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Readers Answer Why They Love Book Groups

May 06, 2018 Advice, Bookmark

Readers Love Book Group

Our Readers’ 2017 RGC Survey Results Are In!

Why do RGC readers love book groups so much? We were curious, so we asked you in our annual survey. Check out the reasons why book lovers across the country love gathering and gabbing about their favorite books.

1. Camaraderie, Friendship, & The People!

Many of our readers reported how much they love getting together with similarly book-obsessed friends not only to discuss books but also share social time, food, and—of course—wine.

2. Different Perspectives

Whether it’s reading a memoir set in another country,

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Reading Group Choices Interview with Kate Moore

April 30, 2018 Author Interviews, Bookmark

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is one of our book group favorites for 2018

New York Times bestselling author Kate Moore digs into a little-known history in her most recent book The Radium Girls.

Kate Moore recently visited Reading Group Choices to read and discuss her work with an audience. Kate also kindly took the time to answer our questions after she shared part of her inspiring book. Moore’s The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women is the incredible true story of the women who fought America’s undark danger.

Reading Group Choices: What book changed your life?

Kate Moore: What the **** is Normal?

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Reading Group Choices Interview with Melanie McManus

April 30, 2018 Author Interviews, Bookmark

One of our recommended books is Thousand Miler by Melanie McManus

Melanie McManus’s debut, Thousand-Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail, highlights her passion for the outdoors.

Melanie McManus recently visited Reading Group Choices to read and discuss her work with an audience. Melanie also kindly took the time to answer our questions after she shared part of her inspiring book.

Reading Group Choices: What books are currently stacked next to your bed/on your desk/in your pile-to-read?

Melanie McManus: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, The House at Sugar Beach by Helen White and The Year of Living Biblically by A.J.

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Our 2017 survey results are in and along with our readers’ favorite books of the year, we have a list of the top ten read books specifically from Reading Group Choices 2017.

Has your group read all of these terrific books yet?

1. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katrina Bivald

A heartwarming reminder of why we are booklovers, this is a sweet, smart story about how books find us, change us, and connect us.

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Adding a Touch of Poetry to Your Prose

April 25, 2018 Bookmark, Themed Book Lists

Memoir and Novel Selections for National Poetry Month

It’s National Poetry Month! But book groups may be asking: what does that have to do with us? Here’s an idea that involves adding a bit of poetry to your prose reading—without the rhyme schemes.

Poetry has a reputation for being difficult to understand: too much concentration for too little reward. And book groups might struggle to know where to begin when discussing poetry, because the things they usually talk about—plot, character, theme—may not appear so directly. Besides, how do you begin to discuss a collection of dozens of poems?

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From Literature to Real Life: Angie Thomas and The Hate U Give

April 20, 2018 Bookmark, Featured Books, RGC Events

Since its release last year, Angie Thomas’ debut young adult novel The Hate U Give has become a #1 New York Times Bestseller, gathered starred reviews, earned a National Book Award nomination, and is currently in film production. And its success comes for good reason. The book grapples with important, timely issues surrounding racial injustice and police violence, and what it means to be a teenager in the contemporary world.

The novel tells the story of 16 year-old Starr Carter, an African-American teen who witnesses the fatal shooting of her unarmed friend Khalil by the police.

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