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11 March 2012

What works well as a (Mefi) reading club book? We've got a list of suggestions going on Goodreads for what book we should read.[More:]

I've never been in any reading club, and looking at the list so far, I'm wondering if there are any qualities that make a book esp good or bad for reading with a group.

I'm wondering about things like very long books v short ones, fiction v nonfiction, books that raise social/political issues v books that are just rattling good yarns etc.

What kind of things do people like to talk about in book clubs? (Including but not only the Mefi one)
I have been in book groups for 50 years. We discuss the aims of the author, what the book tells us about the human experience, how it illuminattes cultures different from ours, and what people believed and believe in various times and places in history.
We also gain knowledge and wisdom which are two quite different entities. Enjoying a great book is a pleasure that we can share with others in a group. It's wonderful to glean insights from others who view a novel in a different way than I do because their experiences and cultures vary from mine.
I discussed All the Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears with an Ethiopian young man and was very impressed to learn his view of the novel which, naturally was very different from my own.
I also discussed Remembrance of Things Past with a French woman who told us how the English translation of the book differed from the original French version. I could not have learned this knowledge unless I was in the group.
More cerebral electricity takes place in a good group. The trick is to find members who care passionately about reading.
Of the many groups I've been in only 2 have really satisfied my soul. Sadly, one of the members who was the greatest contributor to the group I love the most died last week.
I am so bereft.
posted by Macduff 11 March | 18:44
Sorry for your loss.
posted by Obscure Reference 12 March | 05:45
Sorry to hear that Macduff.
posted by philipy 12 March | 08:12
How's your weekend going? 3-point update || There's a cat under my house. What else can I do?

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