Today’s Book Group Spotlight intrigues me because it’s a group that not only revolves around a particular theme, but it is also an offshoot of the programming at a cultural institution. The Arts and Culture Book Club meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month (September through June) in the upstairs art gallery of the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Beth Stout, who works for the Arts Center, wrote in to tell us about the group:

We got started because the Arts Center offers a free event every Tuesday of the month. On First Tuesday we celebrate our art gallery opening. On Second Tuesday we have Open Poetry Night and on Third Tuesday we have our Spoken Word Lecture Series. In looking for something related to our mission, an Arts & Culture Book Club seemed like a good fit. So I spread the word via e-mail, web and news releases and we attracted 12 people to get the club started.

We read books – mostly non-fiction but one or two novels – related to the arts. Our 2009 book list included a biography of Diego Rivera; a history of the Faberge’ Eggs; a biography of Louis Armstrong and the novel, Luncheon of the Boating Party. We also read Jonathan Lopez’, The Man Who Made Vermeers. That, along with Faberge’s Eggs by Toby Faber probably drew the most discussion.

Our book list for 2010 is already selected. We have most of the same group returning after the summer. Two participants reluctantly dropped out due to time conflicts – we meet from 6-7:30pm. But we gained 3 new members over the summer, so our group will be a little bit bigger. Our group is largely women, but we do have two men. It’s an enthusiastic group and our discussions are lively and reflect a depth of knowledge about background material because many of our members are artists themselves – which is fun.

I think the idea of a book group within a museum or arts organization is an idea that should be more widespread. If you know of any others, please tell us in the comments. And if you work with an arts organization in your area, please consider hosting a book group of your own. I know that if there were such a group near me, I’d be sure to join!

Thanks so much, Beth, for telling us about your group and for sharing your group’s photos — and for hopefully inspiring others to start something similar!

In honor of National Reading Group Month, we asked Books on the Nightstand readers and listeners to tell us a bit about their reading groups. Caroline Rose wrote in to tell us about her group. As the mother of a second-grader and a fifth-grader myself, I immediately wished that I had a Caroline in our life. Thank you, Caroline, for sharing your incredible work with us!

Caroline says:

I’m a former upper-elementary/middle-school social studies teacher in Lousiana, former because I’ve decided to focus on writing full time. I couldn’t walk away completely, though. I feel too strongly about promoting books and I wanted to continue my relationships with my students. Having started a historical fiction book club with my older students last year, my fabulous principal has let me design my own after-school program, extending down to third grade.

I meet with third grade by themselves and have paired fourth with fifth and sixth with seventh. The third graders are moving into chapter books and mid-grade novels for the first time, and I wanted to share things I loved as a girl — Ramona, The Boxcar Children – as well as new classics, such as Sarah, Plain and Tall, and The Whipping Boy.

The fourth and fifth grade will focus on historical fiction, old and new, from Pedro’s Journal (a story about travels with Columbus) to Karen Cushman’s ’49er novel, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple.

The sixth and seventh grade will focus on historical fiction, with some ancient world (The Bronze Bow), medieval (Crispin: Cross of Lead), and modern (The Yearling) thrown in.

Kids need to see adults excited about literature! They need someone reading alongside, learning what topics interest them, suggesting titles, thinking through storylines/settings/characters with them. I have come to know my students in a deeper way through this process. Kids are born readers and need the place to experience story with others.

Full lists are on my blog, Carolinebyline.blogspot.com.

Caroline, I couldn’t agree more about the importance of adult reading in the life of a child. Thank you so much for telling us about your group. In fact, I’m going to grab a copy of The Bronze Bow for my fifth-grader; she’s very interested in the ancient world, and Elizabeth George Speare was a favorite author of mine when I was that age. Thanks for the recommendation!

We love book clubs here at Books on the Nightstand, and when we heard that the National Women’s Book Association had dubbed October to be National Reading Group Month, we wanted to mark the occasion in some way. So we put out a call for our readers and listeners to tell us about their book groups. We’ve gotten a very nice response, and we will run these spotlights occasionally throughout October. There’s still time to tell us about your group: details are in our earlier post, Show Us Your Book Group.

Our first spotlight is Enzo’s Book Club, which is located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Kate wrote in to tell us about the group, which meets monthly in a member’s home. The club is made up of 9 school employees who all love to read. Kate says:

“One of the members organized the book club last year and we have been going strong since. We take turns hosting and the member who hosts chooses the book to read. We read all genres, mostly fiction. We have great discussions on all books but the The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, and Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult were the best discussions.

Our name comes from the first book we read as a group – The Art of Racing in the Rain. We had a great discussion and decided that we would be called Enzo’s Girls after the main character in the book.”

I just love that the group’s name came from a literary character in a book they read together. I’ve been in many reading groups, but not one of them ever had a name.

This book was also mentioned in Bring On The Tears, a recent Books on the Nightstand guest post by Josh Christie. Josh names this as one of the books that made him cry due to its “heartrending (yet hopeful) last few pages.”

I have had this book on my nightstand for quite a long time. I may need to move it up higher.

Thank you, Kate, for telling us about your book group!

October is National Reading Group Month, according to a declaration from The National Women’s Book Association. The official website has a list of events and activities that will take place in many US cities, including author readings, lectures and workshops. In a few weeks, the organization will post a list of Great Group Reads.

We’d like to celebrate here at Books on the Nightstand, too. If you are a member of a book group, please send us a short (100-250 words) write up about your book club that we can post on the blog in October. You may of course consult with your fellow reading group members.

