but would never have participated in a printed-book-only club? How do you include critical discussion about audiobooks in your meetings? Are there members of your club who are vision impaired?  Are there clubs out there for the blind? Have you hosted a listening club for children or teens? Any tips or promotional success stories for integrating audiobooks in your book club? I’d love to hear your stories – both good and bad – about how listening to literature unites or divides the members of your clubs. Please send any anecdotes to mary.burkey@gmail.com along with a note granting or declining the use of your club’s name in the feature. Can’t wait to learn how creative clubs are adding listening into the literary discussion! “

I’ll be sending Mary my anecdotes about a faithful reader who is happy to come to book group and always talks about the narrator and the text when she answers questions about the reading. Between the two of us, we’ve managed to convince the rest of the participants that occasionally they’re missing something by not listening, and then I ask, wickedly, “So if you missed this because you were reading the print version and not listening, were you really reading? Is reading print cheating?”  All formats welcome in our book groups.

Cost by Roxana Robinson  is one of the titles that has been selected by the Women’s National Book Association as a National Reading Group Month Great Group Read. This novel, set in Maine during one family’s summer sojourn, takes an unflinching look at drug addiction and the toll it takes.  Find conversations starters at Reading Group Choices, and click here  for an interview with Robinson about the book.

I was nervous as the meeting of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Group at Williamsburg Regional Library started earlier this week. Our theme this month was mad scientists and evil geniuses, but a quick scan of my readers indicated that several hadn’t finished a book and others were not happy with the book they had completed. It looked like a recipe for trouble.

But one of the many things I like about the thematic format for book groups is its flexibility. If people love what they read, we focus on it closely. When they don’t, we digress… and how!

Bud announced his new article on the Baen site about SF writer Murray Leinster, which led to discussion of how Leinster came by his awkward nom de plume, and a quick scan of strange pen names. Jim had been on a binge of Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels. He particularly recommended Ender’s Game, Ender’s Shadow, and the new Ender in Exile. This sequence is completely out of series order but works well as a reading order. We were off topic, but the discussion was great!

I touted Douglas Coupland’s new Generation A, inducing a discussion of the term Generation X and whether Coupland had originated or just popularized it, and Haruki Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World which led us to the influence of hard-boiled detective fiction on speculative writers. Bob had Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s Batman: The Killing Joke. I love to see graphic novels come out at book group because they make engaging pass-arounds. Bolland’s artwork for this book is exceptional: bright and detailed. Our discussion of this book christened Moore as the best overall comic writer, just nosing out Frank Miller.

Crystal and Jim, had both been largely thwarted by Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space, a fat book strong on atmosphere but ponderously slow and ultimately a bit lacking in plot. Normally this much negativity from two of the group’s most dependable readers would have been a meeting killer, but instead it led to an interesting debate about why books were getting bigger and whether that was good for the genres or not.

Donald had The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells which led to a humorous discussion of the merits and failures of its different film adaptations. I didn’t even catch the title of Don’s book, but it led to another funny digression on why there were so many mad scientists and so few mad engineers. Mary introduced us to the truly odd ouevre of James Morrow, whose Towing Jehovah series takes literally the idea that God is dead (or is he?), stiff and being towed to an Arctic grave. Carolyn had just gotten started with Peter Ackroyd’s new book, The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein, but it did start a discussion of Frankenstein spinoffs.

When it was all said and done, we hadn’t made a dent in the topic of mad scientists, but the meeting was still a success.

The question for book groups is when to encourage sidetracks and when to shut them down–but this post is long enough that your mind is probably digressing too. I’ll return to this topic next week.

Today the Readers’ Advisory Section of the Wisconsin Library Association discussed a great book for our purposes: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

This book is such a complex overlaying of issues that to try to explain the plot becomes a challenging enterprise. Let me say that it involves Leopold Gursky, an old man now living his life out after having pledged a life of devotion to a young girl he was separated from just prior to the Holocaust. Leo may or may not be a writer. It also features a man named Zvi Litvinoff who is the author of an obscure book called The History of Love that has had an affect on a number of the characters in this book. Lastly, there is the young Alma Singer whose mother is translating a Spanish language version of Litvinoff’s book. How all these characters interact is key to the book as that produces the themes that really are the reason to read this novel.

The themes include the reason for loneliness, the basis for relationships, and the role of family in the characters lives. Combine this with a challenging but marvelous writing style and you have a great book discussion title.

We had a lively discussion today at the convention and the READS section of WLA recommends this title to your group.

