Book Clubs —The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

By Kathleen Ernst


I’ve visited a handful of book groups since my first Chloe Ellefson mystery came out two years ago, and usually have a good time.  I’ve participated in some lively discussions with readers who held a variety of opinions about my work.  That’s what makes book groups interesting, right?  If everyone agreed about every aspect of a novel…well, yawn.

But "lively" can go wrong.  A group once invited me to join their discussion of one of my titles.  Almost everyone told me they liked the book.  If they had questions to raise, they did so graciously.

Then I got clobbered.

A couple of people were not so gracious.  One man summarized his thoughts:  “Your book was nothing but empty words on paper.”  (Yes, that’s an exact quote.)

In fairness, I know it’s a tricky thing to invite an author to attend a book club.  People in these groups are used to having honest discussions about their reactions to a book.  I know in my own book group, we don’t hesitate to be blunt about aspects of any work that we don’t care for.

So is it reasonable to expect a group to automatically know how to switch gears?  How to leap into a discussion in a totally new way on those rare occasions when the author is present?

Honestly, I think that’s a lot to ask.

So I’d like to respectfully suggest a few pointers for anyone considering inviting an author to attend a book group’s discussion of her work:

1.  Even if your group usually proceeds in free-for-all fashion, determine a moderator in advance—someone who can step in if the conversation goes off-track.

2.  Start the conversation by providing the author with positive feedback.  And if you can, be specific.  Did you like the pacing, the depth of characterization, the language?  Let the author know.  It will mean a lot.

3.  When you raise a point about something that did not work well for you, try to phrase it as a question.  “What your character did in chapter four makes no sense” doesn’t leave any room for discussion.  “Why did your character make the choices she did in chapter four?” does.  I’ve facilitated a whole lot of book discussions, and I promise that this suggestion alone will make an enormous difference in the tone of the conversation.

4.  Give the author a chance to respond.  When a reader poses an unexpected question for me, I sometimes need a moment to collect my thoughts.  Don’t arrive with a written list of criticisms in hand and rattle through them at machine-gun speed.

5.  As with positive feedback, be specific.  Vague statements like that “empty words on paper” line aren’t helpful in any way.

6.  End on a positive note.  Circle back to things the group liked about the book.  Give the author a chance to share whatever visuals or other goodies she might have brought.  Express appreciation for the author’s time.

So, what am I missing?  What suggestions for book group members would you add to my list?  How about suggestions for the visiting author?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

http://kathleenernst.com

Are You a Joiner?

Cricket McRae

I am an only child. According to Dorothy Rowe’s definition, I am also an introvert. That doesn’t mean I’m shy or always socially awkward, but instead that I trust my inner world more than what’s “out there,” my internal take on things more than what others say.

The other day someone asked if I wanted to join her yoga group. “I’m really not much of a joiner,” I responded.

It’s me, not you. Honest.

Seriously, I liked the person who invited me. Would have felt comfortable enough sweating and contorting and falling over in front of her. I’m not only not shy, I’m not particularly proud. But I’m not a joiner. I’ve always thought that about myself, so it must be true.

Except …

I belong to not one, but two active writing groups.

As a mystery writer I’ve naturally joined Sisters in Crime, and when the local chapter closed I continued as a member of the Puget Sound Chapter near where my Home Crafting Mysteries take place. I belong to Mystery Writers of America, Pacific Northwest Writers, Northern Colorado Writers, and will soon be a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.

I belong to three alumni organizations – one professional and two related to education. I’m on Facebook and Twitter. I’m a member of seven yahoo groups. A lurker, generally, but still – I watch and see what’s going on with everyone and pipe up on occasion. I joined the Inkspot blog years ago, and have also joined the gazillion bloggers out there with my own blog. In two weeks I’m launching another one.

So no, I’m not a joiner – at least when it comes to yoga. But perhaps there is something about being involved in the writing community that keeps me sane. Yes, the Facebook and Twitter are for promotional purposes, but they are also fun. I like the connection. I like communicating directly with readers. And I enjoy the blogging far more than I’d anticipated.

Writing is a solitary business for the most part. As much as I sometimes wish I was writing instead of promoting or connecting or networking, in truth those things balance out the long hours perched behind my desk, and I genuinely enjoy the human contact. Even working in a library or coffee shop are solitary, though sometimes it’s nice just to have other people around.

