Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

It is that time again–I have to pick the books my crime and mystery book discussion group is going to read this fall.
This past year was a bit challenging for the group. Here is what we read:
FOX EVIL by Minette Walters.
END OF STORY by Peter Abrahams.
THE MADMAN’S TALE by John Katzenbach.
OPEN SEASON by C. J. [...]

My colleague, Linda, sent around this article about why high schools have not been putting actual teen books on their summer reading lists.  Here is an excerpt:
“But it’s summer! Summer reading is supposed to be fun, right? Shouldn’t that negate the whole “are these books literature?” debate? That depends on whom you ask. Many teachers [...]

Here’s another tool to add to your reading group and readers’ advisory toolkit. 
Nora Rawlinson’s collection development philosophy for Baltimore County Public Library, known as Give’ em What They Want, radically altered the way librarians approach the selection of materials.
Nora went on the become editor Library Journal and Editor-in-Chief of Publisher’s Weekly. Now she has a Web site, Early Word, [...]

Does this happen in your book discussion group?
Do group members bring to the meetings items related to the book  — without prompting from you — as a way of enhancing the discussion?
This happens from time to time with my group, and I got to thinking the other day what a pleasure it is.  Every time it [...]

The following 1500-word essay will be read by 22 high school students from Western Washington this Friday as part of the Young Writers Workshop of the Puget Sound Writers Project at the University of Washington, as a springboard for discussion and an essay writing exercise.
My Cancer Summer
I can remember Doctor Lisa firmly closing the door [...]

I’m an easy target for any book about books, but I especially enjoyed Hallie Ephron’s new book 1001 Books for Every Mood. Library presses publish many similar books, but unfortunately those books often come with reference book price tags. This one, like Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust volumes, is priced for everyday consumers. It’s the kind of [...]

Every summer for the last twelve years, high school students interested in writing from all over Western Washington have attended a two-week program at the University of Washington called the Young Writers Workshop of the Puget Sound Writers Project. For many of those years, I’ve been invited to be a guest writer for a couple [...]

I have a new favorite book group tool: How to Read Novels Like a Professor.
I enjoyed Thomas C. Foster’s delightfully informative first “how to,” How to Read Literature Like a Professor, but I think this latest entry tops the first. I actually laughed while reading this book and wished I’d had Dr. Foster in college.  
For any book group member [...]

For those of us who love books, it’s hard to imagine what we would do without them. It can be difficult to understand why others seem so resistant to their pleasures.
I grew up in a large family of seven. My father instilled the library habit in me early and many of my fondest memories of him [...]

This week my book group discussed Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road.  I was really looking forward to the discussion as it is one of my favorite books. 
As I mentioned in my last post, one of my group members found an excellent interview with Yates that was very informative to the group.  I found a lengthy article [...]

Monday night, after our book club’s delightful discussion of Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger, I announced to the members gathered around the fireside at University Book Store that next month we would be trying something different. At the end of July, when we discuss Sasa Stanisic’s How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone, we’ll be using [...]