Here’s a blog concept that voracious readers and book groupers should get behind. Shelf Renewal (http://www.shelfrenewal.com/) is a new project by Chicago-area librarians Rebecca Vnuk and Karen Kleckner. I stole their cheeky tagline for the title of this blog entry. Fighting the stream of publicity for new books that are already getting plenty of attention, Shelf Renewal highlights books that are NOT brand-spanking new.

So far, posts are of two varieties. Most of the posts identify a theme, usually a theme or trend inspired by a new book or a current event, and then list older books that have been happily filling that niche for readers for years. The lists are eclectic, so far addressing paranormal romance, hoaxes, rock and roll books, Glee, dysfunctional families, zombies, King Tut, consumerism, the food industry, and foodie memoirs. Any of these brief lists would make a fine starting point for a thematic book group meeting. Shelf Renewal has a fun, fresh style that should keep blog readers entertained.

Other posts identify a “Web Crush of the Week,” a website upon which readers will be pleased to spend their browsing time. Congratulations, Rebecca and Karen, your site will be a regular stopping point for me every week if you keep up the great work.

Why offer a short story reading/discussion group?  A number of reasons come to mind

There have been great short story collections published recently: Dangerous Laughter by Steven Millhauser, Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, The Boat by Nam Le, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower, Fine Just The Way It Is, by Annie Proulx, All Aunt Hagar’s Children by Edward P Jones, all come to mind.  These books have been critical favorites, if not blockbuster best sellers. 

In addition to contemporary stories, there is a large pool of classic stories or, to put it another way, stories that have made it into best of collections, and anthologies to choose from.

Short stories are easy to distribute – you make copies and let patrons take them.  The library doesn’t need to purchase duplicate copies of books, or scramble to secure copies via inter loan.

It is easy, and advisable, to read more than one story for each get together.  That way the group can compare and contrast the two works.  For most meetings I’ve offered two writers, so the group is exposed to many different authors – instead of twelve per year we do twenty four or more. People like the wide variety a short story group can offer.

I probably don’t need to say the obvious:  short stories are succinct.  The fact that the author gets to the point pretty quickly has benefits.  My group usually zeros in on the salient points, and takes off talking from there.

People like the fact that the stories are short.  Some people don’t have much time, others read a lot and don’t want to get bogged down with something they may not like.

 The act of coming together to share ideas and reactions to good writing is a dynamic and rewarding experience.  I’ve come away from every short story reading group meeting feeling I understand the stories better.  More importantly, I’ve encouraged conversation, I’ve listened and I’ve learned.

People love these get-togethers.  The Life is Short short story group draws 15 to 20 people every month and every month I hear how thankful people are that the library offers this program.

That’s some thoughts on the “why.”  Next entry I’ll talk about the “how.”

It didn’t even occur to me that these two books I’m about to mention are very well suited for the month of October. I was only thinking about what a great duo they’d make for a discussion.

I just finished Audrey Niffenegger’s sophomore effort, Her Fearful Symmetry and thought what a great pairing it would be for a book group to discuss this title with Neil Gaiman’s award-winning The Graveyard Book.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

What made me put these two books together was the prominence of the cemetery as a crucial location for both books. In Her Fearful Symmetry, it’s Highgate Cemetery; in The Graveyard Book, the cemetery is unnamed, but bears a striking resemblance to Highgate.

Another great discussable issue is the theme of death and the way the characters react to it. The presence of ghostly characters and how and why they interact with living ones will also provide interesting conversation.

Imagine my surprise when I discover both authors are friends and consulted each other while writing their books. I didn’t pick up on that until I read the acknowledgments. My first thought was, “the settings are so similar and yet the authors treat them so differently.”

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I’m looking for pairings for my book groups these days to liven up the discussion, give the readers a choice, and also access to one title if another is all checked out. These two novels share enough similarities that I expect we’ll have a great compare-and-contrast chat once we get to the meeting room.

Topics for discussion will include:

In what ways do the authors describe the cemetery similarly? Differently? What special place does it hold for the main characters?

Are there any similarities in character between the twins, Julia and Valentina, and Bod? Can any connections be drawn between their situations?

Talk about the ghosts in each story. How do the authors treat their ethereal characters?

Do the authors share similar approaches to the themes of death and living?

Point to the scariest places in the stories. What makes them shiver inducing?

Do you see any similarities in the illustrations of both books?

Which one is scarier?

