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January Spotlight

December 29, 2016 Spotlight Book Groups

January’s Spotlight is Bookies With Class!

Our group of 11 has been together for over 12 years. We range in age from 55-80. We formed after several of the ladies became friends when attending a church-sponsored series on leading a purpose-filled life. They came up with the idea of staying in touch through a book club. I was courted (I fought the idea) by a couple of neighbors when the group was formed. I attended a meeting when it was held in one of my neighbors’ homes. My plan was to go to the meeting, and then then tell them I wasn’t interested.

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Name Inspiration for Your Reading Groups

December 01, 2016 Advice, Bookmark, Spotlight Book Groups

To Name or Not to Name? It’s not surprising that reading groups find creative ways to describe themselves, and we are the lucky ones who get to hear fun and unique names from around the world.

We know how much effort is put into selecting the perfect name that reflects the character of the group, the history of the group, and the mission of the group. It might even be harder than selecting the books you read! If you haven’t named your group yet, or if you’re just starting your group, we hope you find some name inspiration below!

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December Spotlight

November 29, 2016 Spotlight Book Groups

December’s Spotlight is The Bees!

SpotlightThis is a photo of some of the members of our book group, The Bees. We are from Superior, MT, and we meet weekly in our small local library.

We started our group a few years ago during the libraries Summer Reading Program. We enjoyed each other’s company and sharing the love of books, so we decided to keep going.

In our group we select a genre or author for the month, and we all choose our own selection, then share our thoughts of our book with the group.

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How to Prepare for Discussion

November 03, 2016 Advice, Bookmark

We receive so many suggestions for how to make discussions lively and interesting, and there is an enormous variety! But the one common element from the years of suggestions and experience is: a little preparation goes a long way!

In our annual survey, we ask groups about meeting preparation, and nearly 98% of groups prepare in some way before their meeting (and to be clear – that’s in addition to reading the book!).

We hope some of the ideas below, which come from reading groups worldwide, will help make your discussions even livelier. There are a few unique ideas too that go beyond the last-minute Wikipedia skimming on our phone (it’s okay – we’ve all done it!).

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When to Choose Your Books

November 01, 2016 Advice, Bookmark

Reading Groups tend to be an organized bunch, or there’s at least one of us in the group that is organized and handles the logistics. When to choose books might be a little less confusing than how to choose books, but it’s just as important.

In our annual survey we always ask our groups when they choose books, and we’ve received the same answers each year in the same order: Most groups (by a large majority) choose one book at a time to discuss, and a majority of those groups choose the book at the previous meeting or two meetings in advance.

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November Spotlight

November 01, 2016 Spotlight Book Groups

November’s Spotlight is Be Nice and Read a Book!

We are a group of six best friends (including one mother-daughter) that decided to start a book club in March, 2016. Our book club meetings have become the highlight of our month.

We love taking our monthly photo and try to be as creative as we can. LOL! In addition to our monthly meetings we have an annual overnight book club retreat, a tea, a picnic potluck, a dress up dinner party, a Halloween spaghetti dinner, and a Christmas Party. We use any excuse we can to get together and discuss our books. 

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