Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Reading Group

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
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It is always hard to find different books, sometimes non traditional, to read. Besides bringing the concept of a reading group to the college campus, this book had an extensive listing of books to be read. It was humorous also which made the reading easier. The section on how to get guys interested was especially helpful. BUY IT

At first, I thought "Oh No, not another Idiot's Guide." But, after reading this, I was able to breath new life into my reading group. The suggestions in this book are not only creative, but simple to use. And they really work!

Some in the Idiot's Guides series are pretty good, some are pretty dreadful; this one falls somewhere in the middle. Not all of his advice on locating an existing reading group is sound -- library-based groups are necessarily as open to the general public as those sponsored by chain bookstores -- nor is his advice to buy multiple new copies of books rather than used ones. He's much better on what makes for a successful new group -- how to choose members, how to choose which books to read, how to pace a discussion, and how to make sure everyone is included. And most of his thematic lists of books to consider are quite reasonable, except for the very short shrift he gives science fiction. (He seems to think "genre" fiction means primarily mystery novels.) My main complaint about this book is the cutesyness common to the whole series, but if can ignore that there's some pretty good stuff here.

This book caught my eye at the library a few weeks ago, and I'm pleased that it did. While it is primarily aimed at those who want to set up physical reading groups, there is plenty of good advice for those who participate in on-line discussions as well. There are some suggestions about books to consider, ways to structure groups and possible discussion points. I particularly enjoyed the quotes sprinkled through the text.

Recommended to anyone who is considering establishing a reading group. While most of the advice is particularly relevant to North America, the underlying principles apply universally.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

After reading the complete Idiots Guide To Reading Groups, I immediately gathered a group of my friends to create a book club. The ingenius ideas of having meetings and making them interesting were inventive. Reading is becoming extinct, but this guide gives great suggestions on books to lure people back in. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have suggested it to several colleagues to begin their own reading groups.

Oh, how I wish I had this text at my fingertips when I suffered away as a bookstore clerk! Not only is it a valuable resource written by someone who seems as great a bibliophile as myself, but then I would have had a segue into conversation with all of the good looking girls who came in to the shop and asked me how much they really wanted to start a book club, but simply didn't know where to start.