New Term, New Start

Well, after a prolonged Indian summer break it's finally Book Group season again. There are new faces, a new meeting day ( Wednesdays - although we're still the Saturday Readers)and of course, a new book!

It was difficult to choose a book when there were so many excellent suggestions and such a variety of interests and preferences from the readers. As our discussion / negotiation  over reading matter progressed it was clear that book length was a deciding factor. Understandably  we cannot choose anything too long. It is easy to forget that readers have lives, families, friends jobs, commitments other than just curling up with a good book.

At previous meetings we were ambitious to choose Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, a wapping 480 pages and Restless by William Boyd, slightly more reasonable at 336 pages. We want reading to be a pleasure, and not something to be treated like homework which we rush to finish the night before 'class'. 

Finally after much deliberation we've agreed to read The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the first in a highly successful series of books featuring the Botswanan detective Precious Ramotswe. It weighs in at a manageable 235 pages.

Here is Alexander McCall Smith's official website

This is a direct link to an extract from No.1, from the official website

Here is the Wikipedia page on No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

Here are some reviews from goodreads.com

Book cover, designed by Hannah Firmin

Getting together, reading together

Rosina Emmet Sherwood
Girl Reading,1888
Photo credit:freeparking

Here's the  group activity from the conference that we didn't have time to do:

Find someone who… has finished War and Peace

Find someone who… can recite a piece of poetry

Find someone who… has read all the works by one author (e.g. everything by Dickens)

Find someone who… has been in a book club before

Find someone who… has read a James Bond novel

Find someone who… has bought a book but never opened it

Find someone who… has read Fifty Shades of Grey

Find someone who… hasn’t read Fifty Shades of Grey

Find someone who… can remember immediately whether they have read a book or not

Find someone who… reads different books at the same time (e.g. one book on the Metro, one book at home)

Find someone who… likes audio books

Find someone who… never sees the film before reading the book

Here's the handout:

BOOK GROUP

 FIRST MEETING IDEAS

·      Favourite Book: all members have two pieces of paper – one with their names and one with the title of their favourite book. Then all names and titles are displayed and everyone tries to guess and match up the books to the members.

·      Find a Member: give all members a list of criteria and they will have to find a name to fit into each category. For example, “Find a member who has finished War and Peace”, “Find a member who has been in a book club before” or “Find a member who can recite a poem”.

·      Have a book-free meeting, on special occasions like Valentines or Halloween.

·      Ask members to come with alternative endings – even try writing them and reading them out loud.

·      Create your own literary awards and ask members to vote for their best reads, favourite authors, etc.

   All ideas from www.thereadingclub.co.uk

GENERIC TOPICS AND QUESTIONS

     How did your feelings change as you read or listened to the              narrative?Did it make you angry, frightened, laugh, or cry?

       Which relationship was most interesting and why?

      

       Did you get off to a slow start or were you hooked straight away?

    

      What did you think of the ending? Was it what you expected?

    

     If you've read a true story, biography or autobiography, did you think it was well told? Did you find out more or less than you wanted about the subject? Have you changed your opinion of them now you've read their story?

     Who was your favourite / least favourite character? Were there any  characters you could identify with?

      Did you find some parts of the story more enjoyable than others?

        If the story was set in another time or    country, how did that        affect you? Was it    convincing?   Would you want to live in that      time or   travel to that country / place?

      Is this a book you would recommend and, if    so, why? Would you read another title by this  author?

     Did you skip the boring bits or just read the end? If you gave up on the book, can you say why?

     If it was made into a film / TV series, which actors would play the main parts?

Did it remind you of any other books you have  read? Can you think of any other   stories with similar ideas, characters or settings?

     Questions from www.readinggroups.org

       USEFUL SITES

FOR

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

https://www.goodreads.com/

  

http://www.bookclubgirl.com/

http://www.litlovers.com/  Includes guides and book club resources

http://bookclubclassics.com/Blog/best-books-for-book-clubs/  Some great book guides

http://bookpage.com  Type ‘book club’ into the blog search engine for inspiration

https://www.englishclub.com/reading/recommended/index.htm  Recommendations for English learners and teachers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003jhsk    “World Book Club invites the globe’s greatest authors to discuss their best known novels”  listen to discussions and dramatizations

http://successfulenglish.com/2013/01/good-reads-for-intermediate-english-learners/  Some recommendations for Young Adult Learners

http://readers.penguin.co.uk/  Penguin’s Book group page, including advice about setting up a group

http://readinggroups.org/  A site for reading groups including reviews and advice

http://www.bookgroup.info/041205/index.php   A site for reading groups, you can even add your group to the list!

http://www.readinggroupguides.com  Good resource for guides

http://www.thereadingclub.co.uk All about starting up a reading group

http://www.openingthebook.com/whichbook/  Great resource for choosing something to read. Take a look at the blog too

LITERATURE AVAILABLE

Start a Book Swap List – everybody provides a list of 5 or 10 books they are willing to swap to pool resources.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/britlit

A variety of short stories and poetry suitable for primary and secondary school students. Some of the work is original and some packs provide resources for stories well known for the film version, such as Billy Elliot and Bend It Like Beckham.

http://www.gutenberg.org/  Over 45,000 free books.  Good for the classics

http://www.readanybook.com/

Remember, if you're interested in setting up a book group please get in touch! I can help with practicalities and help spread the word.

When's your next meeting???