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The Downtowners book group at Kansas City Public Library is the fastest growing book group at Central. The group members do a great job of talking up the group among coworkers and friends, and they are very welcoming to new readers. They are an eclectic group of readers and have always been open to anything [...]

John Lithgow’s memoir, Drama: an Actor’s Education, is a refreshingly frank and focused take on the familiar actor biography. While there are a few tidbits here about the many famous people he’s shared a stage or screen with, and a little bit of backstage gossip, the bulk of Lithgow’s book is not about name dropping [...]

The Women Who Dare book group at Kansas City Public Library likes to discuss books that are written by women and that focus on women’s relationships, concerns and issues. This is a group that reads women’s fiction with depth and literary quality. Here’s the list for the coming year. January: When She Woke by Hillary [...]

The compilation of all the best-books-of-2011 lists and awards continues, and the latest version of the resulting ABBC (All the Best Books Compilation) can be reached via my other blogging home at Williamsburg Regional Library’s Blogging for a Good Book. While the compilation is a work in progress, trends are beginning to emerge, and I [...]

While trolling around for older books I could suggest to community book groups I recalled a book blog I enjoyed very much. The Neglected Books Page. A recent visit reminded me of a classic author I’ll be sure to dust off and start promoting to library patrons. This blog has been in operation since 2006 [...]

Usually it’s the other way around. Readers will ask for nonfiction that reads like fiction. True stories that are dubbed narrative nonfiction, creative nonfiction, journalistic nonfiction, faction, etc. But a reader of nonfiction recently wrote to Dear Book Lover at The Wall Street Journal asking for fiction that reads like nonfiction. What does this type [...]

If there’s still room on your 2012 reading group lists, give some consideration to these outstanding titles on audio. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson and narrated by Graeme Malcolm. A layered literary mystery full of dark charm and dry wit. Malcolm’s voicing of an aging actress on the verge of dementia is [...]

The majority of my reading during a year is for book groups. I manage three regularly scheduled groups and guest facilitate for community groups, local businesses and area libraries whenever asked. As Mary K. Chelton likes to say, “Have mouth, will speak.” I’ll add this addendum, “Have eyes, will read.” At the end of each [...]

I’ve posted the link to the first edition of my 2011 All the Best Books Compilation (ABBC). This is my fourth year of compiling all of those different best books lists and awards into one convenient sortable spreadsheet where you can see how many different mentions each book received from over 150 authoritative sources. The [...]

I’m lousy at science, but fascinated by the minds of those who are good at it. My friend and book club inspiration Margaret Cubberly introduced me to one of the most intriguing–Richard Feynman–a few years back, and I’ve been fascinated ever since. Feynman is interesting because although his scientific work is important, his oddball character [...]

The recently revived Kansas City Star FYI book club met to discuss Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. This fascinating slice of little known American presidential history will enthrall any book club. Put it on the list for next year’s potential reads. At the recent discussion readers were impressed with Millard’s ability to weave [...]

It’s my favorite time of year! Year-end best of lists! Books, movies, television, music, websites, fashion faux pas and anything else folks care to list. While they’re probably not the first to post their best list, the Kansas City Star posted their Best Books of 2011 list over the weekend. What I liked about this [...]

Last week I had the opportunity to facilitate my colleague’s book group’s discussion of Mary Karr’s third memoir, Lit. My book group had discussed Lit earlier in the year. I was especially interested in how the reception of the book might differ between groups. And differ it did. Karr’s no-holds-barred memoir dives into her alcoholic [...]

I’ve begun my annual task of collecting all of the best-of-the-year lists and awards into one sortable spreadsheet. This is my fourth year compiling this massive labor of love-hate, and I almost chose to let it go this year, but once the lists started to come out, I just couldn’t resist. The analytical side of me loves [...]

Earlier this month my book group discussed Dave Egger’s Zeitoun. A work of nonfiction, Zeitoun takes a look at Hurricane Katrina and how one Syrian-American man and his family are swept into a terrible storm of a different kind in the aftermath of the natural disaster in New Orleans. The book fostered a wonderful discussion [...]

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 [...]

Which will make it onto your reading group lists next year? The National Book Award Finalists for 2011 were announced yesterday in Portland, OR and while there are some surprising omissions, there are also some surprising nominations. Click through any of the above links for the full lists of nominations in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and [...]

Can science work as a nonfiction subject for book groups? With the right book choices, the answer is a resounding yes, but it helps if you can find science writers who also capture the human side of science. When the scientists are discussed alongside their work, the results are often full of drama, suspense, and [...]

Hopefully, you’re kicking back today and didn’t have to go into work. Since book groups tend to like memoirs, why not glance through some of these occupational memoirs and see what might suit? Explore the underbelly of so-called glamour professions and at the very least, learn to love your own job again. Blood, Bones & [...]

It’s the time of year when I start gathering titles for my book groups to help them select next year’s reading. I am ever so grateful to Time Magazine for making the nonfiction choices a little easier. Recently Time published the All-Time 100 Best Nonfiction Books. I’m sure many of you will find titles that [...]