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Bringing together a reading group involves searching out like-minded people, a venue, and a method for choosing and discussing books. This section of the site aims to take any guesswork out of that process and to provide you with a solid foundation upon which to build. It contains tips on how to choose titles and frame discussions, as well as supporting materials and contacts to help make your group’s activities run smoothly. This section contains:
Reading groups range from a few friends who meet regularly to talk about books they've read, perhaps sharing a few bottles of wine to ease the discussion along, to more formal meetings, often led by an academic, which explore literature in a structured manner rather like a seminar. Over the past few years reading groups have become increasingly popular — lots of people want to share their enjoyment of reading so that it becomes a social as well as a solitary pleasure.
It's not always easy to track down a reading group that suits you so you might consider setting up one of your own. If this seems a bit intimidating — don't worry, these pages are here to help you and once you've found a like-minded set of readers, we've put together some reading group guides for a variety of books which should get everyone thinking and provoke a lively debate. Each guide has a synopsis to help you choose a book plus a set of questions to provide a framework for a focussed discussion. We'll be adding new guides on a regular basis.
Your local bookstore is a great resource. Most neighborhood bookstores have at least several affiliated groups to choose from, and the person at the store who co-ordinates these can easily recommend the best one for you.
Friends or colleagues are another great resource. Reading groups are very much word-of-mouth organizations and you may find that you already know people involved in a group who would welcome a new member with a fresh point of view. Readers often belong to more than one group, so if a group already has a full complement of members, they may be able to put you in touch with someone else. There may even be a reading group where you work.
If you don't know anyone already in a group, try your local library's noticeboard or talk to one of the librarians. They may have information on existing reading groups or you may find that they run a group themselves.
If you can't find a group to join, why not set up your own?
The easiest way to start is to put the word out amongst friends and acquaintances. You may find that you already know enough people who are interested, or friends of friends who would like to join, and it's simply a case of getting them all together.
Whether you decide to set up a completely new group or want a few more members, you'll need to think about where you can publicize the group. Once again, your local library or bookshop is a good place to start.
It may even be an advantage to meet with new people — discussions can become a little predictable between very close friends and you stand more chance of being introduced to books you don't already know. If you want to narrow the field a little, it might be worth wording your notice so that potential members have an idea of the sort of books you want to read and discuss. This should help you get together a group of people with reasonably compatible tastes.
Depending on the response to your inquiries, it's a good idea to think about the size of the group you're aiming for. Too many people, and not everyone gets a say — particularly bashful types; too few, and it's hard to get a range of views on which to base an interesting discussion. You may decide to start small and add members as time goes on, but it's also worth bearing in mind that it's unlikely that everyone will be able to attend every meeting and that people will drop out. Around six to ten members should be manageable.
If you're the one taking the initiative, it's likely that you'll also be the one who sets up the all-important first meeting. Make sure you've planned what you want to discuss. You'll need to allow enough time so that you cover everything and everyone gets a say. When you have enough names to form a group, agree a time and a place to meet. Ask people to bring their diaries so that you can all plan a schedule. If you don't know each other, you may feel more comfortable holding the meeting in a public place rather than your own home. If so, it needs to be reasonably quiet so that you can have a relaxed discussion without shouting to make yourself heard.
It's wise to agree a set of ground rules at your first meeting. This may seem a little formal but if you get the framework for your group agreed now, it will pay off in the future. Everyone will know what is expected of them so future disappointment should be minimal.
Starting with the basics — you'll need to decide how often you want to meet and make sure that this fits with everyone's schedule as far as possible. Monthly meetings will probably suit most people's available free time and will also mean they have time to prepare. You'll need to decide on a place to meet. Lots of groups meet in each other's homes, taking it in turns, or, depending on finances, you could hire a room somewhere although you'll need to make sure that you won't get too many interruptions. Local bookstores often provide space for reading groups.
Make sure that a record is kept of names and phone numbers so that members can be informed of any changes of arrangements. Make sure that people are aware that they should let the leader of the next session know if they can't make it — if you have a small group, two missing might mean you want to reschedule.
Decide on refreshments! Do you want to have food and drink and if so, how will this be organized? If you all know each other well, you might think about setting aside some time for socializing. Gossip is deliciously seductive — so much so that if you don't set a time limit, you may never get around to discussing the book.