Please tell us the following information:

• The name of your book group and general location (city or state is fine if you want to preserve your privacy).
• How often and where you meet (in someone’s home, at a library, coffee shop, etc.)
• How your book group got started
• What kinds of books you usually read?
• Which book generated the best discussion?
• Any back story or other information that may be of interest to Books on the Nightstand readers.
• If you  have a photo you’d like to share, please attach a jpeg (and be sure to get the permission of anyone who is in the photo).

Email your reading group profile to comments@booksonthenightstand.com, and please put “book group spotlight” in the subject line of the email.

We can’t wait to hear about your book clubs!

This is part 2 of a continuing series about Book Discussion Groups. Future posts will look at ways to make your book group successful, reading group resources, and loads of book recommendations for use in your book group, along with anything else we can come up with. Click here to read Part 1: 5 Reasons to Join a Book Discussion Group.

It may seem that everyone you know is in a book discussion group. Or, perhaps no one you know is in a book discussion group. In either case, if you want to join a group yourself, it may prove to be more difficult than it would readily appear. Below are some ways to find groups to join.

1. Ask your friends and acquaintances. You may not know anyone who is in a reading group, but chances are that your friends or family might know just the perfect group for you to join. If your friend is in a reading group but does not offer to have you join, please don’t be offended. The group may be full, or the members so comfortable with each other that they may not want a new member, no matter how wonderful she may be.

It may take a bit of work, along with trial and error, to find the perfect book group to fit your needs and schedule. But once you’ve found that group, you will hopefully find a group of people that can inspire you to think about books in a new way, and to enjoy books that you may not have wanted to read. The initial investment in time needed to find the group can pay large dividends later. I hope that some of these ideas work for you.

If you belong to a book group, how did you find out about the group? Do you know of other online resources to find book groups? Please share in the comments, and come back for Part 3 of this series, coming soon.

photo credit: Jonno259 via Flickr

This is part I of a continuing series about Book Discussion Groups. Future posts will look at ways to find a book group, how to make your book group successful, reading group resources, and loads of book recommendations for use in your book group, along with anything else we can come up with.

I’m hopelessly addicted to reading groups. I can’t explain the addiction, since most of my days are spent talking about books with booksellers and my publishing colleagues. But I am a serial book club joiner, and am usually the last one standing (sitting?) as the group falls apart.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is speaking with members of book groups at local bookstores. These evenings usually provide an opportunity to mingle and chat with readers, and almost always I hear a great story about the importance of a book group to particular person. With those stories in mind, I’ve come up with a list of reasons to consider joining or starting a reading group. I’m sure I am missing many reasons — please leave your ideas in the comments.

5 Reasons to Join a Book Discussion Group

1. Meet people just like you

If I were ever to move to a new town, I would immediately search out one or two local book groups. There is something comforting and familiar in a group of readers. Though personalities, backgrounds and culture may differ, I have always been able to find common ground with book lovers, no matter the circumstance. I often speak to people who don’t know anyone else who reads for pleasure — their families think they are crazy for buying more books than they can ever hope to read, and their friends can’t imagine why they would rather stay home with a good book than go out to a movie or bar. A reading group provides a place where you don’t have to explain. Your behavior is not odd, it’s expected.

2. Meet people that are different from you

So often we find ourselves surrounded by people that look like us, talk like us, act like us. Most of our friends are roughly the same age, have the same level of income, and have similar beliefs and values. Book groups are a terrific way of expanding your circle to include people of varied backgrounds and life experience. The act of discussing a book often sparks debate, and entices people to open up about their own views and life stories. I’ve learned so much about the world from people I’ve met in a book group, and so many times they were people I would not have met otherwise.

3. Get back to reading

It’s a very common scenario, one that I hear all the time: “I used to love to read, but I never got back to it after ___________ (having kids, going to school, starting a new job, … fill in the blank with your own situation). For whatever reason, reading for pleasure is one of the most frequently sacrificed activities when there are not enough hours in the day. Joining a reading group gives you a reason to sit down with that book. There is a specific deadline for finishing, and so finding the time to read becomes more of a priority. While there are certainly times when life interferes and you may not finish the book before your meeting, motivation comes from knowing that others are counting on your participation.

4. Stretch your reading muscles

I enjoy reading books for their entertainment value, and find nothing more satisfying than spending a rainy day curled up with a page-turner. But sometimes, I want something more challenging. When I read for book club, I know that I will be expected to contribute, and so I tend to read more carefully and more thoughtfully. I read my book group books with a pad of sticky notes next to me, marking pages and passages that illustrate a thought or idea. I find that the discussion around a book always gives me something to think about — a character trait that I hadn’t noticed, or a subtext that flew right over my head as I was reading. My favorite book discussions are those where I start out hating the book, and then after listening to everyone else’s comments, come out of the meeting with new appreciation for and understanding of the work.

5. Discover new genres and authors

It’s so easy to fall into the habit of reading the same authors or the same genres. After all, there is always an element of risk in a new book. What if you hate it? By sticking to the familiar, much of that risk is alleviated. But so is the joy of discovery. Reading groups force you to explore new reading paths. There was once a woman in one of my book groups who announced at the first meeting that she didn’t like reading about other countries or cultures because they were so unfamiliar to her. She struggled with pronunciation, and keeping characters’ names straight. But since our books were chosen by vote, we often read books set in other places. I was stunned and delighted at one meeting where the woman announced that she really liked Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which is a novel set in Colombia in the early 1900s. It was a book that she would have never picked up on her own, but because of reading group, she found a new appreciation for books set in foreign lands. I myself have loved books that I thought I would never enjoy, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

Do you belong to a book group? If so, what prompted you to join? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic in the comments. Please pass this on to anyone you know who might enjoy it — and check back for Part II of the series, coming soon.

(photo credit: Newton Free Library)