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A great book group idea in the hand is worth two in the bush, as the old saying goes. Well, maybe the old saying is a bit different, but you know what we mean. With that in mind, we thought we’d bring a new feature to our website—a place for us to collect the most clever, practical, or original ideas regarding book group reading and discussion. We have a feeling that you might have a few more to share with us. Want to publish a handy tip or creative trick on our website? Use this form to submit your own.|||||||
New Ideas
Meeting the author of a book you're reading with your group is a great experience. One way to do this is to attend a book reading/signing with your group. Check out the events schedule at your local book store and plan ahead!
Listening to an author read her work can change the way you hear her words in your own mind as you read. If you go to a reading before your book group meeting, you can get ideas--straight from the author's mouth!--to inspire a lively discussion. If you go after your book group meeting, you can ask the author that one question your book group puzzled over!
Lots of today’s creative book group hosts are serving up a menu to match each book, pairing South American cuisine with a discussion of Isabelle Allende, or a selection of sushi to sustain a book group talking about the work of Haruki Murakami. Terry Hansen, of the Coventry Book Group of Denver, Colorado, took creative collaboration a few steps further. When her book group met to discuss Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, members met in a giant camping tent in her back yard to get the real feel of the great outdoors. Her snack of choice? Gorp, of course.
Seems like all the original screenwriters in Hollywood must be on a long vacation. These days, every other new film is based on a successful novel or memoir. Take advantage of this phenomenon, and get double the story for the price of one (okay, only if you take advantage of matinees and used bookstores!) Pick a book that’s recently been made into a film. Meet to discuss the book in the first month, then, the next month, get together as a group to enjoy the movie in the theatre. For a special night out, finish your evening with a rousing discussion in a pleasant restaurant or coffee shop, in which you compare the book and the film’s different representations of the same story.
Solving Problems
Does your group sometimes run out of things to talk about, or occasionally have trouble focusing on the book? Good Books Lately’s book group specialists swear by one very simple trick to keep the action going. Ask each of your book group members to make a short list—say three or four items—of the elements/characters/situations in the book that he or she found the most intriguing or confusing, the things that this member wants to be sure to talk about. At the beginning of the meeting, ask each member to read or describe their list, and appoint a secretary to jot it down on a large sheet of poster paper (you can tape it up on a wall or a shelf). If conversation winds down before you’re ready to quit, refer back to your master list to find a new topic for conversation.
Is your group divided between social people and discussion people? “Half of us want to talk about the book,” complains one disgruntled Atlanta book group member, “and the other half just want to talk talk talk about anything other than the book.” In order to give both factions of such a group the kind of verbal satisfaction that each desires, set a clear boundary between social time and book time. Let everyone know that the first forty minutes of the meeting will be devoted to catching up with friends, and the second forty minutes will be reserved for serious book discussion. You may find that certain people tend to show up early and leave early, or show up late and leave late. No big deal, so long as everybody’s getting what they want out of the book group.
Suggestions
Take a break, sit back, and let some one else do the work. Contact your favorite bookstore, library, or a local or national publisher. Ask if they can recommend any local or touring authors who would be willing to visit your group and lead a discussion on their own work. Plan ahead, and you can even catch some of the big names with relatively little trouble and absolutely no expense, beyond buying the book. Both authors and booksellers are becoming increasingly aware of the power of book groups to help create booksellers—chances are you’ll find someone who will do his or her best to accommodate you. For further information on how to get an author to speak to your group, contact us!
Is it a mistake to choose a book for book group that someone in your club has already read on his or her own? Not necessarily, says Dale Jordan of an Austin, Texas, couples book group. “Especially not if that person liked the book,” he says, “since actually getting the chance to discuss it is an entirely different experience from simply reading it for pleasure. You would also read the book more closely a second time, if you knew you were going to talk about it.”
Submit your own!
Does your book group have a trick to keep things interesting? To make sure that everyone can always make it to book club? If you want to share you tips and tricks, just email us using the form below!
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