Aug 11th 2008 03:36 pm Book for a Book Club?
How do you pick a book for a book club-one that everybody will like? When I choose a book, I do so with a little trepidation because I think if they don’t like this one, they may not come back next month. Most people are open to new experiences so will forgive you a bad choice a few times. I love sci fi/fantasy, but are those the right choices for a book club? Just how open would someone be to a new genre? I have tried to stay away from romance and sci fi/fantasy, but my choice for October is going to be “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” A Ray Bradbury classic that throws in just a little sci fi and some horror. I figured it would be a good choice because it is also a classic. My main criteria for choosing a book is what kind of discussion would it start. You want a book that is fun to talk about. So far, I have chosen two books that got a mixed reception. “The Robber Bride” was not received well at all….too much description and too long to get to the point. And “In the Woods” left most of us hanging because the end did not tie up the mystery. Still, the discussion was good because we had fun talking about the things we didn’t like about the stories. What books would you choose for a book club?
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Posted by Hooty / Bookstore Commentary
jessie on 13 Aug 2008 at 3:48 pm #
Words to chill the spine “book ban” - shades of Ray Bradbury. I am in full agreement that parents and not concerned citizens should be the ones in charge of what their children read. I read in the news that a few of the books on the pillar of fire are:
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
“The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
“It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
The reasons for these bans were listed as sexually explicit, or racist, or religious. WHAT?
Young people are curious and the way they learn is through exposure to different cultures, traditions, and thinking. How can we expect our children to compete with the world if they are censored in what they can think or read? How can we expect them to be well rounded if they are never allowed to read other ideas that are different from their own, and perhaps completely different in what they feel and think is right? Leave the children to their parents, and “concerned citizens” spend your time on finding more money for our libraries.