Students then use the strategy to develop questions for a peerled book discussion. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential. Fear not, here are a few tips to help you have an enjoyable and successful book club gathering. For those who have the gift of leading and teaching, leading a bible study is a very rewarding experience and very valuable in the teachers life as well as in the life of every person who is a part of the study. Some groups might be very formal with an official moderator for example if your group is run by the local library it is quite likely that a. Non fiction book club questions westfield memorial library. You can choose from 4hour, 8hour, and 10hour options. Women, work, and the will to lead by sheryl sandberg. Ask one employee to lead the discussion about the weeks assigned chapter or two. What has been the impact of pinnacle sponsoring book clubs in. Select a book readalong schedule that meets your teams needs.
How to begin and lead a book discussion group iowa center for. How to start a book club that doesnt suck book riot. Why did their father lead a double life for all those years, and. Its your turn to moderate lead your book clubs discussion. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions. Jun 17, 2018 the book discussion is the central part of book clubs, and sadly, often the most neglected. What are the benefits of being in a virtual book club instead of a physical one. When you are asking questions, you want to facilitate discussion, not come off as a teacher.
Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. Sep 05, 2016 having great book discussion questions is essential to leading a successful book club, and now that i run an online moms book club i use this lesson to avoid awkward silences yes they can happen online and create a lively, engaging book club meeting each month. Ask members to come with 3 questions to generate thought and discussion, marked passages to read, or relevant articles. Pick out a specific passage from the book description, an idea, a line of dialogueand ask members to comment. This is a literary analysis technique called close reading. Does the author use any narrative devices like flashbacks or multiple voices in telling the story. How to lead a book club discussion book club questions. This workbook is a companion to the book the book has the teachings and the workbook has the exercises. Now that we have 750 associates, there are too many sessions for terry to lead personally, so he hosts a discussion for 20 or so leaders who then go on to lead the rest of the book club meetings. By letting others in the book club answer first, you will promote conversation and help everyone feel like their opinions matter. You dont have to be in an english class to analyze books as a group.
Our 23 hour meetings are primarily a social gathering with a mere 10 minute discussion about the book snuck somewhere in the middle. Discussion guide for white fragility 2018, unitarian. During this time, you can also support groups who struggle with valuing diverse ideas, referring to their books for evidence, or focusing on the discussion. Come back to check for new material and monthly download. A suggested way to lead the discussion is to ask one employee a week to lead a discussion about the portion of the book that participants read. Mar 05, 20 oprahs book club do you remember the first book she picked. Bookbrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfictionbooks that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Inside, youll find 40 individual resources covering every aspect of reading groups and book clubs, including starting a club, locating an existing club, or facilitating a literary discussion. Some members may be shy, others might have a hard time openly disagreeing, and you.
How to begin and lead a book discussion group iowa. Leading a book club discussion can be a source of dread. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions that will lead to fruitful exchanges on your enjoyment or lack thereof of the book. They offer opportunity for intelligent conversation and lead to deeper understanding of an authors work.
Take notes or mark passages that strike youpassages you find significant, funny, or insightful. Adult programs will be starting up again soon, and this year will be my third year leading our small but dedicated book discussion group. Discuss the time period in history that each person in the group enjoys reading about most, and why. Select a number of questions, write each on an index card, and distribute. Guide to reading group and book club resources supersummary. Using the guide this discussion includes plans for a series of three, 90minute sessions. Try to avoid words like awful or idioticeven like and dislike. If youre leading a book discussion choose one question at a time and toss it out to the group. And thats why we created this guide to reading group and book club resources. Arrive at 7pm meet, chat, eat if food is on offer and discuss any book club issues such as what to read next. One evening her husband gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and alicia. We hope you enjoy this collection of resources for work, parenting, the classroom, and daily life. You and your fellow parent members are there to facilitate discussion, but mostly to listen. I decided to come up with a generic list of book club questions to compel us to dig deeper than did you like the book.
Invite an outside facilitator english teacher or librarian. Instead, talk about your experiencehow you felt as you read the book. Aug 21, 2017 ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. For our very first book club, we are being joined by our friend ana, of the wellappointed desk, for this discussion. Random house readers circle where readers can chat with fellow book lovers, find authors on tour, find book disucssion questions, and more reading. Nonlibrarians are welcome to join the group as well.
In most circumstances, as long as you follow some book club questions your group should be able to easily navigate yourself through a book club discussion without much intervention some book clubs choose to have a chair person at the meeting, someone to be in charge of leading a book club disc ussion. Let your child take the lead youll be amazed at what youll learn. Spend a few minutes looking at some of these suggestions. Form an employee book club see success stories in which a group of employees voluntarily read the same book. How to lead a book club discussion pen and the pad. Appoint a club memberwhoever selected the book or the person who is hosting. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. What made you suggest it to the group for discussion. Choose one question at a time and toss it out to the group.
Book club central will be a repository of resources on book clubs from tools to start and maintain your club to recommendations on books, as well as fun ideas like food pairings for. Leading a book discussion doesnt have to feel like a root canal. Keeping nonfiction book club questions simple, but open ended, will allow for plenty of opinions and encourage discussion among members. Students are introduced to the questionanswer relationship qar strategy through a readaloud and question sort. Gather a group of friends, choose a book and start reading. A place where all goodreads members can work together to improve the goodreads book catalog. And remember to check out our other book resources. We made dare to lead as tactical and actionable as possible, and this readalong workbook will help you put language, skills, and tools into practice. Select a volunteer to lead the book discussion at this meeting. Some clubs have one member who enjoys leading all discussions. The first article in this series explained how to plan a group discussion in this article, we describe best practices when leading a group discussion theres much more involved than simply getting people in a room, waving a magic wand, and declaring discuss now. How to lead a successful book club discussion bookbrowse. We have 7 tips to help you lead a great book club discussioneverything from book discussion questions, prompts, games, handouts, even index cards. However, nonfiction books are not yet as popular as their fiction counterparts as.
