How Do You Pick Them?

There are a lot of people out there who have thought they'd like to totally join a boss book club like the one featured on LOST (see the photo of the high drama at left). Well, maybe not everyone would like to join a book club... perhaps you like to make fun of people who are in book clubs. None the less, my book club met last night, and I'd like to share a couple of resources with you all.

First off, my book club (which is organized by the local branch of my county's public library) spent the first bit of time trying to select our books for next year. We use a resource book provided by the fine folks at Reading Group Choices. I recommend visiting their site which is chockablock full of great things. They give you suggestions for great books to discuss with your cronies and provide discussion starter topics/questions. An example of one of their discussion questions for our book club last night (discussion of Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier):

"Read and discuss the poem from which the book's title is taken, 'The Tyger.' What is its significance in terms of the novel and the characters? Why do you think Chevalier chose a phrase from this poem for her title?"

If you'd rather not be hemmed in by the fine folks at that establishment, then I'm going to recommend that you visit another site which is used by my book club, Suite 101. They've got great discussion questions for you to consider... if you're too much of a snob (or have social anxiety disorder), you can still use their questions as a guide to your critical analysis/review of books you've read on your own. An example of one of their discussion questions for our book club last night is:

"Tracy Chevalier’s novel hinges on this comment by William Blake 'The tension between contraries is what makes us ourselves. We have not just one but the other too, mixing and clashing and sparking inside us. Not just light, but dark. Not just peace, but war. Not just innocent, but experienced,’ (127). Do you agree with Blake? Or do you believe that a person is essentially good or essentially evil with little of the opposite mixed in?"

That sparked a pretty lively discussion. Do you have other sources you recommend for book discussions or that you use in reviewing books? Do you hate book clubs and think people who go to them are nerds?

The End Has Happened

So, if you're anything like me (and, really, who out there isn't like me because I'm the picture of typical American women and men?), then you've been anxiously awaiting the end of the summer vlog brothers book club.

I recommend this "book club" to anyone who hates book clubs, reading the classics, or reading in general. If you're too lazy or disinterested to read books such as the The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger, copyright 1951), then you should watch this insanely brilliant literary analyst do quick-witted recaps. It's like he's writing your book report for you. Check it out here in it's three-part glory:

The Intro:



"Book Club" Part 1:



"Book Club" Part 2:



I really love the way this guy talks about books because (yes, I'll admit it), I've tried to read The Catcher in the Rye once before when I was fresh out of college--I wanted to see what all the early censorship ballyhoo was about--and hated the book. I forced myself to finish it because (yes, I'll admit it) I have a really hard time admitting to myself that I "don't get it" and that books can defeat me. None the less, I hated every second of reading this book because I literally didn't get it. Having watched all three parts of this analysis, I'm ready for a re-read.

Please comment and let me know if there are any books that have beat you down and/or made you feel like a failure because (although much-hyped) you just "didn't get it."

A Book Club for Book Worms

So, recently (within the past two hours) I've been thinking that I need to participate in a book club group that meets in real life. A bona fide book club that doesn't just read whatever Oprah recommends, and isn't just a bunch of friends getting together to drink iced lattes and pretend they're discussing books.

I used to be in a book club at church, we mostly read Christian non-fiction, but once (when we were feeling really adventurous) we read Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone to see what all the hullabaloo from Christians was about. All in all, not so much to be hullabaloo-ing about. Even though that book club had a limited genre from which to select, I enjoyed getting together once a month with other people who liked to read and talk about the book.

I went to the Barnes & Noble book club about New Moon from the Twilight Saga, and I'll be going back next week for the discussion of Eclipse, but mostly I do that to get a Twilight fix. There don't seem to be many others who read the book very intently (looking for imagery and/or symbolism, or to critique the author's writing and/or character development).

I did a little searching and found that my local library has a monthly book discussion. It's a bit late to read the book for July's meeting, but I think I'm going to go for the next few discussions that are planned. Here's what we'll be chewing on:

• August 25, Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern
• September 29, Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
• October 27, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Is there anybody else out there who participates in book clubs? Wish they had a book discussion group? Anybody have experience starting their own?

The Perfect Book Club

So, a couple of weeks ago I went to a book club at my local Barnes & Noble for Stephenie Meyer's book New Moon, book 2 of 4 in the Twilight Saga. I was apprehensive because 1) I was the first person there, thinking I would be forced to have an awkward/intimate conversation with the employee who is the discussion moderator; and 2) I was fearful that the only others to show up would be some 13-year-old girls. Anyway, there ended up being a good mix (at 29, I was neither the youngest nor the oldest there)--the teenagers (probably more like 14 and 16) didn't say much because I don't think they've digested the books beyond the "The vampire is so hot" level, but the other discussion was good. I'm planning to go back for the discussion of Eclipse on July 24.

On a related note, there's an awesome blog, Film Experience (see link at right), that I frequently visit in a long-time-listener-first-time-caller kind of way. The blogger, Nathaniel, is so wildly conversant on all things film-related that I'm intimidated by him and have a cyber-crush on him.

Anyway, he's got a book club going where you read a book and consider who you would cast for the characters if it were being adapted to a film (considering age/physical description, characterization/acting abilities). I'm going to participate in the next book club "discussion" of Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris.

Anybody else participate in a good book club?