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

Jeff Kamin, a comedian, runs a different kind of book club in Minneapolis.  Called Books & Bars, it’s the kind of book club I wish I belonged to. (hmmmmm….) Books & Bars holds meetings twice a month in the winter and once a month in the summer at 2 different venues, and attracts around 100 [...]

While searching around online this morning, I came across a book discussion policy document from the North Texas Regional Library System. I was kind of surprised by this – I don’t think I have ever worked at a library with a formal written policy for book discussions.  The when I started to read it, I [...]

Part comic satire, part acid bath, Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story is a book that readers will either love or hate, perhaps both. In the book’s dystopian future, America is collapsing due to debt to foreign nations; people are expected to spend themselves into debt as an act of patriotic loyalty; constant ties to handheld gadgets [...]

Last month my book group discussed Ann Patchett’s Run. Before we started our discussion I asked the group how many of them had read Patchett before. We had read Bel Canto years before in my group, but as members come and go, some were there and some were not. Many said that Bel Canto was [...]

The Library of America has made a wise decision to reprint six of the earliest graphic novels ever produced.  They are the woodcut based novels of Lynd Ward.  Ward produced his most famous work, God’s Man, in 1929 at the age of 24 after studying woodcut production in Germany.  Five more woodcut graphic novels followed [...]

I facilitate three book groups and guest facilitate at many others in the library’s community. This means I have to plan my reading carefully. I’m on a boot camp reading schedule that rivals that of any drill sergeant. Here’s the new discussion list for The Kansas City Public Library‘s Downtowners reading group. We meet at [...]

I just became aware of a new application for iPad called Book Club Leader. It contains discussion questions, book summaries, bestseller lists, and tips for leading successful book discussions. I haven’t had the opportunity to test it out since it is not yet available for iPhones, only iPads. However, the developers state they are working [...]

After its 2009 National Book Award, you hardly need my praise to bring Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann, to your attention. But I’ve just finished reading it myself, and I can’t let a book that carries this much emotional force, this much scope–and all in 350 pages–pass without comment. It’s a perfect [...]

In the first part of this post, I made the case for why your group needs new members and how to attract them. Now the big question: a new reader has walked through the door… What can you do to keep him or her coming back? Here are some ideas: 1) IF THE SHOE DOESN’T [...]

To make the best sourdough bread, a master baker begins each batch of dough with starter, a concoction of wild yeast, water, and flour that creates the bacteria that makes the bread so tasty. The best starters are very old, building up a strong base flavor as they burble away in the refrigerator. It’s not just about [...]