Something for Book Clubs!

Take the survey 

Just saw this from the folks at Penguin Random House and Reading Group Guides ...

"Reading Group Guides Want to Hear from Your Patrons!

Have your patrons fill out the Reading Group Guides survey about their book groups to be entered for a chance to WIN a gift certificate to the bookstore of their choice! The Survey is open until Wednesday, July 15th."

"Click for MORE Information and to Enter the Survey."

RA Tip: Great Tips for Discussion Leaders!

Well, it's two for two for our own Sue D, the newest Booklist Online blog contributor! 

Check out her informative post, "Time-Management Tips for Book-Group Discussion Leaders," on The Booklist Reader.

SCIENCE FICTION - Discussion Questions & Book Talk Titles

The staff genre study book discussion for the Science Fiction benchmark will be held Wednesday morning, August 27, starting at 9:00 AM in Room 112 at General Administration.

A complete set of discussion questions for Fortune's Pawn have been posted under the Book Discussions tab.

In addition, a suggested list of alternate Science Fiction titles to consider for the next meeting in September, has been posted under the Book Talk Titles tab.

Literary Fiction Book Discussion - Change of Venue

There has been a change in location for the upcoming Literary Fiction book discussion meeting on Wednesday, November 20, 2013.

The discussion of the benchmark title, The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, will now be held at the Spencer Road Branch in Houck Meeting Room 212 starting at 9:00 AM.

Please bring a copy of the book with you to the meeting. If you cannot come for the meeting next Wednesday morning, you can still join the discussion of the Literary Fiction benchmark title by using the Comments box at the bottom of each question as it is posted on the blog.

So join in the fun and let us know what you think about The Orphan Master's Son!  :-)

NOTE: At the end of the Wednesday discussion, I will have Literary Fiction book talk title suggestions for the next RA Training meeting. For those following along online, the list of those suggestions will also be posted on the blog under the Book Talk Titles tab on Wednesday, November 20th.

Genre Study Program - LITERARY FICTION

The next genre (or non-genre, if you will) we will be covering is Literary Fiction! This is the area of fiction with the most awards and reviews as well as the type of titles which appear on many Best of ... lists. Literary titles also are often the book of choice for discussion groups.

Our benchmark title for Literary Fiction is Adam Johnson's award-winning The Orphan Master's Son. Johnson's book won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Literature and was also an ALA Notable Books: Fiction category choice for 2013. It covers a very timely topic, taking place and dealing with life in North Korea under the regime of Kim Jong II.

In an article for NoveList, titled Getting Up to Speed in Literary Fiction, David Carr describes the genre as follows: "Literary Fiction renders the life experiences and personal perspectives of characters in the midst of complex situations and conflict over values and relationships. Tensions typically involve finding ways to respond and cope, and to understand the origins of those problems. In Literary Fiction, resolutions do not come easily, and the reading experience often evokes related issues of character, family, ethics, memory, faith, and forgiveness."

The Online book discussion for the Literary Fiction benchmark will begin on Wednesday, November 13 and run through Tuesday, November 19. Watch for a question to be posted on the blog each day. The book discussion meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 20 in Room 112 at the General Administration office.

For more information about The Orphan Master's Son look under the Benchmarks tab.

Genre Study Program - HORROR

The first genre we will be learning more about is Horror. Yes, I know, not everyone's cup of tea but there's HORROR (very scary and descriptive with blood, gore, sex, etc ..) and there's 'horror' (more psychological and/or easier to take for those who may be a bit squeamish). 

Customers needing help with readers' advisory may ask about any genre (or sub genre) so it can be VERY useful to have, at least, a grounding in each genre area, including Horror.  :-)

To try and make this genre perhaps more palatable, I chose a short story collection as the Horror benchmark title; a first for the RA Training program! The book discussion selection is 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill and because the benchmark is a short story collection, you can read one story at a time if you wish ... :-).

Check out under Benchmarks for more information about Joe Hill's 20th Century Ghosts.