Reading Circles/Groups

[shadforth]

I know there's a monthly read on here,and our library has a reading group which as yet I've never attended. I just wondered if anyone is/has been in a group like this? Fair enough if you're taking part in communal reads,but everyone obviously has differing tastes,so is there a little bickering,and could you feign interest in a book that just isn't your thing?!

 

[Fantasy Moon]

The only reading groups that I have participated in have been online. I usually only manage to finish the books that I had already had an interest in reading though. I really can't feign interest in a book that's not my thing.

 

[SFG75]

I've only done online groups. I have to give credit to this site as it has been the only place where I've participated in a read. My local library hosts a book reading group, but the average age is 65+ and they pick material that I would not touch in a million years. The only other online thing that I participated in was on another forum and that must've been about two to three years ago.

but everyone obviously has differing tastes,so is there a little bickering,and could you feign interest in a book that just isn't your thing?!

This is a great question. I have enjoyed discussions and have learned to try to be open to new books and experiences. If I have dropped out of a discussion, it was due to the fact that no one else would participate. That is a bit of a problem here. Twelve people will vote for a book of the month that doesn't get selected and then (poof!) they are gone. I'm not certain how you remedy that though one forum I know of, has multiple book readings going on.

 

[abecedarian]

Most of my reading group experience has been with online groups. I prefer a group that has a book for members to read together(or not), with plenty of room for other book talk. I tried to start a local face-to-face book group, and found that none of the members wanted a centralized book-of-the-month sort of experience. They preferred to read on their own and meet once a month to talk about what they'd read, and to get ideas for what to read next. That group fizzled out as we all ran into scheduling conflicts, and I personally could get the support I needed at home and in forums such as this one and a few others I frequent.

 

[Robert]

The only group discussion I've had outside this fourm was in college. I think a good discussion would be a lot of fun. Book discussion threads are nice, but live discussion might be more fun. Perhaps a chat room?

 

[BooknaMug]

I've been part of a group that was organized through my church and that worked out well. We usually only had about 3 or 4 people show up to our meetings but it made it easier to find books we were all interested in reading.

My husband is getting his MBA right now and the school organized a club for the Partners. As part of this club we do a reading group every month. We take turns picking the book depending on who is hosting the meeting each month but we only talk about the book for about 15 minutes and then we're on to other topics. I actually kind of miss the discussions I had with my other group about the books we would read, but our Partner's club meetings are really fun, too.

So I guess just find some sort of common ground to get you together even if it's not the book you read. Food is usually a good draw for off-line meetings,,,

Now I want to start a group locally to just talk about reading in general - maybe I'll check my local library.

 

[sparkchaser]

The only reading groups that I have participated in have been online. I usually only manage to finish the books that I had already had an interest in reading though. I really can't feign interest in a book that's not my thing.

That pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter.

 

[Comeflyaway]

I keep meaning to drop in on the book discussions that they have at my library, but I've been putting it off. I'm afraid that I'll walk in and be the only person under 45 (I'm 25), or that there will only be 2 other people there, or something like that. I'm just afraid that it'll completely suck and I'll regret going. Not to mention that I'll have to rearrange my schedule and take time away from being home with my boyfriend and puppy. Meh, online please.

 

[Snork Maiden]

I've been in a reading group for a couple of years. It's a group of close friends (we were friends before we started the group). We meet once a month at someone's house. We talk about the book, eat nice food, drink red wine and then choose the next book. We either pull suggestions out of a hat, or take a vote on whatever is suggested. Being in a reading group is great. It encourages you to try genres adn styles of book you normally wouldn't touch with a barge-pole.

To date we've read:

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Candide by Voltaire
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
English Passengers by Matthew Kneale
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Maps For Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam
The Leopard by Lampedusa
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Something Like a House by Sid Smith
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Clare Tomalin
Two Lives by Vikram Seth
The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien
The Carpenter’s Pencil by Manual Rivas
Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Summer Book (New York Review Books Classic) by Tove Jansson
Tomorrow by Graham Swift
Blue Afternoon by William Boyd
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Life: A User’s Manual by Georges Perec
Joseph Knight by James Robertson
How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Labyrinths by Jorges Luis Borges
Lake Wobegon Summer, 1956 by Garrison Keiller
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Howards End by E M Forster
Blindness by Jose Saramago
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

and our most recent book is Be Near Me by Andrew O' Hagan. I just finished it and enjoyed it a lot, so I'm looking forward to discussing it.

We've had some books that we've unanimously hated or loved. Those aren't necessarily the ones that we've had the best discussions about. You get a 'feel' for what's gonna provoke a good discussion.

Book groups are good fun!

 

[Peder]

Congratulations on your book group! That looks like an excellent list of books that you all have selected.

 

[abecedarian]

Congratulations on your book group! That looks like an excellent list of books that you all have selected.

I'm torn between wanting applaud this great group or picking up house and moving closer...envy makes a person do crazy things, I hear!

 

[Peder]

I can't imagine for the life of me how they did it, and they've stayed together so long.
What's the secret, Snork Maiden?

 

[Wells83]

I'm in a book club with my best friend, her in-laws, and a few other people. It's getting to the point where it's a burden to me--I rarely like the book choices, but it has come to the point where I don't feel guilty if I don't read the book. Last month was a Jennifer Weiner book and I just couldn't do it--because I don't even have the time I would like to devote to books I actually WANT to read, I won't waste my time reading a book that I have no interest in.

 

[slackergirl247]

I have always wanted to be apart of a book group, but it so happens that whenever I'm encouraged to read a certain book, I lose complete interest. It could be the most amazing book, but I can't read it. It must be a brain thing. lol. It really sucks when it comes to school stuff.

 

[Snork Maiden]

I can't imagine for the life of me how they did it, and they've stayed together so long.
What's the secret, Snork Maiden?

Sorry for the delay in responding to this...

We were a group of good friends first and foremost and we all have similar interests - reading, art, theatre etc so it made sense for us to have a reading group. We are all busy so don't get together as often as we like but we always put a date in our diaries to have our reading group adn it's very well established now. We're meeting again on Friday to discuss poetry for a change.

Edited to add: There are some months when some of us don't read the book, for whatever reason, and that's cool. Usually though, we do all at least have a stab at the chosen book, even if it's not our normal 'comfort zone'. Most of us are fast readers too so manage to fit in other books beside the one we've chosen as a group. We always kick off our discussion by telling each other about our 'other' reads before we move onto the group book.