Is your book group in a rut? Are folks sick of reading World War II-era historical fiction? Is your attendance dwindling? Maybe it’s time to go rogue. We hosted a live event (sponsored by NoveList) where we gathered some book-group experts to talk about what makes a good selection, how to pick something unexpected for […]
I am an eternal optimist. This tendency to think things will work out for the best is sometimes at odds with my inner curmudgeon, but what can you do? I like to think this conflict keeps my also-inner Pollyanna in check, but sometimes, that Pollyanna is strong. Take, for example, the time my book group […]
Donna Seaman, Booklist Adult Books Editor and co-chair of the SJP Picks selection committee, interviewed Nigerian writer Ayobami Adebayo about her debut novel, Stay with Me, a complex and suspenseful portrait of a besieged marriage—and Sarah Jessica Parker’s third selection for SJP Picks. For more information, visit Book Club Central. DONNA SEAMAN: Stay with Me is […]
We at Booklist are proud to once again partner with the Women’s National Book Association for National Reading Group Month. Every October, the WNBA supplies a list of Great Group Reads. The 20 titles on this year’s list have been chosen for their appeal to reading groups by a selection committee of writers, reviewers, librarians, booksellers, publicists, and committed […]
This month, after our brief foray into BYO Books, the LIT book club resumed our normal reading schedule with In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. This 2012 novel, Ratner’s first, tells the gorgeous, wrenching story of a prince’s daughter, Raami, who grows up in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge takes over in […]
Every year, area clubs invariably ask us to suggest short books for holiday reading. There are many such titles, of course, but it can be hard, at this time of year, for members to get copies of holiday titles when they need them. But there are ways to work around the holiday crush. Some book clubs in our area have each […]
This month, the LIT book club finished out the last of our genre summer reading with Isabel Quintero’s wonderful Gabi, a Girl in Pieces, a young adult novel recommended by librarian Lizzy Klinnert. In this Lincoln Award-winner (given for excellent YA literature), seventeen-year-old Gabi is dealing with some heavy issues. One friend is pregnant, and another is gay […]
We at Booklist are proud to once again partner with the Women’s National Book Association for National Reading Group Month. Every October, the WNBA supplies a list of Great Group Reads. The 20 titles on this year’s list have been chosen for their appeal to reading groups by a selection committee of writers, reviewers, librarians, booksellers, publicists, and committed readers. […]
We’re very pleased to be once again working with the Women’s National Book Association for their National Reading Group Month this October. Want to learn more? The press release below tells all. Booklist, the American Library Association’s premier review source for public libraries and schools, has been selected once again to collaborate with the Women’s National Book […]
We may never see a book club as singularly influential as the one Oprah Winfrey included as a segment on her show, particularly since the influence of nationally syndicated talk shows has diminished so drastically since Oprah put away her stickers and laid her club to rest. In subsequent years, other televised book clubs sprang up to replace the Oprah-shaped void in the […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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