Booklist Online: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers - from the trusted experts at the American Library Association

I’m not going to start off with any of that New Year’s resolution nonsense, because, let’s face it, have any of us ever made it through the year sticking to the guns we loaded last January? Do we know anyone who has? Let’s just all agree to be on a perpetual journey of self-improvement with [...]

I’m a firm believer that book groups of all varieties would do well to add genre fiction to their schedules. Ken Scholes’ first novel, Lamentation, makes a fine case in point. Lamentation is the story of a post apocalyptic world, possibly our own, where an order of monks have carefully catalogued and guarded the fragments of [...]

Earlier this month, I wondered if groups would read long books.  Now I’m wondering, would you convince your group to try a “mainstream” fiction title?  There are lots of genre-based groups out there (groups who read only mysteries, or SF, for example) but, what if someone proposed a Stephen King book?  Many readers automatically dismiss [...]

I’ve been an avid Masterpiece Theatre (now known as Masterpiece) viewer for longer than I care to admit. I especially like the adaptations of literary classics, and I’m looking forward to the new round of adaptations scheduled for 2010. First up is Return to Cranford, a sequel to the two-parter starring Judi Dench that aired last [...]

A couple of times this past year I’ve written about a special book group I facilitate, The Kansas City Star’s FYI Book Club. This collective has been around since 2000 and shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, when The Star thought the project may be running out of gas, they turned to their [...]

The Common Grounds reading gang at The Kansas City Public Library narrowed their choices down and it wasn’t easy. Since this group only meets every other month, selections are halved. We’re opening with a mystery in January to keep with the KCPL Winter Reading Program theme mentioned earlier. Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos will start [...]

If you are inclined to celebrate Christmas based on Victorian England’s standards, you need to find a nice cozy ghost story to read around the fire. While initially this may seem a bit strange, remember the basic elements of A Christmas Carol by Dickens.  Any tradition that gives humanity a work of fiction like The [...]

I’ve been wandering with William Least Heat-Moon for the last couple of months. Normally, a book that takes me that long to get through is not something to celebrate, but something about Blue Highways defied quick reading, even though I loved it. It just didn’t seem right to race through the towns any faster than [...]

I facilitate three book groups and last week was spent in a furious round of picking titles for discussion next year and trying very hard not to overlap selections. Avoiding duplication is great for participants, but can be a little rough on the facilitator (namely, moi). I don’t read as quickly as I used to [...]

My science fiction/fantasy group held its 6th annual Christmas Party and Reindeer Games last week. It was the first year we’d moved the party out of the library and into my house. (We were tired of vacating the premises at 9 p.m.)  The 27 people who attended filled every nook and cranny of the four [...]

Sometimes it just all comes together.  The New York Times has just announced its top ten books of 2009 (http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/10-best-gift-guide-sub/list.html?ref=books).  The Wisconsin Association of Public Librarians has just told me that if I do not pick a title for the whole convention to read and discuss I will be voted off the island.  So in [...]

Man Booker Prize-winner Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel presents several challenges for book groups. It’s long,  for one thing–more than 500 pages. And several reviewers have pointed out that readers would find the book easier going if they had some knowledge of Tudor history. If your group is ambitious, Janet Maslin suggest in The New York Times that Alison Weir’s [...]

Many readers are becoming accustomed to the plausibility of graphic novels for book groups. The writers and artists who create them have proven that the form can be adapted to any genre, any subject matter, not just superheroes and big-eyed manga critters (not that there’s anything wrong with that.) At least two of the most [...]

Serving as a resource for book group members and facilitators is one of the most interesting aspects of my job. I love learning what other groups are reading and discussing. The titles a group selects can tell so much about the group’s personality. The most frequent request I receive from area readers who are in [...]

A few months ago there were reports about a private school in Massachusetts that decided to get rid of all the books in its library. Today, The New York Times is reporting that Laredo, Texas, will lose its only bookstore when B. Dalton closes its doors. Fortunately, the Laredo Public Library is there to help fill the gap (unless [...]

Stewart O’Nan is quickly turning into one of my favorite writers, a master of capturing the emotions of everyday people caught up in larger events. Misha has already described the quiet joys of Last Night at the Lobster, a look behind the scenes at a Red Lobster restaurant which is about to be closed. I [...]

Imagine, if you will, a scenario in which a couple like Bill and Hillary Clinton live next door to Monica Lewinsky, and Hillary and Monica become good friends long before the latter ever starts “fooling around” with the former’s husband.  That’s pretty much the set-up for Sue Miller’s bestselling novel, The Senator’s Wife, which I [...]

A book group in Acton, Massachusetts had taken their reading, discussing, and dining to a new level. Linda Friedman’s book group had already been meeting for almost nine years when she heard about Dining for Women, a charitable organization that supports improving the quality of life for women and children in developing countries. Now the [...]

As a card-carrying member of the OCD List-Making Society, I have to say I love this time of year when everyone under the sun makes a list of  “Best (insert plural subject here) of The Year.” This year is a double-whammy since it ends the first decade of the new millennium. So not only will [...]

In my last post, I wrote about the nostalgia that permeates the air this time of year and how crucial reading memories are for us bookfolk. I encouraged you to hunker down in that nostalgia and roll around in it at your next meeting by asking participants to recount nostalgic memories that they associate with books. [...]