Book Discussions - how do you feel about them? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T13:49:13Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:26405?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A26409&feed=yes&xn_auth=noDoes anybody have a pro-forma…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-10:537324:Comment:472892007-06-10T00:19:32.746ZKerriehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/smiksa
Does anybody have a pro-forma for a review? What format do the 'best reviews' have? Do you have tips for beginners? e.g. I try very hard not to describe anything that goes beyond the first 50 pages or so of the book - not wanting to create any spoilers for the reader (although I always read all the book- I believe some reviewers don't) I try desperately too to find something good about every book - without creating a false impression. I am very conscious that all published writers have done…
Does anybody have a pro-forma for a review? What format do the 'best reviews' have? Do you have tips for beginners? e.g. I try very hard not to describe anything that goes beyond the first 50 pages or so of the book - not wanting to create any spoilers for the reader (although I always read all the book- I believe some reviewers don't) I try desperately too to find something good about every book - without creating a false impression. I am very conscious that all published writers have done something that I haven't - written a book, got it published. I'm interested in how you loc…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-05-19:537324:Comment:416142007-05-19T08:23:09.841ZKerriehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/smiksa
I'm interested in how you locate books "with good discussion potential"
I'm interested in how you locate books "with good discussion potential" I belong to two mystery book…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-05-19:537324:Comment:413962007-05-19T03:07:41.011ZRebecca26http://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Rebecca26
I belong to two mystery book clubs, both are public groups and face to face. I love talking about what I read and I want an in-depth discussion. I think that is why I was an English major at university. For years I tried to talk to people who hadn't read the book and that was not terribly satisfying for either of us. Now I have people to talk to who have read the book and we have a blast.<br />
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Both groups go in-depth in our discussion, if possible. Some mysteries (often the thillers) do not make…
I belong to two mystery book clubs, both are public groups and face to face. I love talking about what I read and I want an in-depth discussion. I think that is why I was an English major at university. For years I tried to talk to people who hadn't read the book and that was not terribly satisfying for either of us. Now I have people to talk to who have read the book and we have a blast.<br />
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Both groups go in-depth in our discussion, if possible. Some mysteries (often the thillers) do not make good book club books, but we try to discuss them. When we pick books, we look for books that have good discussion potential. There are a variety of ways to locate those books.<br />
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A good discussion will give me an understanding of the book that I did not have before we talked about it. Also, a good discussion can change people's opinion about a book. Those are satisfying nights. The discussion is usually most lively if there is a difference of opinion on the book.<br />
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I have found that 1:30 to 2 hours is a good length When we start talking about non-related topics ,then we know we have said all there was to say. If a reading guide is availab…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-05-19:537324:Comment:413762007-05-19T02:54:36.783ZRebecca26http://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Rebecca26
If a reading guide is available, I find them a good starting place and a good way to help organize my thoughts about a book. I will pick some of the questions as backup if the discussion lags. I recently had an experience where we read McCall Smith's Tears of the Giraffe and I thought the discussion would flow because that book has more depth that the average mystery. When someone said at the start of the discussion that she wasn't sure there was much to discuss. I pulled out the questions and…
If a reading guide is available, I find them a good starting place and a good way to help organize my thoughts about a book. I will pick some of the questions as backup if the discussion lags. I recently had an experience where we read McCall Smith's Tears of the Giraffe and I thought the discussion would flow because that book has more depth that the average mystery. When someone said at the start of the discussion that she wasn't sure there was much to discuss. I pulled out the questions and away we went. At the end of the discussion everyone was amazed at how deep the discussion had become. Does anybody use 'readers gui…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-30:537324:Comment:297142007-04-30T09:19:35.116ZKerriehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/smiksa
Does anybody use 'readers guides'? e.g. you can find them on various publishing house websites. Do you think they are worth looking at?<br />
For the last online discussion I led I created a set of questions prior to the discussion and stored them online so group members could get to them. A couple of people commented on the usefulness of doing that.<br />
One of my problems in leading a discussion is in striking a balance between the general and the detailed questions. What do you think works best?
Does anybody use 'readers guides'? e.g. you can find them on various publishing house websites. Do you think they are worth looking at?<br />
For the last online discussion I led I created a set of questions prior to the discussion and stored them online so group members could get to them. A couple of people commented on the usefulness of doing that.<br />
One of my problems in leading a discussion is in striking a balance between the general and the detailed questions. What do you think works best? Kerrie - yes, my book group i…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:283462007-04-25T18:20:07.866ZLaura Roothttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/mallard
Kerrie - yes, my book group is similar. Most of us didn't start off as friends, but have developed a degree of friendship over the years, such that we often hear how a book resonates with somebody's family situation for example. Wish we read more crime, I must steer our choices that way :).
