We also decided how we will select the next book.
We brainstormed for awhile and all thought this might be a good idea.
The Book Selection Process
- At each book club meeting, after discussing our current selection, we will pick the next book.
- Each person in attendance will write down their suggestion and tell the group what it is (and why they are suggesting it, if there is a reason).
- The host will pull a selection "out of a hat." That is it. Selection is final.
- There are no books off limit, however when making your suggestion think about the following...If you have already read it, will the book create discussion? Although not a true criteria, how long is it? Try not to suggest a 1500 page book. :) Mainly, just try to suggest a book that you think people will enjoy.
Couple of other thoughts
- If there is a book that people really want to read, people can suggest the same book. You can try to get other people to suggest the same book as you. If half the group writes down the same book title, it increases the chances of it getting drawn.
- If you are not at the book club, you do not get to put in your suggestion (of course you can try to sway someone else to suggest your book).
Why we liked it:
- It allows brand new books to be suggested (vs a running list that we make our way through - which takes a LONG time, since we only read 3-4 books a year)
- Its completely random - will allow for new and different suggestions and types of books, since the same people are decided the selection all the time.
- Doing at book club gives lots of notice and time to read.
You can continuely change your suggestion.
So, with 5 people at the book club on Sunday, we picked our next book.
Our next book club selection is...
Lucky - By Alice Sebold
In a memoir hailed for its searing candor and wit, Alice Sebold reveals how her life was utterly transformed when, as a nineteen-year-old college freshman, she was brutally raped and beaten in a park near campus. In a narrative by turns disturbing, thrilling, and inspiring, Alice Sebold illuminates the experience of trauma victims even as she imparts wisdom profoundly hard-won: "You save yourself or you remain unsaved." (from http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books/8/0316096199/index.html)
