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

At my most recent book discussion, I tried something new.  At the start of the meeting, I asked everyone to take a minute and think about the book (which was Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman) and prepare to share a brief comment beginning with “What I liked about the book was…” or “What I didn’t [...]

What can someone who is only twenty five possibly have to say that is so significant they are encouraged to write a memoir? Perhaps it starts with the fact that Kevin Michael Connolly was born without legs.  Then after discovering that leverage is needed to be a successful wrestler, he moved onto to hurtling his [...]

Zoinks! I might be just a little bit crazy (but in a good way). I’ve been toiling since late November to build my annual aggregated compilation of last year’s best books. It’s not just the best according to one source, or even according to ten sources. So far, it’s the best according to 74 different authoritative [...]

The death of J. D. Salinger (see Dan Kraus’ post on Likely Stories) has overshadowed the fact we lost another literary figure this week: Louis Auchincloss. Described in New York Magazine as “the last of the gentlemen novelists,” Auchincloss was an old-fashioned writer whose novels and stories depicted an increasingly arcane and antique-seeming world: that of  [...]

My email box today contained an invitation to an upcoming panel (sponsored by two of the other review journals, not Booklist) about the future of book reviews. The questions they will address, about the importance of quality reviews to consumers and the comparative value of less authoritative reviews on the Internet, are good ones. Frankly, the [...]

A copy of what looks like a wonderful book group resource just arrived in my office. It’s Fellowship in a Ring: A Guide for Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Groups, by Book Group Buzz’s own Neil Hollands. In addition  to offering advice on starting and running a sci fi/fantasy book group, Neil explains the genres and [...]

Jean Hegland only has 2 novels, but they are both perfect choices for book discussion.  Interestingly enough, they couldn’t be more different from each other. Into the Forest is a post-apocalyptic story of two teenage sisters, Nell and Eva, who go through the end of the world with only each other to rely on.  It’s [...]

I hope all of you Jane Austen fans were able to watch (or, like me, record) the first part of the new  Masterpiece Emma adaptation that aired last night on PBS. This makes the fourth Emma in recent memory, following the BBC adaptation in 1993, the 1997 version starring Kate Beckinsale and shown on A&E,  and the [...]

One of my personal issues is that I do not like to use books from a series in my mystery and crime fiction book discussions unless it is the first book.  I just feel like book groups have to dither through too much baggage when they drop into a series with a complex character surrounded [...]

With support from Gary Niebuhr, I’m going to start exploring the discussion of mysteries in some of my book groups. I have another boost from the winter reading program theme my library chose this year, Readers in the Rue Morgue. The first title I’m going to use is Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, the “best [...]

Book club members have been in my library en masse this week. It’s the time of year when groups are making new selections for the upcoming reading year, and the readers are coming in to place books on hold. Here’s a bit of advice as your group makes its selections: Think twice before you pick [...]

I know that it’s been a while (I had a beautiful baby boy about four months ago), but I wanted to dive in and share a recent read that would be good for book groups. I have written a couple of times about Jane Gardam’s Old Filth. The last time I did this, Mary Ellen [...]

Yesterday was our staff reader’s advisory meeting and this month’s title was The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich.  The category for January was ethnic fiction and The Bingo Palace is set in the Chippewa Nation in North Dakota. It addresses the choice being made by a driftless character named Lipsha Morrissey.  Lipsha may have reasons [...]

The Reference and User Services Association of the ALA names has chosen books in eight genres as the top of their Reading List for 2010. I love these awards, started only a few years ago, which helped ALA begin to recognize more than literary fiction as worthy of recognition. I hope book groups will follow [...]

The Mystery Writers of America announced its Nominees for the 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2009. The Edgar® Awards will be presented to the winners at their 64th Gala Banquet, April 29, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. Here are [...]

In November of last year my mystery book discussion group read the popular title The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  At the time I was reluctant to recommend it as a book discussion title because I had a problem with either the style or the editing of this book.  The book seemed [...]

The RUSA (Reference and Adult Services Association) Notable Books List for 2010 was announced at the just-concluded American Library Association Midwinter Meeting.  Here are the fiction selections. The Convalescent by Jessica Anthony. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker  Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon Little Bee by Chris [...]

I recently finished an advance copy of Carol Goodman’s upcoming book, Arcadia Falls, and it reminded me of what a good choice her novels can be for most book discussion groups. You can find a list of Goodman’s books at her website, so I won’t go into plot synopses here.  What I can tell you [...]

I’ve written many times before about reading on a theme instead of asking every reader to tackle the same book. It’s a format that works for many book groups–those where readers have divergent interests, genre-focused groups, groups in areas where multiple copies of the same book are hard to obtain, or any group that likes [...]

Philosophy isn’t every reader’s cup of tea, and contemporary philosophy, in particular, can leave even careful, motivated readers feeling a little woozy. Because some people’s minds just don’t spin this way, I wouldn’t normally recommend the works of a nonfiction writer inclined to philosophy to a book group. Alain de Botton is an exception. The works of [...]