I’ve got book clubs on my mind this week. My first novel, Secrets of Hallstead House, is being discussed at the inaugural meeting of a local book club during March and they’ve invited me to attend (woo hoo!). Once the meeting is over I think I’ll join the book club (because I already know I love their taste in books).
Recently I tried to join a pop-up book club which meets at a hotel about a half hour from my house. They meet for three months a year and this year the topic is Ernest Hemingway. They’re reading The Sun Also Rises by the man himself, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, and Hemingway’s Girl by Erika Robuck. Alas, the book club was full by the time I heard about it, so I’m on the wait list and it doesn’t look like they’re going to have any open slots for me. I’ll just have to make sure I join early next year.
You may remember a while back I mentioned I was writing book club questions for my new novel, House of the Hanging Jade (coming out in about three months!). They’ll be in the back of the book. I also composed lists of discussion questions for Secrets of Hallstead House and The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor, though those questions are not in the books– they’ll be going up on my website instead. While I was researching book clubs and discussion questions, I came across some useful and interesting websites. I thought I would share them with you in case you’re part of a book club and are looking for discussion ideas. They’re even good if you’re not in a book club and just want a way to dig deeper into a book you’re reading.
- The best site I found was for the Westfield Memorial Library in Westfield, NJ. It has an extensive list of discussion questions for fiction. You can find the list here: http://www.wmlnj.org/bookclubkits/generalquestionsfiction.asp.
- Another great site is https://multcolib.org/talk-it-book-groups-kids. It’s billed as a list for a kids’ book group, but I think the questions are great for anyone, adults or children.
- Here’s another: http://classiclit.about.com/od/bookclubs/a/aa_bcquestions.htm.
- This is a good one, though you have to scroll down to find the sample discussion questions: https://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs/advice/index.cfm/fuseaction/diy_guides.
I’ve also composed a list of a few good websites to find discussion questions for non-fiction books. You’ll note the first website is familiar–the Westfield Memorial Library again!
- http://www.wmlnj.org/bookclubkits/generalquestionsnonfiction.asp.
- http://www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org/yourlibrary/specialcollections/bellinghamreads/Reading%20Guides/General%20NF%20Bio%20Discussion%20Questions.pdf.
- http://lagrangelibrary.org/lagrange/images/general%20questions.pdf (this list contains questions for both fiction and non-fiction).
Want to know my favorite place to look for discussion questions? Go right to the source–the author! If there isn’t a list of discussion questions at the end of a book, email the author or visit his or her website to ask if there are any questions he or she could suggest for your book club. Trust me, the author will love it!
Do you have any resources you’d like to share?
Until next week,
Amy
This is wonderful. My book will be out in a little over a month -so I appreciate this information. Now, how do you get your book as part of a book club reading?
http://www.fiddledeedeebooks.wordpress.com
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That’s a good question. In my case, it’s been 1) word-of-mouth by people who have enjoyed the book and suggested it to their book clubs; 2) people who have met me or my family and want to help me promote my books, so they suggest it to their book clubs; or 3) I tell visitors to my website that I’m happy to attend book clubs within a reasonable distance and I’m also happy to meet with a book club via Skype or some other video chat site if the club is too far away. I’m also perfectly fine with doing it over the phone. That way people who visit my website know that I’m very willing to be part of a discussion.
That being said, I don’t know how other authors get their books into book clubs. Some books seem tailor-made for discussion groups. Are you a member of Booksgosocial (BGS) on Facebook? BGS has a group for authors (self-promotion not allowed, or only on certain well-publicized days) and one for readers. You have to ask permission to join the author group. But once you’re in the group, that would be a great question to put to other writers.
Hope this is helpful. Thanks for visiting!
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Thanks -that is great advice. I will look into it.
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Thanks so much for the links. I’ve been thinking about pulling book club questions together for my books and have been putting it off. This helps immensely. 🙂
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You’re very welcome. They’re great even if you’re not in a book club, as one of the commenters suggested. They’re helpful just for digging deeper into a book. Thanks for stopping by and welcome!
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Reblogged this on BOOK CHAT and commented:
If you belong to a book club or not, you should read this post by Amy M. Reade on her lovely blog Reade and Write. She lists sources for questions to help you explore your reading more deeply.
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Great information! Joining a book club is something I have always wanted to do, but haven’t ugh! A 2016 Goal, Maybe? Have a great day!
As Always, “Keep Reading and Writing!”
Sharon
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It’s been a long time since I was in a book club, so I’m very excited to join the club in March. You have a great day, too!
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