The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group [Paperback]

Ellen Slezak (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995

On any given afternoon or evening, hundreds of book groups are meeting in living rooms, libraries, coffee houses, and kitchens to share their love--or hate--of a book. Interests and reading lists vary tremendously, but in each successful group, members are linked by a passion for books and a fierce loyalty to each other. "The Book Group Book" contains essays from special-interest groups, groups with professional leaders or sponsors, new groups, and groups that have been meeting for decades. Book lovers will learn how groups are organized and find inspiration and insight from the strengths, weaknesses, and special qualities that make book groups a treasured part of their members' lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Reading, like writing, is a solitary occupation, and many readers yearn for a venue in which to discuss problems with and responses to a book. Slezak, a freelance writer and editor, addresses that need by offering a representative sampling of 25 book discussion groups across the country: a club originally organized 76 years ago, a poetry-reading group, a group that flourished after nearly floundering, and an African American sisterhood. The first part of the book details these groups in essays written by group members, covering issues such as book selection, discussion initiation, reasons for meeting, group "rules," and membership. The second part consists of reading lists, some annotated, used by book groups. This original, readable text should prove useful to book lovers in general and to public libraries in particular.
- Cathy Sabol, Northern Virginia Community Coll., Manassas
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Slezak assembles more than 25 essays on a fast-growing cultural activity, the book-discussion group. Since reading is such a solitary act, many individuals enjoy the opportunity to discuss with others their thoughts on a particular book. Visiting book groups around the country, Slezak collected essays covering such topics as how book groups are formed, the book-selection process, the dynamics within a group, the role of leadership, and other relevant issues. A large number of the groups represented here consist entirely of women and emphasize books by and about women. Many women find that the absence of men allows them to speak more freely. The point of view of a man in a book group is represented in an essay entitled "Beers and Drum Beating in the Kitchen." Some groups are very structured, while others tend to be more casual and social in nature. While the main thrust of all these groups is literary, it seems that many participants find the friendships developed in these groups to be quite special. Includes reading lists. Benjamin Segedin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Pr; 2nd edition (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556522460
• ISBN-13: 978-1556522468
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,886,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than a guide, it contains its own wonderful stories, March 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group (Paperback)

I was looking for information about starting a book club when I found this book. At first I thought it would be useless because I was looking for guidelines, and this is a collection of essays. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the essays here not only provided the information I was looking for but were enjoyable reading in their own merit. The collection reads like a book of short stories. The compiled book lists are also very helpful.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3rd edition out, amazon does not have yet, June 11, 2001

By 

J. Palmer "knyght_errant" (College Station TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group (Paperback)

.... "It has seventeen new essays and 37 new book lists added to the second edition mentioned here. Forty six essays describe how individual groups are organized and portray thier strengths, weaknesses, and unique characters. Special-interest groups, groups with professional leaders or sponsors, new groups, and groups that have been meeting for decades are all represented. Readers discover what makes a good group tick, from how to organize meetings, select members and books, and stimulate discussion to turning a flagging group around. More than three dozen reading lists supplied by the groups themselves help to provide insight and inspiration for all who currently belong to a book group or are tempted to start a group of thier own....

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book Group Book is good, June 1, 2000

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group (Paperback)

A Thoughtful Guide to Forming & Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group with essayss written, often collectively, by members of many & varied groups together with a What To Read section. With a foreword that only Margaret Atwood could write, this collection of quirky, humorous & serious essays gathered from book groups around the country, enchants, entertains & had me plotting how to start a group out of our local library. A really neat read. ................