What actually makes a book club GOOD? And how do you get people to come back month after month without turning it into homework?
This week on Book Lounge by Libby, we're going behind the scenes of the book club. Joe is joined by Amy Allen Clark of Book Gang Podcast and book club, Dave McNally, Adult Services Supervisor at Cuyahoga County Public Library, and Meara of (@mearaisreading) to talk about what makes a great book club, how groups choose what to read, the biggest barriers that keep people from joining and what happens when a book club meeting goes completely off the rails.
We're talking book club tips, discussion drama, choosing books, reading outside your comfort zone, building community and, naturally, some very important book club gossip.
Whether you're already a devoted book club person, thinking about joining one or wondering if you should finally start your own, this conversation has something for you.
And yes, we get into the books that brought people together, the ones that divided them and the stories that have become legendary around the book club table.
If you're watching or listening on Spotify, comment and let us know: If you're part of a book club, tell us about it! How big is your group? How often do you meet? What's the best book you've ever read together? And, perhaps most importantly, what's the book that nearly started a civil war?
OR come comment on today's post over on Instagram at @bookloungepod.
Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel!
Book recommendations:
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut
Heart the Lover – Lily King
Daughters of Shandong – Eve J. Chung
Woodworking – Emily St. James
The Rachel Incident – Caroline O’Donoghue
Sula – Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
I See You’ve Called in Dead – John Kenney
Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
The Art Thief – Michael Finkel
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev – Dawnie Walton
Big Swiss – Jen Beagin
Death in Her Hands – Ottessa Moshfegh
The End of Men – Christina Sweeney-Baird
Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom
Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Chain-Gang All-Stars – Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Guillotine – Delilah S. Dawson
Who’s in this episode:
Amy Allen Clark - Links
Meara - Links
Time stamps: 00:00:00 Title 00:00:19 Welcome and intro 00:12:10 Different styles and sizes of Book Clubs 00:21:48 Preparing for Discussion 00:47:24 Do you always finish the book? 01:01:57 What should you know before you walk into book club the first time? 01:05:52 Comment Question and Outro
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Got a book recommendation, dream guest or just want to say hi? We'd love to hear from you at bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com.
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Happy Reading!
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