The next stage is to decide what sort of discussion you want to have. Do you want in-depth analysis of the text or do you just want to exchange views about the story? Are you happy for people to have occasionally not read the book because of lack of time but still attend the meeting? You'll want to emphasize 'occasional' here, otherwise you could find you have lots of spectators and not much discussion. How long do you want the discussion to last? You might want to agree some guidelines for preparation. Many of us read hurriedly when we can find the time, but a book to be discussed needs a little more attention. Perhaps members could make a few notes as they read, think of themes that they want to discuss or particular passages in the book that catch their imagination. If you are going to use reading group guides, then you might want to use the suggested discussion points to help you with this.
You will also need to think about who will lead the discussion. You may feel that this is a little undemocratic but if you want to have a discussion which goes somewhere and in which everyone gets their say, it's wise to appoint a leader. One solution, if you're meeting in each other's homes, is for the host to run the session. That way everyone gets a turn. Another might be for the member who chose the book to lead the discussion. Whatever you decide, the leader for each session needs to know well in advance so that they can prepare.
And now, the best part, you'll want to decide at least the first book that you all want to read and discuss. It may be a good idea to decide on a book that is easily obtainable for the first selection, perhaps a recent best seller or a classic. If you all intend buying a copy of the book you may find that, if you choose something a little out of the way, you have to wait a while for everyone to get a copy. Bearing this in mind, it may be as well to choose a list of books in advance so that everyone can make sure they can get copies.
Now that you have laid some sound foundations for your group, you should be able to get on with enjoying the stimulation of attentive reading and lively discussion.
It's really a case of guiding the discussion and making sure that everyone gets their say. It's wise to have a list of discussion points ready to get the ball rolling. The reading guides published on this site have a list of points that should help start you off on a discussion of the books we've selected.
If you're starting from scratch you'll need to think about the sort of questions around which you can base your discussion as you read the book. It helps to have the following questions in mind:
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What is the story about?
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How does the story develop?
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What message is the author trying to get across?
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Who are the main characters? Do they change over the course of the book?
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How important is the author's use of language?
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Does the book have any relevance to your own experience?
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Does the book remind you of anything else you've read?
Take notes of anything you think is significant as you read — they'll be useful for the discussion. Note down page references for passages which you feel are particularly important so that the group can jog their memories by re-reading them. Try to make sure that any questions you ask the group are open-ended. 'Did you like the book?' could result in 'Yes' or 'No' followed by silence, but 'What did you think of the book?' is an opening for discussion. Try to get people to explain their reactions — if they didn't like the book, what was it that didn't work for them? Was it a particular character? The writer's style? Equally, if they liked the book, what worked for them?
You may want to establish as a guideline that the other members make notes of points that they want to discuss as they read the book. Aim to have seven or eight points that the group can debate. As you all get to know each other better, you may find that you instinctively know the sort of areas you all want to discuss.
How will you start the discussion? You could simply choose to give a brief summary of the book, what you thought were the major themes, what you liked and what you didn't like, and then go round the group asking each member what they thought. Or you could go through your list of discussion points asking each member what their view is. This may seem a little formal but it will ensure that the quieter members of the group get a chance to contribute. Obviously, you don't want to inhibit lively debate, but remember to make sure that anyone who looks as if they are bursting with something to say, but is having trouble finding a gap in the conversation, gets their turn.
Remember that opinions may differ radically but that there aren't any rights and wrongs in the interpretation of a book. We all bring our own experience to reading. Everyone's opinion is valid, as long as it's expressed tactfully, but you probably want people to come up with how they came to their conclusion and compare it with other members’ ideas. Don't worry if the discussion gets a little heated — it's a good sign that people are thoroughly involved. As long as everyone's opinion is listened to and taken seriously by all group members, you should all part as friends.
Perhaps the easiest way to decide on the next book for discussion is to get members to take turns to nominate a book. Some people will have favorites already in mind. Other sources of information are: paperback sections of the weekend papers, bookshops and libraries, both of which may have reading lists. It's also worth asking booksellers or librarians to recommend books.
Attached to this site is a set of reading group guides for books which we feel give lots of meat for discussion — each guide has a synopsis together with a more detailed outline to help you decide.
It's worth choosing books some time in advance of the discussion. Assuming that most members will need to buy copies of the book it's best to check availability. Books go out of print, or may be reprinting or it may simply be that your local bookshop doesn't usually keep in stock more than one or two copies of the book you've chosen. Most bookshops will order in extra copies for you, but this will take time.
