Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Reading Grp: 3

by Patrick Sauer

You're no idiot, of course. You know that people across the nation are getting together, swapping ideas, and sharing their love of literature. You also know how enjoyable it is when you and a friend have read the same book and spend hours discussing it. But when it comes to actually starting or joining a reading group, you feel like you can't tell a metaphor from a simile. Don't go on reading in solitude! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Reading...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0028636546
• ISBN13: 9780028636542
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Alpha Books
• Length: 359 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Not the best reading club book but useful . . .

Some in the Idiot's Guides series are pretty good, some are pretty dreadful; this one falls somewhere in the middle. Not all of his advice on locating an existing reading group is sound -- library-based groups are necessarily as open to the general public as those sponsored by chain bookstores -- nor is his advice to buy multiple new copies of books rather than used ones. He's much better on what makes for a successful new group -- how to choose members, how to choose which books to read, how to pace a discussion, and how to make sure everyone is included. And most of his thematic lists of books to consider are quite reasonable, except for the very short shrift he gives science fiction. (He seems to think "genre" fiction means primarily mystery novels.) My main complaint about this book is the cutesyness common to the whole series, but if can ignore that there's some pretty good stuff here.

It's not just a book about books (and yet it is)

Oh, how I wish I had this text at my fingertips when I suffered away as a bookstore clerk! Not only is it a valuable resource written by someone who seems as great a bibliophile as myself, but then I would have had a segue into conversation with all of the good looking girls who came in to the shop and asked me how much they really wanted to start a book club, but simply didn't know where to start.

Great for college students

It is always hard to find different books, sometimes non traditional, to read. Besides bringing the concept of a reading group to the college campus, this book had an extensive listing of books to be read. It was humorous also which made the reading easier. The section on how to get guys interested was especially helpful. BUY IT

Imperative for any Reading Group.

At first, I thought "Oh No, not another Idiot's Guide." But, after reading this, I was able to breath new life into my reading group. The suggestions in this book are not only creative, but simple to use. And they really work!

Inspirational

After reading the complete Idiots Guide To Reading Groups, I immediately gathered a group of my friends to create a book club. The ingenius ideas of having meetings and making them interesting were inventive. Reading is becoming extinct, but this guide gives great suggestions on books to lure people back in. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have suggested it to several colleagues to begin their own reading groups.