Regroup Your Book Group
Last week at the Public Library Association Conference in Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of lunching with ReadingGroupGuides.com blog contributor Nora Rawlinson and librarian extraordinaire Nancy Pearl. Here Nora shares some of Nancy's tips for book clubs, including how to get the conversation flowing and the question one should never ask. --- Carol Fitzgerald
Wouldn't you love to get tips from someone who used to advise dysfunctional book groups? I've just had that experience, via streaming video from Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library's web site. The session is conducted by Nancy Pearl, who is what is perhaps an oxymoron: a "famous librarian." If you've seen, or even own the "librarian action figure," it's based on the real life Nancy. (Admit it, you're a book nerd, you've got one of these and if you don't you WANT one, so click here.)
Nancy has a true passion for books, which is proven by the titles of her own books --- Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason, More Book Lust and Book Crush: For Kids and Teens.
On the video, Nancy warns that it is never a good idea to lead off a book discussion with "So, what did you think of the book?" That always leads to a discussion of why people loved or hated the book, which is rarely illuminating. Instead, Nancy suggests leading with "What does the title mean?" For instance, "What's the lesson in A Lesson Before Dying and who learned it?" She swears this always works, even with a title that seems perfectly obvious.
We all know how easily book discussions can lead to the personal. Nancy suggests getting back on track by asking, "What would the author think about that?"
She also has an interesting way of controlling conversation-dominators.
The video is just an hour and filled with useful ways to deal with common book club issues. To watch it, click here and scroll down to "Regroup Your Book Group: Techniques for Energizing Your Book Discussion Group."
Wouldn't you love to get tips from someone who used to advise dysfunctional book groups? I've just had that experience, via streaming video from Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library's web site. The session is conducted by Nancy Pearl, who is what is perhaps an oxymoron: a "famous librarian." If you've seen, or even own the "librarian action figure," it's based on the real life Nancy. (Admit it, you're a book nerd, you've got one of these and if you don't you WANT one, so click here.)
Nancy has a true passion for books, which is proven by the titles of her own books --- Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment and Reason, More Book Lust and Book Crush: For Kids and Teens.
On the video, Nancy warns that it is never a good idea to lead off a book discussion with "So, what did you think of the book?" That always leads to a discussion of why people loved or hated the book, which is rarely illuminating. Instead, Nancy suggests leading with "What does the title mean?" For instance, "What's the lesson in A Lesson Before Dying and who learned it?" She swears this always works, even with a title that seems perfectly obvious.
We all know how easily book discussions can lead to the personal. Nancy suggests getting back on track by asking, "What would the author think about that?"
She also has an interesting way of controlling conversation-dominators.
The video is just an hour and filled with useful ways to deal with common book club issues. To watch it, click here and scroll down to "Regroup Your Book Group: Techniques for Energizing Your Book Discussion Group."
posted by Carol Fitzgerald at
10:37 AM
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