Who Chooses the Title?
What will you read and who chooses the titles?
There are lots of ways to choose the books you will read.
Tip: Remember, not all books are discussible. There needs to be some controversy or conflicting points in the book to ensure a lively discussion. That doesn't mean that your book group cannot read and discuss any title a member suggests. Some just don't lend themselves to a great discussion but you can still have an enjoyable evening.)
- You can choose all the titles for each month in advance for the whole year or you can choose them monthly.
- You can begin by choosing a title someone has read, really enjoyed, and wouldn't mind reading again. A trend is to keep re-reading favorites from the past and not just choosing new works.
- Members can vote on titles suggested by other members.
- The host/hostess for the particular month can choose the book.
- You can rotate choices among members. (I used to suggest two titles to the person whose turn it was to come up with the next read. Some would take them and others would tell me they didn't want the members debating over which one to read!)
- During Black History Month in February, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month in May, Hispanic Heritage Month September 15th through October 15th, and Native American Heritage Month in November, choose a book written by an author with that particular heritage.
- Read and discuss a book concerned with Alzheimers Disease for World Alzheimers Day or other diseases on the day they are honored.
- You can also choose a holiday book for that time of the year, one that relates to mothers for Mother's Day, or an Irish themed book for St. Patrick's Day. You get the idea!
- Another popular idea is to choose two books with the same theme. These two titles, one fiction and one non fiction, both deal with Alzheimer's Disease: The Madonnas of Leningrad: A Novel
, by Debra Dean and Still Alice
, by Lisa Genova work very well together. They could be read and discussed at the same meeting or one after the other.
- Some groups choose a prolific author and concentrate on reading many of her/his works.
- After you've chosen the book your group will read and discuss, compile a list of "related reads" for your members which will broaden their understanding and/or interest in the theme. For example, if you read The Friday Night Knitting Club
, by Kate Jacobs, you can list other books with knitting as a main theme. Titles can be novels, biographies, or even non fiction reads that will appeal to your members.
You have many, many other choices for types of reading:
- General fiction including bestsellers and award winners
- Classics
- Gay and lesbian authors and stories
- Historical fiction
- Multicultural authors and stories such as Hispanic, African American, or Asian
- Mysteries
- Women's literature including chic lit
- Narrative Non Fiction
- Books by British authors
- Books into film (after you read the book, view the film!
And don't forget to check out the Booklists on this site for good reading suggestions!
Where Do You Get the Books? How Often and What Time to Meet?