[Publib] If you run a book club...

[Sue Bowser]

I really feel the need to have the book fresh in my mind so that I generally read it less than a week before the discussion.  Obviously this would make it impossible to hand out questions a month ahead.  Since I often find that the questions I want to ask are different from the publisher's questions, just copying them and sending them along wouldn't work.  Plus, I often find that the direction of the discussion will head in a totally different direction than the printed prepared questions or mine.  I generally only use the canned questions if the group seems to have hit a wall or wandered far away from the book.  None of the participants have ever requested advance questions.

Finally, confession is good for the soul, I often am running late and think I am being very timely if I'm coming up with the points I want to cover while brushing my teeth and grabbing all my valuable junk on the way out the door in the morning so my reasons for not giving them out may just be a procrastinator's self justification. The only time I made sure I had questions prepared several days in advance was when it was my turn to lead our Great Book discussion.  There's something about a group with 7 PhDs, an MD and a lawyer to make a simple MLS feel the urge to plan ahead.

Sue Bowser
Manager, Adult Services
Lancaster Public Library
125 N. Duke St.
Lancaster, PA 17602
(717) 394-2651 x117
Fax (717) 394-3083
sbowser at lancaster.lib.pa.us

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