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I should have known that some of the most creative, educational, and fun ideas involving books and book groups would come from Youth Services Librarians. Especially the ones at the Galloway Township branch of the Atlantic County Library System. Book Adventures is their offering for children in first through sixth grades to enhance the kids’ [...]

In my spare (ha!) time, I organize a Con. I’ve been with MarsCon in Williamsburg for eight years now, wearing many hats (usually my trusty bowler), for the last two serving as Programming Chair. Our best known guest this year is S.M. Stirling (whose books, especially those about The Change in Nantucket or Oregon, would make a [...]

As plans for next year’s book groups begin to gel, perhaps now is a good time to look at the titles selected and match them up with one of the 20 trends listed here. The folks over at Online Courses have gathered some ideas that may sound familiar, but we can always use reminding, refreshing, [...]

OK, I know, you’re all playing with those new digital readers that you found under the Christmas tree, but put them aside for a minute. It’s time to enjoy something retro: Penguin has released a box of postcards that feature classic covers from its British paperbacks. You can sample a few more pictures here. Why [...]

Last week, I spent several hundred words bemoaning the failure of many book groups to take on longer books, and outlining the reasons why I find that problematic. This week, I’d like to take a more positive approach, looking at some of the ways your group can bring longer books back into its meetings. The [...]

I’ve been wading for months through The Story of Britain. Rebecca Fraser’s history from the Romans to contemporary times is–despite its billing in some quarters as a lighter narrative–rather dense. I like it, but I prefer not to knock out more than ten or twenty pages a day. For a book of nearly eight hundred [...]

The practice of a Christmas book swap between participants at a December meeting has really caught on this year. I know this because I’ve repeatedly overheard book group members at my library discussing the practice. In fact, I’ve been privy to this conversation so many times that I’m starting to think that I’m in my own version of [...]

I love Ian Rankin’s John Rebus mystery series. Rebus is a  curmudgeonly soul, and sometimes bends the rules of policing or conventional morality to get to the villains he’s chasing. He’s terrible at maintaining his own personal relationships, mostly because he’s married to his job. But deep down, he maintains a strong ethical code and is capable of [...]

I’ve just enjoyed a fine essay on the pleasures and perils of re-reading at The Millions and I’m thinking about how re-reading applies to book groups. Personally, I know that if the group selects a book that I have read previously for discussion, I’ll often take it as a free pass, using my time to [...]

My wife and I usually go to the movies on Friday night, so an essay at The Millions struck my attention this morning. It touts the new Library of America compilation of the film criticism of Pauline Kael, The Age of Movies: Selected Writing of Pauline Kael. It also argues that passionate debate about films is yet another item [...]

This week I’m wrapping up my ongoing series of ideas for bringing the buzz back to a book group that’s gone flat. Here are the final four ideas in my list of 36. 33.  REVISIT AN OLD FRIEND Re-reading is an underappreciated art, and there are several ways to practice it in your book group. [...]

I continue my series of suggestions for groups in search of new ideas that will keep meetings fresh: 30. ALPHABET SOUP Sometimes a thoroughly organized venture like a book group can benefit from a side trip into arbitrariness. Try a random organizing principle for one meeting and see what serendipity brings. For instance, select a [...]

My series of methods for reviving a stale book group continues: 27. ROLE MODEL READING Our reading habits are deeply shaped by our parents or other reading role models. An enlightening evening can be spent exploring these influences. Ask each reader to try a book that was a favorite of a reader who influenced his [...]

The series of posts with ideas for perking up your group continues: 24. THE CHILDREN’S HOUR A fun alternative to heavy adult reading is a meeting devoted to children’s books. I recommend picking books from a particular age range: picture books, early chapter books, or young adult works, for instance. You might also want to [...]

I continue with my series of ideas for bringing excitement and variety back to a book group stuck in a rut: 21. A PLAY’S THE THING I’ve written often in this space about the possibilities of reading plays for book groups. Plays are quick and fun to read aloud. If your group is shy, you [...]

It’s time for part six of my big list of ways to bring some variety to a book group that’s become too mundane. 18. GOOD DEEDS, GOOD READS How about combining some service with a book group meeting? There are several ways you might provide useful help. See if a local childrens’ hospital or retirement [...]

At a recent workshop on leading book discussions that I presented to graduate students at Dominican University, the talk turned to online book discussions, and participants enumerated some of the strengths and weaknesses of this form of sharing ideas about books. Here are the “pros” of this format, as defined by the group: 1.  Gives [...]

Here’s part five of my ongoing series listing ways to shake up your book group with a little variety: 14. READ LOCAL–THEN VISIT If you live near a location that has been used as a setting in a book, consider combining a site visit with your discussion. You could hold the meeting on site, discuss the [...]

Here’s the latest in my series of suggestions for spicing up your book group: 11. GUILTY PLEASURES We’ve all got them–for one meeting, flaunt them. Ask your participants to bring books that they love, but that they know aren’t the finest literature ever published. This is a particularly good choice if your group normally reads [...]

Over at NPR, genre experts Gary K. Wolfe, Farah Mendelsohn, and John Clute winnowed the history of science fiction and fantasy down to a list of 237 well-loved titles and series. The list was controversial in some quarters, because it excluded short stories (which removed the best work of a good chunk of the classic era [...]