ERC Tip # 1: Guide for Book Club Discussions
I am a retired librarian. During my career, I have worked as a reference librarian at one of the top advertising agencies, as an adult reference librarian in public libraries and as a middle school librarian. I love searching for and finding all sorts of information! I thought that it would be a good idea to share some of these skills with those who are looking for information for their book club discussions.
Book Clubs are wonderful! Not only are they a fun social outlet, but they also provide us an opportunity to expand our reading experiences. We read books we may never have picked up. We are able to discuss them with friends who may have differing opinions on what we have read. Book Clubs help us expand our view of the world.
It is fun to lead a book discussion but at times the research involved in doing so can be overwhelming. Here I am providing suggestions and links of where to find good and authoritative information.
Author Information:
- Many authors, even authors who have written one book will have their own website. Search their name, in quotation marks, along with the word website.
- “Harper Lee” website
- For biographical information about the author, search their name, again in quotation marks with the word biography.
- “Harper Lee” biography
Book Reviews:
- Search the title of the book, in quotation marks, and the term book review.
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” book review
- If you are looking for a book review in a specific publication, search the title of the book, in quotation marks, the term book review and the name of the publication.
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” book review New York Times
Book Discussion Questions: Publishers, as well as others, have already put together lists of questions for book discussions.
- Search the title of the book, in quotation marks, and the term discussion questions or the term book club guide.
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” discussion questions
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” book discussion guide