As long as I have my white noise app and ear buds, mind you.

Are you a joiner? A loner? A bit of both? As a reader, do you share your (usually solitary) reading experience with others in book groups or by posting reviews or participating in Goodreads discussions?

Hurrah for Book Clubs!

I belong to a neighborhood book club of ten or so women who meet once a month over wine and snacks to discuss a book we've all read. We tend to focus on literary and women's fiction, with an occasional nonfiction book thrown in. I decided to join the book club so I would be forced to read books outside of my default genre--mysteries. Being a member has caused me to read many books I never would have selected on my own, and most of them I've enjoyed.


We tend to pick books that address a controversial topic so we have something meaty to discuss. And my group has a diversity of opinions, so the discussions can get interesting, though they're always polite. For example, this month we read Zeitoun by Dave Eggars, our nonfiction book for the year. This book created a lively discussion, as it's about the horrible effects on one family of the inept, illegal, and irresponsible response of Homeland Security to Hurricane Katrina. Many of us couldn't believe that it happened in the USA, and many feared it would happen again. Pretty scary stuff!


Some other interesting books we discussed this year included Still Alice, a fictionalized account of a university professor stricken with early onset Alzheimer's, Mudbound, a story about prejudice and cruelty in the 1940s Mississippi Delta area, and Tallgrass, about the effects of a nearby World War II Japanese-American internment camp on a nearby small Colorado town. It's not all heavy reading, though. We usually try to pick a small, light book for December and one of the summer months. One was The Mighty Queens of Freeville by advice columnist Amy Dickinson.


What really focuses and deepens our discussions of many of the books we read are the discussion questions we obtain from Reading Group Guides or the book authors' websites. That's why I always provide discussion questions for my own books on my website (go here to see those for my upcoming March release, Deadly Currents). I try to make my discussion questions open-ended so they draw the members into talking about the issue as it relates to their own lives, not just the book.


Meeting with book clubs to discuss my own books is my favorite kind of event. I've visited with many book clubs in person in Colorado and via speakerphone for long-distance groups. The in-person visits have the added benefit of a glass of wine or coffee and food, but all of the group visits have been immensely fun. I always come away with a list of suggested books to read to take to my own book club. If you'd like me to visit your book club, contact me at my website.


How many of you Inkspot readers are in book clubs? How often do you meet and how do you select the books you're going to read and discuss together? Got any interesting stories of having an author visit your book club or if you're an author, of visiting a book club?

Do You Read Books in Reverse?

I belong to my neighborhood book club. Every six weeks or so, eleven of us get together at one of our homes and discuss the book that the meeting hostess selected. Yummy snacks and adult beverages are always available. Opinions fly freely.

A book club is a great place to find out what attracts some readers to a book and repels others just as fast. It’s rare for the entire group to agree on every aspect of a book. The first hint of trouble is usually that one of us didn’t buy into or like the premise of the story. Or worse, didn’t take to the main character.

In the course of these discussions, I learned some of the club members read the book’s pages out of order, most often when they can’t get into the story or find it confusing and want to know where the story is going. A few even admit to more than once reading an entire book in reverse page order—and enjoying it more that way!

This revelation was a shocker. I’ve only recently matured to the point in life where I am willing to put down a book I’m not enjoying. In many, many years past, I would read it to the end no matter what, maybe skimming along as much as possible.

But I always, always read the book’s pages in order. For me, it’s cheating to read the end first. If I read the last page first, what do I have to look forward to? I like a story where I wonder how it’s all going to turn out, where I’m reading to learn where it’s all going. I prefer the journey and a destination or two, preferably a surprise destination. So much the better if a little unexpected twist occurs at the end, where reading the pages out of order would ruin the whole effect.

Now let me give you a big hint: I try to write the kind of books I enjoy reading. To receive maximum value, For Better, For Murder should be read in the order the pages are numbered. If you pick up the book in the library or bookstore, read the back cover. Read the first few pages. Please don’t read the last page. If the storyline intrigues you after reading the back cover and the first few pages, take the book home and read the story from start to finish.

But if you read the last page first or my whole book in reverse, please keep it to yourself. This time I really don’t want to know.