Book group concept discussion thread

I too am in a book group. We meet monthly but discuss the books every 2 months. The meet in between is a social meet in the pub.
We have just read ‘Hamnet’ and *Midnight Library’, they were both enjoyable.

I would be interested. I'll have a look on Audible.

My friend and I started our book club 15 years ago. We meet every 2 months which gives us the necessary space to read our own choices in between meets. So many book clubs I know meet monthly then fizzle out because the reading time doesn’t allow slower or busier readers time to read books individually and hence it becomes too prescriptive for them.

One of our outstanding runaway favourites over the years was ‘The Year of Wonders’ a novel based on the plague in the village of Eyam. ‘Crawdads’ scored well, ‘The Salt Path’, ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ was a poignant true story as well as Paul Kalanithi’s ‘When Breath Becomes Air’.

I love book club. It introduces me to many books I wouldn’t think of. Just lately however it seems to have slipped into the Richard & Judy best reads which is a bit disappointing as the readers amongst us with more disposable time would get to those anyhow!

My book club is meeting tonight I will suggest ‘Fungus the Bogeyman’ to them. If I buy them all a drink first they may well say yes.

I’ve just remembered, I have been in a book club.
When I was 10 years old, I recall discussing ‘Fungus the Bogeyman’!

May I suggest that if we do this we set time constraints:

A discussion start date, one which allows people who wish to participate enough time to buy, borrow, read or listen to the book and frame their thoughts.

A discussion end date so we can wrap it up and move on to another book.

Allow (say) a month from announcing the book to starting the discussion. This way we can hope to encourage enough people to participate at the same time to get a good exchange of views going. A month allows people who wish to borrow from their library, time for it to be ordered and collected.

The Machine Stops is available in all the usual formats: paper book, audio book, Kindle, drama adaptations. Used copies are available from online retailers from £1. New from £2.70.

In the meantime, pose a few questions and ideas that people can think about as they read. There are plenty of online resources to draw on for this particular book.

Select and announce the next book on the same date the discussion for the current one begins.

A separate thread for each new book. Whoever choses the book “manages” the thread to publicise and keep it active and inclusive until the discussion has started and ended.

How does that sound? Over to you EP.

Thanks Lucca and Jackiest

Forgot to add the link to the book.

youtu.be/ZOr-jb6ElzE

I am in a real life book club as well but this sounds good.

FannyCornforth Book clubs vary, some are really serious and intense. The one I am in is very relaxed. We meet up at a pub once a month have a chat about the book, choose the next book and then chat some more.

It’s a smallish group of friends/friends of friends. I won’t say this months book as it would “out “ me if any other person was on this forum!
We never have “heated” discussions. It is interesting though that there is rarely a book which prompts unanimous approval or disapproval (Crawdads being one, as was All the light we cannot see) ! I’m hard to please I admit. There are of course personal preferences, I’m not keen on “fantasy” stuff, one person doesn’t like anything too “smutty” ?
Embarrassing to admit but when choosing our book the number of pages is a first consideration (I have a friend in another book club who says the same).

Hi Lucca Which book is up for discussion at the moment?
I’ve never been in a book club. What’s it like? Do you have ‘heated discussions’?

Not for me thanks as I am in a real life book club, but I’m sure others will be interested.

Hello EP
I’m in for that. I’ve got the Audible version which I will listen to, it’s around an hour and a half long.