Book Club Resources
Getting Started: Book Groups 101
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New York Public Library: Guide to Reading Groups by Rollene Saal This helpful guide provides stimulating reading lists and practical tips for organizing and leading your own successful book-discussion group. Explains how to get a group started, determine its ideal size, weigh the pros and cons of having a leader, understand the effects of various leadership styles, develop a book list that will appeal to your group’s interests, and foster a good discussion. In the library: 028.9 S111n |
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Book-Clubs-Resource.com This site gives a basic overview of book groups, including articles and tips on starting and running a new group, in person or online. Also included are sample questions for discussion, links to book guides, resources to help with book selection, and tips for finding books at discount prices. |
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The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs Jacobs offers an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and the book explores everything from the invention of silent reading, reading responsively, rereading, and reading on electronic devices. on order, other libraries have it |
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ReadingGroupChoices.com Reading Group Choices offers tips for reading groups, and spotlights books, including reviews, author bios and purchasing information. Unique features include its Wine, Food, and Music by the Book columns, in which experts suggest pairings with featured books, and a News and Events section, collecting articles about reading groups and festivals. |
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Good Books Lately: The One Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers by E. Moore and K. Stevens The inside scoop on book groups–from the nation’s leading experts! Stimulating advice based on their own experiences and those of hundreds of book group members on everything from starting a book group, keeping it going, generating a lively discussion, troubleshooting and ideas on spicing up your book group. in the library: 028.9 M821g |
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The Reading Group Handbook: Everything You Need to Know by Rachel Jacobsohn This newly revised edition includes updated reading lists and bibliographies plus additional sugges-tions on group dynamics; organizational, administrative, and logistical issues; and discussion tech-niques garnered from extensive surveying of book groups. Jacobsohn covers everything from cookies and coffee to how you diplomatically deal with “the rambler.” in the library: 028.9 j17
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Organizing Your Book Group
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Meetup.com This site is a useful resource for established book groups and brand-new groups alike. Groups can create a “meetup” page that lists time and location of upcoming meet-ings, the book being read, and allow members to RSVP or comment. Message board discussions can be used for planning, or for discussing the current book (or anything else!) in between official meetings. Groups can also post “About us” information to attract new members in the area, as well as photos and polls to customize the space. |
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Doodle.com Doodle is a simple scheduling website, useful for finding a time for groups to meet. An organizer sends out a “Doodle poll” with several potential meeting time options, and individual members can check off which dates/times work for them. The website will then show which time slot works for the most people. |
Book Discovery
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What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members by Mickey Pearlman Author offers annotated, innovative book lists for every dedicated reader. Whether you’ve been in a reading group for years, are interested in forming or finding one, or you’re a book lover looking for new ideas, What to Read is an indispensable resource, listing hundreds of contemporary and classic books organized by subject. By updating every list and adding many new ones, Pearlman now offers pages and pages of fresh ideas. in the library: 028.9 P359w |
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GoodReads.com • LibraryThing.com • Shelfari.com These three sites allow individuals and groups to create virtual bookshelves, track reading progress, read and write book reviews, discuss books with other groups or users, and discover new books. Each one allows book groups to create pages for dis-cussion, which can be useful for online-only book groups. Goodreads is the largest of the three and can be integrated with Facebook. LibraryThing allows users to “tag” books. Shelfari is owned by Amazon.com and boasts a “Series & Lists” feature, which allows readers to explore book universes, genres, and award winners. |
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Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books ed. Leah Price This book spotlights the personal libraries of thirteen favorite novelists who share their collections with readers. In her introduction, the author muses on the history and future of the bookshelf, asking what books can tell us about their owners and what readers can tell us about their collections. Supplementing the photographs are interviews with each author, which probe the relation of writing to reading, collecting, and arranging books. Each writer provides a list of top ten favorite titles, offering unique personal histories along with suggestions for every bibliophile. on order, other libraries have it |
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NoveList NoveList is a database of over 155,000 fiction titles for readers of all ages. It offers reviews, book award lists, readalikes by title, author, or subject, and book discussion questions for hundreds of titles. Recommended Reads lists and hundreds of feature articles written by librarians give book suggestions for virtually any reader. Note: Users must enter a valid library card number to use the site from home. |
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Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason by Nancy Pearl Catering to every mood and covering a variety of topics, Nancy Pearl comes to the rescue with this wide-ranging and fun guide to the best reading new and old. in the library: 028.9 P359b |
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BookRiot.com Founded in 2011, Book Riot is a blog about books and reading, featuring a variety of different contributors and topics, from reviews of old and new books, to links of interest to reading and readers, to book trailers (like movie trailers, but for books!) at its sister site, bookriot.tv |
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The Readers’ Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites by Victoria Golden McMains 200 favorites culled from the recommendations of more than 70 reading groups in California, Oregon, Colorado, and New York and the resulting list is a good blend of fiction and nonfiction, classics, relatively unknown regional writers, and the occasional best seller. The collection is designed to start conversations, help form book clubs, and promote reading. in the library: 028.1 M167r |
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