RA FOR ALL...THE ROAD SHOW!

I can come to your library, book club meeting, or conference to talk about how to help your readers find their next good read. Click here for more information including RA for All's EDI Statement.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

ARRT Book Club Study Update and Resource Reminder

Today's post includes the announcement of the next Adult Reading Round Table Book Club Study.
But it is also a reminder that no matter where you live and whether or not you can come to our discussions, we make the notes from EVERY discussion available here for all library book club leader, EVERYWHERE, to use as a resource for FREE!
I cannot stress enough what a valuable resource this archive page is for all book club leaders. You not only can see a list of book discussion books that we have discussed, but you can also see an example of what was discussed in that book, beyond just the questions that were asked. We try very hard to capture the responses and the back and forth that occurs during a discussion. Why? Because our audience for these notes is you, the library worker who hosts book discussions. You need help coming up with questions, but also a sense of how those questions played out as a discussion is extremely helpful. No one else provides this specific a resource to help you.
And this is not even considering the direction and assistance our leadership topic notes provide.
Here is an example, the notes from our most recent meeting:
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh NguyenDiscussion NotesLeadership Training on how to best prepare for book discussion
And here is the announcement of our next discussion which I plan to attend. But again, if you cannot, look for the notes on both parts of the Book Club Study meeting to be available about a month after the event.
Please join us for a discussion of The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner, led by Mary Constance Back.
It’s 2003 and Romy Hall is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, deep in California’s Central Valley. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: the San Francisco of her youth and her young son, Jackson. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living, which Kushner evokes with great humor and precision.
-Summary courtesy of Goodreads.
The discussion will be held: 
Wednesday, November 13th, 2-4 p.m.
RSVP to Mary Constance Back (mary.back@rmlib.org)
As always, discussion of the book includes a nuts-and-bolts session devoted to sharing practical solutions to the problems and concerns of book discussion leaders. Sonia Reppe will lead the discussion on our next leadership topic: Adult Summer & Winter Read Programs: Successes, New Ideas, and Areas of Opportunity. Please bring a list of resources you utilize and be prepared to share your best practices so that we can all learn from each other. 
Also, remember that you can always bring any problems or concerns you have with your group, no matter the topic, so we can all help each other.
Links to Peruse Prior to the Discussion:Bio and Profiles 
BOOK REVIEWS
The GuardianThe Yale ReviewThe Washington Post
Finally, I would like to remind you all that I provide book discussion training ranging from 60 minute presentations on how to recharge your book club to half day programs where I also lead a book discussion as part of the training. The second option is especially useful as as part of a regional training or as a preconference at library conferences.

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