The Johnston Center for Integrative Studies

       You think it’s about the book.   More often then not, it’s about traffic control, diplomacy and group dynamics.  One of the reasons many people want a professional book leader is to insure that the discussions do not devolve into therapy sessions, gossip fests or dilemmas about overbearing individuals who monopolize the discussion.   Someone needs to graciously say, “thank you for your input, but let’s get back to the book.”

    There are numerous sources to help you get started.  My favorite is the granddaddy of all, Rachel Jacobsohn’s THE READING GROUP HANDBOOK.  Excellent guidelines for running a discussion were developed by Marsha Howard for the New York State Council on the Humanities.   Go to www.NYHumanities.org and click on “Discussion Groups,” then “Reading Between the Lines,” then “Scholar-Facilitator Manual.”

     What I think would be most helpful here is to offer suggestions for problematic situations and responses to questions I’m most often asked.

     One of the first tasks is to determine the group’s objective.  Do participants truly want to explore shared insight through reading or is the book a “cover” for another socializing event?  Both are wonderful, but it can be very frustrating to those who had only one in mind.  A serious bibliophile will not be pleased to find that some in the group come unprepared and are here for the latest news, while those that come for the camaraderie and community are equally thwarted to find they are in a structured atmosphere.  To accommodate both, set an earlier time for socializing and specific time for the book discussion. 

    The question I’m most often asked is how to select good books…so many books, so little time.   Easy, I eliminate a lot.   Although they may be wonderful, I don’t usually choose mystery, romance, genre, adventure or many best sellers, unless they’re truly well written. These may be enjoyed without the need of a group.   Conversely, I’m not “stuck” in the classics (GREAT BOOKS discussions handle these very well).   I do have a group of older retirees who are very serious readers and are most comfortable with the likes of Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck and Fitzgerald, possibly because they knew them personally.

  In making selections, I do have parameters and biases.  I appreciate a broad scope of writers.   I favor contemporary fiction, non-fiction, biography and memoir.   My first priority is language.  I’m a sucker for the surprise sentence, a phrase turned unexpectedly.  I look for books that are thought provoking, insightful, controversial.  There’s comfort in books that confirm our identity and what we know, but it’s equally exciting to find material that challenges our belief systems, offers new perspectives.   My choices are somewhere between an academic exercise and an Oprah experience.

   How do I find these books?   I always ask for recommendations and suggestions from reading people I respect.   I also peruse tons of sources, e.g.,

NY TIMES Sunday Book Review, National Public Radio, Salon.com Readers Guide, Nancy Pearl’s BOOK LUST series, websites www.Bookwire.com, www.reviewofbooks.com, www.readerville.com reviews from my favorite magazines, etc.

   How to narrow the choices?   After eliminating what doesn’t appeal to me (purely subjective), I look to see who is writing the review or book jacket blurb.   The fastest way to determine merit is to see if the comments are by a writer whose work I respect, then I’ll read further.    If you have a full review available to you and are short on time, read only the first and last paragraph.     If interested, check a number of websites that have first chapters available, e.g., NPR, Amazon, Barnes and Noble.    I’ve also been known to carry out 20 possibilities from the library for the same purpose.

    It’s is not important to find a book that everyone will like (mostly impossible anyway), but to find one that will offer an “aha’ experience.  More

often then not, an “unloved” choice, as long as it has value in substantive                            material, unique presentation or gorgeous language, evokes dynamic

 discussion.   There’s tremendous fun in hearing someone say, “I hated this book, I came to find out why this was selected and to hear what everyone thought.”    Some of our least enjoyed choices promoted our most exciting discussions.  

     Since I am dealing with anywhere from 4-12 groups a month, I need to match the choice of book with the appropriate discussion group.    Each group has its own personality and interests.   What does the group want?   For some, it’s the “hot off the press” (are we still using presses?), soon to be made into a major motion picture, “zeitgeist” of the moment.   For others, it’s the exploration of a challenging book they would never pick up on their own.   Still for others it’s all about the coffee.   Many of my participants are there not only for the socialization or stimulation, but to deepen their insight, have a forum for varied interpretations, “see what they missed’ in their reading, validate their thoughts, create community.  They like the homework, motivation, discipline.   There are no tests.

    If you’re meeting regularly, the time of year plays into the selections as well.   Both a long and short choice for summer (one for those who love a leisurely read because it’s vacation time and one for those who have no time, because it’s vacation time).   Something quick and easy for June, September and December and certainly nothing depressing during the winter (for those with gray, wet, snowy climates).  November’s iffy.  October, March, April and May are a free for all.

     As a facilitator, I of course research background material, create questions that I hope will have the group sharing ideas, and check out reviews, but my personal passion is to meet and talk with as many of the authors as possible.   I run to lectures, readings, book signings, events, etc. to hear a writer.   I’ve had the privilege of having heard, seen, talked with, been in the presence of some of our major literary icons; Singer, Bellow, Atwood, Doctorow, Roth, Kingsolver, Morrison, Allende as well as the Oprah crowd and the writers of the Opus of the moment. I personally am excited to come across someone I’ve not read before or be opened   up to new possibilities about how we live or how we see the world

and    I am fascinated with the writer’s response to where the muse comes from.  

   I love sharing my author encounter with my group or audience.  My biggest pleasure is watching the joy in others as exploration of a new idea lights them up.  If they leave with a “wow,” then I’ve done my job.  I wish you well.