Don’t get me wrong. I’m not generally against Christmas (at least not on my good days.) I love the gatherings of friends and family, the familiar songs, the decorations, even giving and receiving a few thoughtful gifts. I’m even secretly hoping you will pass along dozens of wonderful titles that will force me to reconsider this opinion, but from what I’ve encountered, Christmas books are a sorry lot. Choice titles are more scarce than Rudolph’s childhood friends.

One learns early in a library career to avoid the temptation to put up the holiday fiction display. Sure, it sounds like a good idea, an obvious choice, but then one starts assembling the books–Oh! the pitiful books. They circulate once a year, saved from the no-use reports by our own misguided displays, eating up shelf space for the other eleven months, saved from withdrawal by our own sorry attempt at merry-making.

For every gem like A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Memory, or A Child’s Christmas in Wales, there are twenty blatant cash ins, those dreadful little books by the most commercially-oriented of writers. Even if you like these writers, for the most part a falsely sentimental and repetitive choir, you’ll do better reading their regular output. It would be easier to indulge their homilies about the deeper meaning of Christmas if they weren’t so obviously writing them to make bucks off our holiday feeling. Let’s say no, let’s say no, let’s say no.

Think I’m wrong? By all means play the Ghost of Christmas Literature: share good holiday reading in the comments. If you must go gentle into that silent night, I’ll try to round up a few of the worthwhile holiday reads in my next posting.

Possibly no subject is more harrowing than the tragedy at Columbine High School in April, 1999. Many nonfiction books have been published about this bedroom community outside of Denver, Colorado. Many novels have explored this story from numerous angles; embellishing, suppressing, tweaking, details to create a narrative that makes sense of a senseless act.

As horrific as this event was, people will still be reading about it and especially this year, the tenth anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. Two books that present balanced, thoughtful accounts, and offer new insights are The Hate List by Jennifer Brown and Columbine by Dave Cullen.

Brown’s young adult novel tells the story of Valerie, the girlfriend of Nick, the junior who tired of the bullying and name calling, and brought a gun to school one day. Even though Valerie tried to stop Nick by throwing herself in front of a student who regularly tormented both of them, she is deemed an active participant in this heinous act. Authorities found the “hate list” she had started one day out of frustration and had loaned to Nick. After spending the summer in seclusion, Valerie makes the courageous decision to go back to high school to graduate. Many of her classmates have changed, some for the better, some for worse, and don’t know how to view Valerie. Is she to be lauded or blamed for her part in this piece of school history?

Brown’s novel will appeal to adults as well as teens and the author carefully crafts a character both frustrating and sympathetic to tell the story of one’s school’s brush with death.

Dave Cullen, an award-winning journalist who has been researching the Columbine tragedy for almost ten years, also offers a powerful, truthful account of what led up to that violent spring day and the terrible aftermath. He debunks a few myths that have sprung from this event.

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were not sullen, friendless, outsiders as portrayed by the media. Cassie Bernall did not have a chance to speak before she died, but survivor Valeen Schnurr did. There were reports and files that were kept hidden and some interviews that will not be revealed to the public until 2016.

Readers will have no trouble comparing Columbine to another classic in the true crime genre, In Cold Blood. The research and narrative are unparalleled and much as readers will want to look away, Cullen writes in a manner that keeps eyes riveted to the text.

If these two books are too raw, consider presenting a third selection from an author who is a book group favorite, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Picoult’s novel provides multiple viewpoints of a high school shooting with a twist ending. It’s much lighter in tone than The Hate List or Columbine, but readers will find connections between all three.

Books with interesting characters in varied relationships are the easiest for groups to discuss, and Langer’s pen spins out fascinating characters with seeming ease. His first novel, Crossing California, follows three families, the Wasserstroms, Wills, and Rovners in late 70s Chicago. These characters jump right off the page and Langer captures the time and place with great facility as well. His second novel, The Washington Story, (named for Chicago mayor Harold Washington) follows the same characters through the mid 1980s. By the time you finish the second novel, they’ll feel like old acquaintances. In particular, Langer is good at capturing the volatile world of young people: he’s both funny and poignant, sometimes in the same sentence.

If you prefer New York to Chicago, try Ellington Boulevard, which follows a clarinetist and his dog through eviction from an Upper West Side apartment, but mixes in out-of-work actors, a broker, an editor, and graduate students. There are even lyrics to a musical, supposedly written by two of the characters, at the end of the book.

Or if you prefer nonfiction, Langer’s new book is a memoir, My Father’s Bonus March, that chronicles his physician father’s fascination with the Bonus March of 1932, when WWI veterans came to Washington in pursuit of better compensation for their sacrifices.

No matter which of these tickles your fancy, give Langer a try. His work is easy to access, full of laughter, but worthy of careful examination as well.

Russell’s novel is her fourth and most recent work.  Many readers of this blog will be familiar with her first book, The Sparrow, which has been used by numerous book discussion groups.  Dreamers of the Day couldn’t be more different from The Sparrow — it doesn’t wear the same cloak of science fiction and spirituality as the earlier novel, but wraps itself in a brilliant historical tapestry, as its intrepid heroine, a reserved spinster from the Midwest named Agnes Shanklin, charges uncharacteristically off on a journey to the Middle East and becomes embroiled with all sorts of famous figures from the early part of the 20th century, ranging from Winston Churchill to Gertrude Bell to Lawrence of Arabia.

