We will soon begin reading longer books together as a 'read-alongs', reading and discussing a certain number of chapters each week.
Criteria
For our read-alongs we will read books which are above 450 pages long. For now, books from any category can be nominated.
Nominating a book
We will be asking people to nominate books they are happy to lead discussions on - Iona and I will still moderate, but by doing this we will ensure a book is nominated by someone keen to both read it themselves and discuss it.
I am putting together a list of all relevant books; eventually members will be able to select from this, making it easier.
Choosing from nominated books
As it's likely to be a small group, it's possible there will only be one book nominated some months but when there is more than one, rather than voting, the first book to receive approval from another member will be the one for the next read-along. If no-one does second any of the books, (or if we regularly have quite a lot of members joining the group!) we can use the polls to decide the book.
Leading a book discussion
For anyone alarmed by the thought of leading a discussion please don't be, it's really just chatting about the book as usual, with just the added task of saying which chapters will be read for each forthcoming week (usually just a case of dividing the number of chapters by the number of weeks), and starting the discussion off with your own thoughts on those chapters. You might want to put questions to the group to generate discussion, or invite debate on a particular issue the chapters raise that you feel strongly about - make it fun for yourself!
Read-along discussion
We will discuss a certain number of chapters every week, as set by that month's moderator. Reading a book by this method enables the plot to reveal itself in a measured way, allowing us as a group to explore together the book's story as it evolves.
I do hope this explains how the read-alongs will work, if you have any questions, suggestions or comments do please add them below, or contact me or Iona directly.
It would be good to have an idea of who will be taking part in the read-alongs, so please let us know below if you think you will join in.
Criteria
For our read-alongs we will read books which are above 450 pages long. For now, books from any category can be nominated.
Nominating a book
We will be asking people to nominate books they are happy to lead discussions on - Iona and I will still moderate, but by doing this we will ensure a book is nominated by someone keen to both read it themselves and discuss it.
I am putting together a list of all relevant books; eventually members will be able to select from this, making it easier.
Choosing from nominated books
As it's likely to be a small group, it's possible there will only be one book nominated some months but when there is more than one, rather than voting, the first book to receive approval from another member will be the one for the next read-along. If no-one does second any of the books, (or if we regularly have quite a lot of members joining the group!) we can use the polls to decide the book.
Leading a book discussion
For anyone alarmed by the thought of leading a discussion please don't be, it's really just chatting about the book as usual, with just the added task of saying which chapters will be read for each forthcoming week (usually just a case of dividing the number of chapters by the number of weeks), and starting the discussion off with your own thoughts on those chapters. You might want to put questions to the group to generate discussion, or invite debate on a particular issue the chapters raise that you feel strongly about - make it fun for yourself!
Read-along discussion
We will discuss a certain number of chapters every week, as set by that month's moderator. Reading a book by this method enables the plot to reveal itself in a measured way, allowing us as a group to explore together the book's story as it evolves.
I do hope this explains how the read-alongs will work, if you have any questions, suggestions or comments do please add them below, or contact me or Iona directly.
It would be good to have an idea of who will be taking part in the read-alongs, so please let us know below if you think you will join in.