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson is one of the titles that has been selected by the Women’s National Book Association as a National Reading Group Month Great Group Read.

Having recently lost his wife, 67-year-old Trond Sander leaves Oslo and moves to a part of Norway that is rural, almost primitive, to cultivate solitude.  There, he finds himself confronting  both his present and his past.  In a long New York Times review, Thomas McGuane describes this as “a fairly short novel with a timescape of half a century that seems to have left out nothing important.” Out Stealing Horses has won several prestigious international awards. It was also an ALA Notable Book, and one of The New York Times‘ 10 best books of 2007. Discussion questions can be found at ReadingGroupGuides.

I was talking with my colleague Andrew Smith, who ably leads several book groups at Williamsburg Regional Library. From a librarian’s point of view, we agreed that perhaps the greatest challenge for book groups is chemistry.

To draw an analogy, bringing readers together in a group, especially a new group, is kind of like assembling the vials and bottles of a chemistry set. While these elements might each have some remarkable characteristics, the real question is what’s going to happen when they mix together. You might get a wonderful new compound with fabulous properties. Then again, you might get a surprising explosion that leaves you unable to raise your eyebrows in amazement because they’ve been singed away.

Unfortunately, when book groups are randomly assembled, as when libraries make the attempt, the combination is much more volatile. It’s hard to get a sense of the readers and how they will interact before the fact.

What are the lessons to be learned? Perhaps book groups that form from some common ground–an age group, a neighborhood, an established set of friends–are most likely to succeed, but I hate to give up on others. As we join groups, we should not expect everyone to have the same tastes and opinions as ourselves. We should come prepared to appreciate other views and diversity in people. While an unusual mix of people may be tough sledding at first, it will make for a better group in the long run.

For those organizing book groups, make sure to build some getting-to-know-you icebreaker activities into early meetings. Listen to what your new members reveal about themselves and look for common ground that might suggest some good book selections. The first library group I tried to form was a thematic group, with themes varying each month. My first theme was English settings and it proved immensely popular. Unfortunately, future themes didn’t draw the same crowd and the group eventually faded away. In retrospect, I should have gone with the flow and considered organizing a group that read British writers and settings, at least until the group coalesced.

Here’s my final chemistry lesson: Be patient with new groups. If you only get two or three solid members at first, enjoy your small meetings and keep hunting for new readers who will blend with those you have. Better a few readers who get along well than a roomful of folk who are frustrated each other.

While I’m Falling by Laura Moriarty is one of the titles that has been selected by the Women’s National Book Association as a National Reading Group Month Great Group Read. In this coming-of-age novel, Veronica’s chaotic junior year in college gets even messier when her recently-divorced mother shows up, needing a place to live. Midwest book groups take note: Moriarty, who has been compared to Jodi Picoult and Elizabeth Berg, is from Kansas, and While I’m Falling is being promoted by the Midwestern Booksellers Association.

Most book groups have compared a book selection to a film adaptation or played the game where you cast roles in the book with actors you think appropriate. I’m always fascinated by the diversity of opinion in the actors who different readers find suited for characters. It’s a quick object lesson in how readers can interpret the same book very differently!

More questions that ask readers to think like a director or screenwriter can also be illuminating, questions that book groups ask less often. These other questions have the added benefit of not requiring familiarity with particular movies or actors, only that readers understand the idea of visual thinking.

First, ask which scenes your budding screenwriters might remove. Remember that the typical screenplay is only 100 to 120 pages. Visual descriptions can be saved by pictures, but cuts are still necessary. Which scenes in the book form the story’s core, and which might be peeled away? It’s an interesting way to get at core concepts.

Conversely, which scene in the book do readers consider most critical to get right in a film? Which scenes would be most difficult for actors? These questions can enlighten the climax, the most profound scenes, or those with the most emotional resonance.

What elements would your readers change if they were writing or directing the film? Would they remove, condense, or change any characters? Adjust any settings? Play with the ending? Revise the order of some of the scenes?

Finally, ask which elements from the book would not work in the time limits and visual medium of film. Are there too many characters? Too much back story? Little dialogue and lots of interior moments? By pursuing this question, you’ll gain an appreciation of the difference between the challenges of the novelist and the filmmaker and understand which books can probably not be made into movies and why.

A side benefit of thinking like a director is that it puts readers in a visual frame of mind, a style of thinking that suits many people well and is likely to help your group catch some wonderful details that it might otherwise gloss over.

Are you ready? Start talking on the set! Action!