Before I forget to mention it, Agnes narrates this tale from the grave, which is only one of the unusual aspects of the book.  Our leader admitted that she not only read the book, but she also listened to it on CD, which she claimed gave her new insights about the story and really offered two distinctly different approaches to the book.

Russell’s novel is well researched and definitely appeals to readers who enjoy learning about history through reading fiction.  If you’re interested in discovering  how the configuration of countries in the Middle East was created following World War I and the dissatisfaction stemming from the Versailles Treaty, read this book.  The tone of the novel is sometimes lighthearted and whimsical, but it deals with many serious issues, including the great influenza pandemic, and the exotic settings are well drawn.  It even offers a bit of a love story, and for dog lovers, there’s a wonderful dachshund named Rosie who travels everywhere with Agnes and really functions as an important character in the book.

Our discussion leader brought many related books and DVDs to the meeting to stimulate further exploration of the topics raised in the novel.  Several participants said they planned to dig deeper and learn more about the people and ideas they encountered in their reading of this book.  One of the best compliments an author can receive, I think, is when readers express a desire to travel further down the road on which the book has carried them.  Congratulations to Mary Doria Russell!

The Book Club Bible

The subtitle is “The Definitive Guide That Every Book Club Member Needs.” That may be pushing it a tad. The BCB is a balanced mix of classic and contemporary fiction and nonfiction selected by Richard & Judy, British television personalities with their own book club a la Oprah. Misha wrote about them some posts ago.

This book collects some of Richard & Judy’s favorite reads. Each entry includes a synopsis of the book, a reader or critic opinion, a short list of discussion points, and companion titles for further reading.

I’m reminded of Victoria Golden McMain’s The Readers’ Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites, another one of my go-to resources. I’ve been waiting for an update of that book, and this new collection is a serviceable companion. I would have liked to see a little more to the synopsis, a website or two for further information on the author, and a couple of sentences that evaluate the book’s potential as a selection.

The Book Club Bible is going to sit on my shelf next to The Readers’ Choice and David Rubel’s The Reading List, and Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust. It’s great to pull down one of these little gems and browse for possible selections, and I’m always willing to add to the tool box. But like all good working stiffs, I want one tool to do everything.

In addition to the Twitter Book Club, The Book Studio offers book reviews, author interviews, videos, and other stuff that book groups might find useful. The Book Studio is an online project of WETA, the Washington, D.C. public television station.

First, know your group. Groups that use themes often welcome digressions, groups that read a common book may be less amenable to wandering. Groups that acknowledge a social purpose to meetings expect time for other subjects, while groups that want serious book talk will frown on interruptions. If your group has never discussed its goals and intentions, and members are pulling in different directions, perhaps it is time for a friendly discussion of your collective expectations.

Second, factor in the tone of the particular meeting. Were several readers unable to finish or vocal about frustrations with the book before the meeting? In these cases, digressions may be preferable to an unhappy discussion. Did life provide more than its usual share of distractions this month? Was the time between meetings short? Again, your group may need distractions. On the other hand, they might be digressing because they can’t find the right approach to discussing a book they found challenging, interesting or controversial. Measure the tone in the room: If the latter is the case, you’ll need to focus, regroup, and find the right questions to unlock the book.

My last advice is to look at who is leading the digressions and judge whether or not these interruptions seem welcome. If the digressions are divided between readers and cover a variety of subjects, don’t worry: Enjoy the give and take. But if the same person or two constantly sidetracks conversation, those are interruptions, not pleasant meanderings. If the digressions are always on the same subjects, they will annoy other readers and create friction. If that’s the case, consider some previous posts about how to battle the interruptions.

On Monday, November 9, a live discussion will be simulcast from Oprah.com, CNN.com, and Facebook. Anderson Cooper will also participate in the conversation with Oprah and Uwem Akpan that begins at 8pm, CST.

Interested readers can join the discussion by electronic RSVP here.

“Audiobooks & Book Clubs: not really reading or perfect partners? Curious minds want to know! I’m collecting information for an upcoming article in Booklist Magazine on the role of audiobooks in book clubs. As an audiobook blogger & columnist, I’ve received lots of requests from librarians and teachers interested in book clubs that welcome audiobook listeners with open arms, as well as questioning whether listeners face disdain from book club members who think audiobooks are cheating. Do you have experience with an audiobooks-only club? Have stories to tell about book club members who are dedicated listeners, but would never have participated in a printed-book-only club? How do you include critical discussion about audiobooks in your meetings? Are there members of your club who are vision impaired?  Are there clubs out there for the blind? Have you hosted a listening club for children or teens? Any tips or promotional success stories for integrating audiobooks in your book club? I’d love to hear your stories – both good and bad – about how listening to literature unites or divides the members of your clubs. Please send any anecdotes to mary.burkey@gmail.com along with a note granting or declining the use of your club’s name in the feature. Can’t wait to learn how creative clubs are adding listening into the literary discussion! “

I’ll be sending Mary my anecdotes about a faithful reader who is happy to come to book group and always talks about the narrator and the text when she answers questions about the reading. Between the two of us, we’ve managed to convince the rest of the participants that occasionally they’re missing something by not listening, and then I ask, wickedly, “So if you missed this because you were reading the print version and not listening, were you really reading? Is reading print cheating?”  All formats welcome in our book groups.