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The staff book group at Williamsburg Regional Library met yesterday to discuss books with the theme of relocation. As usual, the choices were diverse and fascinating. Gail got us started with The Best of Covered Wagon Women. Edited by Kenneth L.  Holmes, this is a selection of the best pioneer women’s narratives–letter and diaries–from a previously [...]

A couple of months ago I promised you a list of teen books suitable for adult discussions. Sorry to be late. But here it is. These are quick reads, with discussable content, realistic characters, and compelling stories. All the qualities of a good, fun book, and necessary for a lively discussion. Consider inviting teens to [...]

Since the Seattle Gay Pride parade is gearing up just outside my windows, I thought I would write about a couple of books that I read recently that book groups might not know about. Last year, I saw Stephanie A. Brill, the author of The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals, speak at a conference on [...]

The most recent Newbery Award winner was Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me. If you read it, regardless of your age, you’ll understand why.  It’s the story of sixth-grade Miranda, a New York City girl who is trying to come to grips with the unexplained desertion of her best friend Sal, with new realizations that [...]

The staff book group at Williamsburg Regional Library dedicated last week’s meeting to the classics of children’s literature. It was a great topic for a sun-distracted summer month. Normally, I recap each book that our librarians present at these meetings for Book Group Buzz readers, but this time we all read multiple books, so I’ll [...]

As I launch into a month-long run in Sondheim’s Company at the local community theater, I’m afraid reading has taken a back seat. About all I’m good for is a few distracted pages as I try to key down before a late bedtime. So I’m especially glad that one of my book groups decided to devote [...]

No, not Harry Potter, although one of the most entertaining book discussions I ever led was for the Harry Potter books. I didn’t really need to do anything more than advertise it. Parents brought children, teens brought friends, staff shirked the desk, and all I did was ask, “What do you think?” This time the [...]

I am a sucker for first novels. The good ones, I mean. I stumbled upon a delightful debut  on the new shelves at my local library branch. I have to admit that I picked it up based on its cover and upon seeing the words “punk rock.” The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni is [...]

Participants from five divisions at Williamsburg Regional Library gathered for a meeting about books with musical themes. The thematic format is a great way for us to identify books that our patrons might enjoy, and this theme was a goldmine. We discovered several excellent titles that everyone-reads-the-same-book groups would never consider. Cela led off with [...]

Do you have the urge to gossip? If you could have the power of mental telepathy, would you take it? What if you heard not just select voices at select times, but everybody’s thoughts, all the time? And what if everyone else could hear your thoughts, too?  As superpowers go, this sounds pretty miserable, but [...]

I continue to tally votes from as many authoritative sources as I can find to build my spreadsheet of the Best Books of 2009. So far, I’ve counted votes for 1,880 books published in the U.S. during 2009, as named by 112 sources. There are still a few important sources to add to the list, but I’m [...]

Young adult novels are underutilized by book groups and that’s a shame. They aren’t just for kids and they have several characteristics that make them outstanding book group choices: they tend to be quick reading, they’re loaded with issues, and they feature strong emotions and relationships in transition. As an added bonus, many book group members love [...]

A couple of times this past year I’ve written about a special book group I facilitate, The Kansas City Star’s FYI Book Club. This collective has been around since 2000 and shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, when The Star thought the project may be running out of gas, they turned to their [...]

The  compilation begins in October as Steve Paul, a Senior Editor at The Kansas City Star, emails/texts/badgers all his reading friends for their top titles of 2009. We know he has a deadline, but we’re just as frantic as we page through our reading logs and sort the piles of books we’ve scanned, skimmed, reviewed, [...]

My wife and I have been reading Shadowlands aloud the last few nights. Many of you know this work from the film featuring Anthony Hopkins and Deborah Winger, but William Nicholson’s play is about events late in the life of C. S. Lewis. Lewis never liked “Clive Staples.” When he lost a beloved dog as a boy, he [...]

A few days ago, I put forth my miserly opinion that Christmas literature, for the most part, is ho, ho, horrible. I even asked you to convince me otherwise, and in response, fair readers, not one of you was stirring, not even a mouse. But I know book groups, and you will not yield to [...]

I know I’ve been on a kick lately pairing books for discussions. I  like having all the related reading in one place. Also, I want to give readers a choice in titles if the topic is going to be difficult for some to handle. Possibly no subject is more harrowing than the tragedy at Columbine [...]

It didn’t even occur to me that these two books I’m about to mention are very well suited for the month of October. I was only thinking about what a great duo they’d make for a discussion. I just finished Audrey Niffenegger’s sophomore effort, Her Fearful Symmetry and thought what a great pairing it would [...]

My colleague, Linda, who also writes children’s books, is convinced that Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me will be a Newbery contender, and with good reason. When You Reach Me is the kind of children’s book that sneaks up on you. Set in New York City circa 1979, it tells the story of Miranda, a [...]

I like to flip through reading memoirs, but I don’t really sink my teeth into them. Rather than read about what someone else has been reading, I’d rather be reading something new to me. Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick is the author’s memoir of the books that teenage girls were truly reading and talking about in [...]