Reader's Corner: Starting & Running a Book Club
Looking for a good book to read but don't know where to start? This guide covers popular, award-winning, and just plain great nonfiction and fiction genres and books.
Reading Group Guides & Resources
- Lit LoversAn online community featuring book discussion guides, recommendations, and literature courses. Their Reading Guides include plot summaries, author biographies, book reviews, and discussion questions.
- Reading Group Guides.comOver 4,000 guides are available at this site as well at advice on starting and running a book group.
- Reading Group ChoicesContains book recommendations and advice on starting and running book groups.
- Penguin Random HouseOne of the best publisher's sites, Penguin Random House presents Reading Guides for books by many of the finest contemporary writers.
- HarperCollins PublishersHarperCollins supplies reading guides for books they publish.
- Booker Prizes Readers' GuidesThe Booker Prizes offer downloadable readers' guides sheets relating to their various prizes.
- BookBrowse.comExcerpts are included for all featured titles, as well as reading guides and author interviews.
- Book Discussion GroupsAn American Library Association guide to book clubs.
- Book GroupsThe Booklist Reader book club blog.
- National Reading Group Month ManualA manual on starting and running reading groups, and reading-related events, in support of National Book Group month.
- Spark NotesStudy guides that are just as useful for book discussion groups as they are for students. Available titles cover a broad range of literature.
Tips for Discussion
- Don’t begin by asking “Did you like the book?” Instead, end with that question.
- Ask open-ended questions.
- What struck you about the book?
- What was the theme?
- What was the author’s motivation? What was a particular character’s motivation?
- What was the significance of the title?
- Discuss what the author did not say.
- Be mindful of group dynamics.The discussion’s goal is to expand understanding of the book
- Find a way to let everyone talk.
- Are individuals in the group enjoying the discussion?
- Draw out the timid and gently hold back the talkative ones. Read body language. For example, a person leaning forward wants to speak
- Have each person in the group ask a question.
Searching for Background Information and Discussion Questions
Google the book title and "discussion questions."
For example: "Americanah" and "discussion questions"
Google the book title and "book reviews"
For example: "Born a Crime" and "book reviews"
Google the book titles and "author interviews"
For example: "Educated" and "author interviews"
Boston Public Library Databases
The Boston Public Library has a number of databases that are useful for book clubs researching authors and titles:
- The NoveList Plus database provides reading recommendations for adults, teens and children. In addition to reading lists, reviews, articles, and more there are book discussion guides available under the "Quick Links" tab.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library has over 90 encyclopedias and reference sources covering a range of subjects including biography and literature.
- Biography In Context provides extensive biographical information on both contemporary and historical figures.
- Literature Resource Center includes literary criticism articles, work overviews, biographical information, and more.
- NoveList PlusNoveList Plus is the premiere database of reading recommendations, available through libraries around the world. It is a comprehensive source of information about books that includes expert recommendations, reviews, articles, lists and more.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new windowIncludes more than 90 encyclopedias, plus numerous specialized reference sources covering a diversity of subjects including Arts, Biography, Business, Education, Environment, History, Law, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Nation & World, Religion, Science, and Social Science. Some "Junior" sources included as well.
- Gale In Context: Biography This link opens in a new windowNearly 300,000 full-text biographies gathered from Gale's award-winning reference sources and 250 periodicals specifically chosen for their renowned biographical content in a broad range of subject areas.
- Gale Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new windowLiterature Resource Center pulls together materials from many different print and online sources, including scholarly journals, literary reviews, reference books, authoritative websites, and more. The Research Guide walks you through the process of writing a research paper on a literature topic, from choosing a topic to gathering information, from formulating a thesis statement to writing, revising, and preparing a Works Cited page.
Visit Literature, Books, and Reading to access additional Boston Public Library online literary resources. Check out Book Discussion Groups: An Introductory Guide for further content on starting and running book groups.