Social Readers: Book Group Reads

We’re All Adults Here

Book Recommendations & Other Musings

by Carol Tuttle

Social Readers:

What will your book group read ?

I think of book club participants as social readers. Unless you are reading aloud to someone (one of the joys of sharing time with children!), the act of reading is a solitary one. You savor the words, live the plot in your head, and love the characters in your heart. But you become a social reader when you take that solitary experience and share it with another person. Sharing can be in the form of a simple conversation with a fellow reader, but is often in a book discussion setting.

One of the most difficult and most interesting challenges to a book club is selecting the titles to be read. Often, titles are chosen when they have been published in trade paperback (softcover versions, not the little mass market paperback type seen at the grocery checkout), since this is a more economical format. Blockbuster books just published in hardcover in the last year are more expensive for the individual reader to buy, and harder to get from the library due to waiting lists. Popular discussion-quality titles that have recently been released in trade paperback are:

There are online sites that support readers and book groups, with a special emphasis on selecting a great discussion book for your group, including Bookbrowse, Reading Group Choices, Goodreads, and BookBub Blog.

Are you looking for an established discussion group to join? Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library has a variety of days and times to fit your schedule. Call the library, or check our events calendar for up to date information:

• Willoughby Library: the Delicious Discussions group meets at 7 pm on the 4^th Monday of every month at a different downtown eatery.
• Eastlake Library: the Novel Conversations group meets at 7 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at the library. The Cookbook Confidential group meets monthly on the 3rd Saturday with a homemade dish and recipe based on a changing theme.
• Willowick Library: the Happy Bookers group meets at 7 pm on the 3^rd Tuesday of every month at the library.
• Willoughby Hills Library: Murder at the Hills is a daytime group of mystery readers who meet at 2 pm on certain Thursdays at the library.

Are you eager to start your own group? Here is a great resource on how to lead a book discussion and a source for discussion questions on many titles.

Enjoy your social reading !

Carol Tuttle is the Collection Services Librarian for the Willoughby-Eastlake Library System. She is currently reading The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro, and Furnishing Eternity: A Father, a Son, a Coffin, and a Measure of Life by David Giffels.

Find These Titles at the Library

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