Kerrie - yes, my book group is similar. Most of us didn't start off as friends, but have developed a degree of friendship over the years, such that we often hear how a book resonates with somebody's family situation for example. Wish we read more crime, I must steer our choices that way :). Our face to face group choose…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:282132007-04-25T05:59:28.517ZKerriehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/smiksa
Our face to face group chooses a book each month but I find that often the discussion doesn't go very deep - some people often haven't read the book- and that we are there because we are friends first and readers second. We often talk about a lot of other things, but unless people are really prepared to focus on particular issues or questions about the book then we don't get very far. I often wonder if it is precisely because we are looking at each other that the discussion doesn't get very far…
Our face to face group chooses a book each month but I find that often the discussion doesn't go very deep - some people often haven't read the book- and that we are there because we are friends first and readers second. We often talk about a lot of other things, but unless people are really prepared to focus on particular issues or questions about the book then we don't get very far. I often wonder if it is precisely because we are looking at each other that the discussion doesn't get very far - we don't want to look silly etc- whereas in an online discussion we can test ideas out more thoroughly. I like the idea of discussing…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-25:537324:Comment:282112007-04-25T05:54:48.511ZKerriehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/smiksa
I like the idea of discussing a book as I'm reading it Em, but I've never been organised enough to do that. You are right, you lose so much detail so soon after you've finished reading. When I am leading a discussion I try to take notes a I read etc. and often I read the book twice although often the 2nd read is a real skim. But when I just participiating I have found it best to try to read the book as close to discussion time as I can, but even then some questions just leave me cold.<br />
One thing…
I like the idea of discussing a book as I'm reading it Em, but I've never been organised enough to do that. You are right, you lose so much detail so soon after you've finished reading. When I am leading a discussion I try to take notes a I read etc. and often I read the book twice although often the 2nd read is a real skim. But when I just participiating I have found it best to try to read the book as close to discussion time as I can, but even then some questions just leave me cold.<br />
One thing I do worry about is how much account you take of the fact that some people reading the email may not yet have read the book. I don't belive in that situation you can worry too much about 'spoilers' The only discussion groups I'…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-21:537324:Comment:271872007-04-21T21:26:53.341Znorbyhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/norby871
The only discussion groups I've been in have been online-part of a forum I'm on. This is mainly because no one I know reads the same kind of books I do.<br />
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Kalamazoo Library does this deal where they try to get as many people in town reading the same book, but so far the books have been, in my opinion, dull. If one comes up that catches my eye, I'll probably participate. They've also done lunchtime book discussions that anyone can come too-you brown bag it and everyone discusses the book that was…
The only discussion groups I've been in have been online-part of a forum I'm on. This is mainly because no one I know reads the same kind of books I do.<br />
<br />
Kalamazoo Library does this deal where they try to get as many people in town reading the same book, but so far the books have been, in my opinion, dull. If one comes up that catches my eye, I'll probably participate. They've also done lunchtime book discussions that anyone can come too-you brown bag it and everyone discusses the book that was advertised. Really I'm lucky to have a great library system, so hopefully something will come up that I can take advantage of. Sandra is being modest. Yes i…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-21:537324:Comment:271842007-04-21T21:22:56.063Znorbyhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/norby871
Sandra is being modest. Yes it's true that many of us probably wouldn't have bought the book if we didn't know her-but liking the book has nothing to do with that. It's a damn good book. We're not the kind of people that would lie openly about it. I immediately passed my copy on to my mom and ordered her to read it. Her job has been interfering (why a librarian would consider work more important than reading I don't know), plus she's incapable of staying awake past eight thirty at night-but…
Sandra is being modest. Yes it's true that many of us probably wouldn't have bought the book if we didn't know her-but liking the book has nothing to do with that. It's a damn good book. We're not the kind of people that would lie openly about it. I immediately passed my copy on to my mom and ordered her to read it. Her job has been interfering (why a librarian would consider work more important than reading I don't know), plus she's incapable of staying awake past eight thirty at night-but she's enjoying it too. My mom loves me, but if she didn't like it, she wouldn't be reading it.