While the concept of open book discussion at your book club is easy to grasp. We break down the reading and exercises into manageable timeframes for your team to meet up for discussion and skillsbuilding. Select a volunteer to lead the relevance discussion, too. Its your turn to moderate lead your book club s discussion. Visit our book club section for more book club picks.
General book club questions for study and discussion. Combine the book reading with a regularly scheduled discussion meeting to double the impact of the book. Go clubbing with book clubs for kids scholastic parents. If you are running the book club, you can volunteer to be the moderator, or have other members of the club take turns at the helm.
Ive found that defining a leader for each discussion results in a higher quality discussion. Much like our virtual socials, we like to give our members a way to participate if they arent physically present in a location. How to conduct a great book club discussion youtube. While the concept of open book discussion at your book club is easy to grasp, it is a little harder to practice. Prompts, icebreakers, handouts and basic web research make leading book discussions easy and fun. There are lots of book club ideas and resources that can make the whole process less painful in fact, you can actually come to enjoy taking the lead. As promised, here are some questions to spark conversation. Here are some tips and ideas for starting a book or other club, and having it run without you having to do all of the work. Important questions to ask at your first book discussion. Jul 06, 2019 the second book in our the leadership book club 2019 was dare to lead by brene brown. May 09, 2017 7 tips for leading a lively book discussion group. Use specific passages from the book as evidence for your ideas.
If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Leading a bible study seems like an awesome task to the one who has never done it. We provide approaches to professional development that bridge theory and practice to generate solutions that work for a multitude of schools. Select a number of questions, write each on an index card, and pass them out. How to lead a book club discussion 7 great discussion tips. Book club questions for the silent patient by alex michaelides. Does your book club need a little help in creating conversation. In it, diangelo introduces the ideas she explores more deeply in her book. How to lead a book club how to run a book club meeting when its your turn to run the book club meeting, the pressure is on, and you want to do a good job.
Follow this guide to leading a successful and fun discussion. You might plant seeds after reading a book about nature or try your hand at poetry after reading robert frost. The second book in our the leadership book club 2019 was dare to lead by brene brown. Starting, running and choosing books for a reading group. As we were finishing the book, brenes netflix special the call to courage came out, which is a must see if you dont have time to read the book. First, the role of a moderator will vary from group to group. These 7 suggestions can help you become an excellent discussion leader and even enjoy the process. How to begin and lead a book discussion group iowa center. Has reading this book inspired you to do further research on the subject and the time period discussed. What did you learn about the time period in which the book is set that you did not previously know. Here are some tips and insights about what has worked well for me. When you are ready to lead your first discussion, heed the following tips to get the most rewarding experience out of your club meeting.
Leading a bible study officers christian fellowship. Even if you use a list of standard questions, come up with questions specific to the book being discussed to add depth to the dialogue. Need to lead your book club and want tips on how to promote a lively conversation. This may seem obvious, but it is the most important step, so it is worth stating.
It is a good idea to plan on finishing the book a little earlier than you might otherwise so that you have time to think about it and prepare before your book club meets. As a member or leader of a book club, you are likely to be reading books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and nonfiction. How to start and run a book club a thousand words youtube. Leadership is not about titles, status, or wielding power. Also, this workbook was developed for use by teams 3 or more and individuals working.
Rotate discussion leaders each monthmaybe its the person who selects the book or the one who hosts the meeting. Two mini book clubs meeting at the same time might make people happy. When you are ready to lead your first discussion, heed the following tips to get the most rewarding experience out of your club. A famous painter married to an indemand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of londons most desirable areas. Choose a primary character and ask members to comment on him or her. Each member or a team of 23 takes a card and answers the question. Prompts, icebreakers, handouts and basic web research make leading book discussions easy and. Having great book discussion questions is essential to leading a successful book club, and now that i run an online moms book club i use this lesson to avoid awkward silences yes they can happen online and create a lively, engaging book club meeting each month. Jul 12, 2009 leading a book club discussion can be a source of dread. Book club central, or bcc, will bring a world of information to book lovers, book clubs, libraries, and anyone who wants to increase their enjoyment of reading. No matter the genre, age, notoriety, or length of the book of the moment, book club questions can kickstart or enhance your group discussion. Most book clubs are groups of friends or colleagues. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy.
Oprahs book club do you remember the first book she picked. Litcourse 3 has a good discussion of close reading. Thoughtfully planned book clubs position learning in the hands of the students and provide discussion tools students can use as they work out their responses to the book. The real question is how to lead a book discussion. They dont help move discussions forward and can put others on the defensive. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions that will. Teaching students how to lead and participate in productive book discussions eventually frees you to work with individuals, pairs, or small groups who require additional scaffolding. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Work book club success stories the balance careers. Its your turn to moderatelead your book clubs discussion. Asking the right questions can mean the difference between a dull, lackluster book club and an inspiring and engaging one.
Character traits, motivations, how heshe affects the. The lack of a discussion leader results in a wide variance of book discussion from meeting to meeting. Dec 14, 2017 my current book club group is much more casual, but perhaps too much so. Read the book thoroughly, but also find out what you can about the author and the era in which the book was written.