Book Club Makeover: Our First Group of Winners
Last month we asked readers to let us know if they wanted a Book Club Makeover, a chance to have their group get advice from experts on various issues and problems that they were having. To date we have received almost 100 requests, which tells us that this idea really struck a chord with readers.
These past few days I have read through each of the submissions to select our first group of makeover candidates with an eye on selecting groups with different issues so we could touch on more than one topic. We will reach out to each of these groups by email and phone over the next couple of weeks to learn more about them so we can work on addressing their issues and bring them each an individual solution in the month of October.
Here are the three selected groups and their problems:
Group #1:
Problem: In a Reading Rut and Need to Liven Up Meetings
Susan of Stages and Pages from Portland Maine has a group that meets monthly, usually on the last Thursday of the month. They usually have a core group of 8 who show up regularly and have welcomed as many as 17 in the group over the years. Right now they have a temporary moratorium on new members. Their group adheres to a social time between 7:00-7:30 and then it's all discussion til 9:00. They are looking for serious topics that are uplifting and hopeful. Their favorite books have included The Power of One, The Virgin Suicides and Money: A Memoir.
Group #2:
Problem: Need to Get A Spark Back Into Our Discussions
Anita of The Bookies from Fort Morgan, Colorado has a group of a nine college-educated women from their 30s-70s that meet monthly on Thursday evenings. They have been together for ten years, with five women who are among the original members. According to Anita, "To quote Debra Linn (one of our regular bloggers) more and more 'our discussions feel like deja vu.' We read fiction, nonfiction, short stories and a play or two. We take turns choosing selections and facilitating discussion. We need help getting a spark back into our reading experiences and discussions."
Group #3:
Problem: Keeping Members and Keeping Discussions On Track
Christie of Changing Chapters from Wisconsin Rapids, WI has a group of twelve members, which has been together for ten years. They meet on the third Wednesday of each month. They have social time from 6:30-7:00 and then start their discussions, which last til 8:30. Each discussion usually has about 6 members who come on a regular basis. Each member picks a book, hosts at her home with refreshments and leads the discussion including research on the author and history of the book. They read both fiction and nonfiction. They have a problem with attrition as new members often join and then just stick around for a few months. Picks are often not read by all members. Discussions veer off topic and if the book is a real dud not much discussion takes place.
Feel free to share your ideas on how your group may have overcome these same issues with your comments on this blog. We look forward to bringing them our own ideas and suggestions in the weeks to come!
Please note that you still can enter to be selected for a makeover for November here if you have not shared your information with us. Those already entered still may be considered so there is no need to re-apply.
These past few days I have read through each of the submissions to select our first group of makeover candidates with an eye on selecting groups with different issues so we could touch on more than one topic. We will reach out to each of these groups by email and phone over the next couple of weeks to learn more about them so we can work on addressing their issues and bring them each an individual solution in the month of October.
Here are the three selected groups and their problems:
Group #1:
Problem: In a Reading Rut and Need to Liven Up Meetings
Susan of Stages and Pages from Portland Maine has a group that meets monthly, usually on the last Thursday of the month. They usually have a core group of 8 who show up regularly and have welcomed as many as 17 in the group over the years. Right now they have a temporary moratorium on new members. Their group adheres to a social time between 7:00-7:30 and then it's all discussion til 9:00. They are looking for serious topics that are uplifting and hopeful. Their favorite books have included The Power of One, The Virgin Suicides and Money: A Memoir.
Group #2:
Problem: Need to Get A Spark Back Into Our Discussions
Anita of The Bookies from Fort Morgan, Colorado has a group of a nine college-educated women from their 30s-70s that meet monthly on Thursday evenings. They have been together for ten years, with five women who are among the original members. According to Anita, "To quote Debra Linn (one of our regular bloggers) more and more 'our discussions feel like deja vu.' We read fiction, nonfiction, short stories and a play or two. We take turns choosing selections and facilitating discussion. We need help getting a spark back into our reading experiences and discussions."
Group #3:
Problem: Keeping Members and Keeping Discussions On Track
Christie of Changing Chapters from Wisconsin Rapids, WI has a group of twelve members, which has been together for ten years. They meet on the third Wednesday of each month. They have social time from 6:30-7:00 and then start their discussions, which last til 8:30. Each discussion usually has about 6 members who come on a regular basis. Each member picks a book, hosts at her home with refreshments and leads the discussion including research on the author and history of the book. They read both fiction and nonfiction. They have a problem with attrition as new members often join and then just stick around for a few months. Picks are often not read by all members. Discussions veer off topic and if the book is a real dud not much discussion takes place.
Feel free to share your ideas on how your group may have overcome these same issues with your comments on this blog. We look forward to bringing them our own ideas and suggestions in the weeks to come!
Please note that you still can enter to be selected for a makeover for November here if you have not shared your information with us. Those already entered still may be considered so there is no need to re-apply.
posted by Carol Fitzgerald at
2:30 PM
4 Comments:
I moderate a senior ladies book club at our library. I've started incorporating different things into our discussions. One month I featured Young Adult books. I showed them some great examples of good books being written for teens. And since many of them have teenage grandchildren, they really enjoyed this discussion. I also did a presentation during Banned Book Week. Highlighting some of the most challenged books. So far I think the ladies have really enjoyed the talks we've had in addition to all the great books we read.
Our group,the Paige Turners, has been meeting for over 10 years. We had the same problem of keeping the discussion on track and having everyone actually read the selection. So . . . last year we had a reorganization meeting and decided on some "guidelines." (We are mostly teachers and retired teachers so we don't like the word "rules!") Our guidelines include "make an honest attempt to read the book" - which some were not happy about but it HAS helped! Those people who don't care to read a certain choice don't bother to come now and since we have a large group (20+) there are always enough who DO read and show up to discuss. Also to keep the discussion on track one of our members (a counselor) suggested we use an object to denote "speaker power." For instance - we're going to discuss Devil in the White City this month. So we'll use something from the Chicago World's Fair (maybe a box of Cracker Jacks or a can of Papst Blue Ribbon!) and whoever is holding it has the floor - speaker power. Even though we sometimes get distracted it usually works!
I am from Susan's group - Stages and Pages. We learn so much from each other. Some of my favorite books have been 1000 WHITE WOMEN and THE GLASS CASTLE. I also loved THE OTHER BOELYN GIRL. We have trouble all agreeing on a book at times, and have decided to have the hostess choose the book each month. We are presently reading LOVING FRANK. We are looking forward to your expert advice. Eileen Dawson
Our book group has been together for 8 years. We've used a few different methods for choosing books over the years. Because we are all busy with jobs and family, we like to have our book selections determined in advance. We now devote one meeting to selecting books. Each member (we are 13 in number, so that we can meet in members' homes)suggests two books. The list is circulated at least a week in advance so that we can acquaint ourselves with the choices. That night we vote on one of each member's two selections. The member proposing the book then will be responsible for leading the discussion of the book and providing background on the author, etc.
we meet in our member's homes. The hostess is not the discussion leader (it's enough to get ready to host, let along having to come up with the discussion topics), but is free to do refreshment or invitations themed to the book, if she wishes.
We had a problem back when we just voted on a stack of books six months in advance. The discussion leader would sometimes get stuck preparing for and leading a discussion about a book that she didn't like, or worse, was indifferent to. Other members found that the books that they proposed in the stack were never chosen, discouraging their overall involvement.
Since we changed our voting method, our meetings have been much more lively. It makes the research that goes into choosing the two books that I'm going to propose to the group well worth it.
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