Good Books Lately: The One-Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers by Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens List Price: $13.95 Pages: 368 Format: Paperback Genre: Reading Groups ISBN: 0312309619 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Does your book club gossip about the social scene more than it talks about books? Are you having trouble deciding what novels to choose for your group? Are your discussions just not as interesting as you would like them to be? Well, worry no longer because all of these problems can now be solved by Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens's Good Books Lately: The One-Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers.

Moore and Stevens have devoted their lives to researching the history of book groups and helping to improve the structure and function of clubs around the country. With the birth of their book club consulting company, Good Books Lately, these English teachers have provided useful advice on ways to better discussion groups and help individual organizations run more smoothly. Now, they have condensed their years of research and experience into this detailed guide that both long-time club members and those interested in getting into the reading scene for the first time can enjoy.

The book is basically a self-help guide for book club members, but is far more comprehensive than a simple 12-step program. Moore and Stevens begin the book with an in-depth explanation of the origin of book clubs and the influence they have had on society through the centuries, particularly for women. Book groups were a way for repressed women to express their views on topics ranging from politics to religion, and are still a source for female empowerment and unity today. However, the real substance of the book comes from the following 300 pages filled with suggestions and accounts from book group members about the best and worst ways to run a discussion group.

Along with their own recommendations --- about analytical reading, starting your own book club, creating an exciting discussion, incorporating food and movies into the group, dealing with difficult members, and choosing good books and avoiding the bad ones --- Moore and Stevens have included hundreds of anecdotes, suggestions and criticisms from actual book club members. Additionally, the final section of the book includes reviews of highly recommended book club books from several different genres.

Good Books Lately: The One-Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers is a must-have for members of book groups or for those hoping to get involved. If you have a question about book clubs, even an unusual one, this guide is almost guaranteed to answer it. With this book at your disposal, you are sure to have some of the most interesting and exciting discussions your group has ever experienced.

   --- Reviewed by Sara Shapiro


• Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.