- Print/Save the page the link below takes you and go over while reading the book: Take notes or mark passages that strike you as significant, funny, or insightful. Write the pages numbers down for easy reference. Talk about why you marked the passages you did. Read-Think-Talk can help you with notes while reading your book.: http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/read-think-talk
- General questions for fiction books: http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/questions-for-fiction
- General questions for nonfiction books: http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/questions-for-nonfiction
- Use a prop related to the story. It can help stimulate members' thinking about some aspect of the story. (Ex.: Maps, photographs, paintings, food, apparel, music, film sequence, etc.)
- Pick out a specific passage from the book and ask members to comment on it. Consider how a passage reflects a character, or the work's central meaning, or members' lives or personal beliefs.
- Choose a primary character and ask members to comment on him or her.
- Play a literary game. (see ice breakers on www.litlovers.com for ideas.)
- Identify the primary characters and summarize the plot.
- Talk about your experience - How you felt as you read the book. Avoid words such as "awful", "idiotic", "like", "dislike". These words can put others on the defensive and leaves the discussion short rather than open-ended.
- If you disagree, try saying something such as: "I'm not sure I see it that way. Here's what I think..." Use specific passages from the book as evidence for your ideas.
- Read the book - This may seem obvious, but it is the most important step, so it is worth stating. It is a good idea to plan on finishing the book a little earlier than you might otherwise so that you have time to think about it and prepare before your book club meets.
- Come up with 8 to 10 questions about the book - Check out ready made book club reading guides on http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides or ready made discussion questions on bestsellers.com and other book related websites.
- When writing your own book club discussion questions, avoid questions that are too general, like "What did you think of the book?". Also avoid questions that have yes or no answers. You want to ask questions that are open ended and help people talk about themes and how the book relates to deeper issues.
- Let others answer first - When you are asking questions, you want to facilitate discussion, not come off as a teacher. By letting others in the book club answer first, you will promote conversation and help everyone feel like their opinions matter.
- Sometimes people may need to think before they answer. Part of being a good leader is being comfortable with silence. Don't feel like you have to jump in if no one answers immediately. If needed, clarify, expand or rephrase the question.
- Make connections between comments - If someone gives an answer to question 2 that connects well with question 5, don't feel obligated to ask questions 3 and 4 before moving to 5. You are the leader and you can go in whatever order you want. Even if you go in order, try to find a link between an answer and the next question. By connecting people's comments to the questions, you'll help build momentum in the conversation.
- Occasionally direct questions toward quiet people - You don't want to put anyone on the spot, but you want everyone to know their opinions are valued. If you have a few talkative people who always jump right in, directing a question to a specific person may. Help draw out the quieter people (and let the loud people know it is time to give someone else a turn).
- Rein in tangents - Book clubs are popular not only because people like to read, but also because they are great social outlets. A little off topic conversation is fine, but you also want to respect the fact that people have read the book and expect to talk about it. As the facilitator, it is your job to recognize tangents and bring the discussion back to the book.
- Don't feel obligated to get through all the questions - The best questions sometimes lead to intense conversations. That's a good thing! The questions are there as a guide. While you will want to get through at least three or four questions, it will probably be rare that you finish all ten. Respect people's time by wrapping up the discussion when the meeting time is over rather than pushing on until you finish everything you planned.
- Wrap up the discussion - One good way to wrap up a conversation and help people summarize their opinions of the book is to ask each person to rate the book on a scale of one to five.
Keep in mind: A book that makes for great discussion isn't always going to be a favorite read. An entertaining (or easy) read doesn't always make for great discussion. A good discussion book is thought-provoking or complex enough to promote good, healthy discussions...even arguments. A good discussion book engages the mind and deals with issues that are not always black and white. The idea is to just have fun and maybe learn something new.
