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Book Group Buzz - Discussion of Book Clubs, Reading Lists, and Literary News - Booklist Online

Book Group Buzz

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Archive for the 'Adult Books' Category

Thu, March 14th, 2013
Too Soon, We Say Goodbye
Posted by: MaryKate Perry

In All Gone, a reflection on her mother’s dementia, Alex Witchel attempts to give voice to the complicated feelings we have for our dying parents.  The book has been getting a lot of attention lately, perhaps in part because one in eight older Americans is dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease and their adult children are wrestling with a tangle of conflicted love, [...]


Wed, February 27th, 2013
ABBC: Best Short Stories of the Year
Posted by: Neil Hollands

Short story collections can work well for book groups. They’re rich in content, but most often quick to read. Even if participants don’t finish the entire book, they can still talk about the stories they did complete. There are plenty of good options for approaching discussion: assign each reader to introduce a different story in [...]


Sat, February 23rd, 2013
All-the-Best-Books Compilation for 2012
Posted by: Neil Hollands

I’ve released the first edition of my All-the-Best-Books Compilation (ABBC) for 2012. It compiles mentions of books in best-of-the-year lists and awards from 66 different sources into one spreadsheet with 12 different fiction and nonfiction categories, showing how many times each book was mentioned and which sources mentioned each. You can learn more about the [...]


Fri, February 22nd, 2013
Book Group Guy Bait
Posted by: Kaite Stover

Loaded words, I know. The greatest challenge I hear from book group leaders is getting more male readers to attend. Aside from snatching dudes wandering the DIY section of the stacks and plopping them in the middle of a book chat, facilitators consider the reading selections to entice men to the book group. If historical [...]


Wed, February 20th, 2013
Marriage and other Acts of Charity
Posted by: MaryKate Perry

I was trying to figure out an appropriate book group for Kate Braestrup’s memoir, Marriage and other Acts of Charity.  You don’t need to be married to read this book, though I do think it might feel more relevant to a person who is, if not married, then contemplating the married state.  Still, her meditations [...]


Mon, February 11th, 2013
Best-of-the-Year Meeting, Pt. 1
Posted by: Neil Hollands

I’ll share two posts this week about the books that the librarians at Williamsburg Regional Library selected for a staff book group themed around the best books of 2012. Then I’ll be back early next week with the first installment of my annual All-the-Best-Books Compilation (ABBC), my annual spreadsheet that tabulates the votes from dozens [...]


Fri, February 1st, 2013
Read, Watch, Discuss: Book and Film Discussions
Posted by: Kaite Stover

One of the most successful reading programs at The Kansas City Public Library is Read It/Watch It. This program is designed to encourage thoughtful reading as well as thoughtful viewing. KCPL includes Read It/Watch Its in many of the larger reading initiatives and adds this special program to regular book group schedules. KCPL has done [...]


Fri, February 1st, 2013
Learning to Read Music
Posted by: Neil Hollands

Can you read a musical? Obviously a line-by-line account of the big tap number in 42nd Street isn’t going to give you much insight into why that show works, and the lyrics of most shows just aren’t as profound when they aren’t being interpreted by a skilled performer or accompanied by rousing music. Sometimes reading [...]


Tue, January 29th, 2013
Moving and Memorable: Jodi Picoult’s “The Storyteller”
Posted by: Misha Stone

Jodi Picoult will be coming to my library again in March. She came through Seattle last year with the release of Lone Wolf and was warm and generous with her fans. While I have enjoyed much of Picoult’s work over the years and appreciate her as a writer and a person, I was unprepared by [...]


Mon, January 28th, 2013
An award moment as a teaching moment
Posted by: Kaite Stover

The Virginia Commonwealth University’s MFA program in Creative Writing is using the classroom setting to create young writers who then turn into first novelists. The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award is a competitive program that puts its student writers through competitive paces. The program is only open to ten students. In addition to working on [...]


Sun, January 27th, 2013
Books, Lovers, Readers, & Covers
Posted by: Kaite Stover

This is the sort of book non-readers (who are secretly jealous) give to readers. The non-readers may think they’re nudging their reader-friends, but really, we readers are just a teensy bit smug because we get all the in-jokes. Judging a Book by its Lover by Lauren Leto is a snarky fun look at the reading [...]


Sat, January 26th, 2013
10 Best Discussions of 2012
Posted by: Kaite Stover

Before I let the first month of the new year get past me, I want to list the ten books that provided the best book group discussions last year. This is not as easy as it sounds since I facilitate three regular book groups and then work with book groups connected to The KCPL’s special [...]


Thu, January 24th, 2013
Serendipity in the Stacks #71: Map of Ireland
Posted by: Kaite Stover

With a cover as incendiary as its subject matter, Map of Ireland by Stephanie Grant is a novel that brings an historical event of national significance to the insular world of 1974 South Boston. High school junior Ann Ahearn can’t find a comfortable place to fit in at her school, in her family, on the [...]


Fri, January 4th, 2013
Through The Gates of Fire?
Posted by: Neil Hollands

I’ve just finished Steven Pressfield’s The Gates of Fire, and I’m torn about whether or not to recommend it to book groups. Pressfield is one of the best writers of military historical fiction working today. There’s no denying the author’s skill in presenting a well researched look at the Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 [...]


Sun, December 30th, 2012
Book Group Toolbox #92: Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre
Posted by: Kaite Stover

Some book group leaders I chat with are little apprehensive about including romance among the selections. There’s still some stigma about including this genre in those groups; the number one concern I hear is “there’s not very many discussable romance novels out there.” I beg to differ. At least, now I can and do. Kristin [...]


Fri, December 28th, 2012
Reading List 2013: Downtowners Book Group
Posted by: Kaite Stover

Of all the book groups I facilitate I have the most fun scheduling the reading for the Downtowners. I have seen this book group grow into more than readers who gather to chat about the current selection. They have become friends who care for one another and more than a few have become good friends [...]


Fri, December 28th, 2012
Guaranteed to make you wag more!
Posted by: MaryKate Perry

Isn’t it time your book club planned a restorative get-a-way?  As you know, that wine won’t drink itself.  If you live in Western Washington I have got just the cozy and scenic spot for you, complete with a bibliophile who is eager to make your acquaintance. Historically I am not a fan of the Washington [...]


Thu, December 13th, 2012
A Wee Diversion
Posted by: MaryKate Perry

Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.  —C.S. Lewis People give us stuff mind you.  People can be very generous to witches.  On bakin’ days in our village sometimes I can’t move for cake. —Spoken by well-fed veteran witch, Mrs. Ogg   Picture this:  a book group.  Be patient now, it [...]


Fri, December 7th, 2012
Fry Time
Posted by: Neil Hollands

Stephen Fry is one of those ubiquitous characters of popular culture who never becomes the main event, but pops up in all kinds of contexts. A Cambridge grad, he first came to broad public light in his writing and comedy work teamed with Hugh Laurie. He became famous in Black Adder II and Jeeves and [...]


Tue, December 4th, 2012
Caleb’s Crossing
Posted by: MaryKate Perry

My daughter performed a number with her choir called “Why We Sing,” a stirring song in praise of song. At times it brings pleasure to recall why we do what we do: why we sing or draw or sew or climb trees or do whatever it is we live for and love. This week my [...]





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