Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

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.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 9:48 am and is filed under Adult Books, Book Club Tips, Good Books for Book Clubs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.