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Here are ten themes that you might use in an upcoming September meeting: 1. ROCK AND ROLL September 2nd is the 15th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Read along by reading the biography of a rock star or a novel with rock and roll themes like Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments or [...]

After I wrote my last post, I stumbled across two articles in the Guardian about the “Chick-lit” label. “The chick-lit debate: who in Playboy Mansion Hell calls women chicks?” by D J Connell “The chick-lit debate: light doesn’t have to mean stupid” by Michele Gorman Let the debates and discussions continue!

I’m very excited.  Life Readers, the library book group I belong to — as a member, not as the leader — has announced its reading schedule for the coming year, and the focus will be the works of Edith Wharton, one of my favorite authors. Life Readers is a program for people interested in reading [...]

It’s a little early to be writing about this short book, but it will be a helpful and entertaining conversation starter at book groups. The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder by Erin Blakemore drops in November. In a conversational introduction the author confesses to hiding between the book covers [...]

Now in its 8th edition, the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide is a great place to look for future book group selections, whether your group reads a shared work or explores themes. Edited by Nick Rennison, the book alternates between entries on individual authors and entries that list books related to particular themes or genres. Each author [...]

Each summer the Kansas Notable Books List is announced and I find this is a great place to look for titles with local interest to book groups. Every year 15 books are selected for the list. It is the only honor for Kansas books by Kansas authors and it is sponsored by the Kansas Center [...]

Although Gary would disagree, I always have a hard time finding mysteries to discuss with my group even though they ask for them to be placed on our annual list. My difficulty comes in getting beyond the typical discussion of “when did you realize you figured it out?”  These sorts of discussions involve too much [...]

“Chick-lit.” “Chick-flick.” These terms have been embraced by popular culture and then spit back out again because, while convenient as terms and descriptors, their very existence creates rancor. But why do the reading (and viewing) interests of women get such short shrift? In my recent Entertainment Weekly (August 6, 2010), Elizabeth Gilbert spoke to the [...]

Thrillers aren’t always the first choice for book groups. Books that are as plot driven as the typical thriller can be difficult to discuss. But NPR has released the results of their “Killer Thrillers” poll, and their audience has come up with a list that will inspire curiosity and trigger exciting memories in almost any [...]

I just finished an advance copy of a book I think would be just right for some book groups and facilitators.  It’s Read This Next, by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark.  Due out in November, it’s a guide to an eclectic variety of books suitable for discussion – featuring plot summaries and nontraditional (think snarky) [...]

“They are the proof that something was there and no longer is.                          Like a stain.”  Do you know what Diane Arbus was referring to?  Photographs.  I have suggested before that a book discussion on photography might be an interesting evening in a library.  [...]