What You Didn't Know About Sno-Isle Libraries So You Didn't Know to Ask! Part 5

Part 5:Book Discussion Kits
Have you ever been in a book club? If you have, you know how invigorating it can be to read a novel or a classic, even a non-fiction work and gather with friends for a lively discussion about the book. You know that your thinking will be challenged and your communication skills improved as you ponder the book and find ways to express your response to it. You'll come away with new perspective and new friends.

If you have never been in a book club, maybe this post, about Sno-Isle Libraries book discussion kits, will inspire you to find (or create) a group of your own.

Last week I stopped by Stanwood Library's book discussion group which meets monthly at Brookdale Senior Living. The book they were discussing was Meg Wolitzer's, The Interestings. Over the past several months the group has read and discussed a wide variety of books, including such titles as To Kill a Mockingbird, Sarah's Key, The Girl's Guide to Homelessness, and Orange is the New Black. In the next few months some of the titles they will read and discuss are Man in the Window, Detroit: An American Autopsy, Boys in the Boat, and Stuff.

Stanwood's group started about eight years ago and each month nine to twelve people attend. Conversation among the book group was lively and well informed, and it was clear that the readers had interacted with the story. They were animated about The Interestings, which brings together six individuals in the mid-1970s who meet at camp and it follows them into middle-age.

Mary kicked off the discussion by reading a great review she'd written. "I just hung on every word!" she exclaimed. There was concensus among many in the group that The Interestings was a really good character study. "I got into the characters right away," said one. Another proclaimed, "As a character-loving reader, I am in hog heaven!"

Mary, reading her review

Pam, leading the discussion

Joanne, who's been in the group since it began

The book, however, did not appeal to everyone. One participant said, "I like a book that grabs me, and this one just didn't grab me. I have a thing about teenagers who are full of themselves."

Most of the libraries in the Sno-Isle system host book discussion groups as one of their many services to the community. Whether you are in a library-sponsored book group or meeting with friends in your own book club, Sno-Isle makes available book discussion kits for a sixty-day check-out period. There are currently discussion kits for 223 titles, with ten copies of the book included in each kit. For some titles discussion questions are available, but not for all. Each month the Service Center delivers between sixty and seventy book discussion kits to libraries throughout the system. The Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation funds these kits.

Some of the books waiting to be checked out for book kits

One day's book discussion kits waiting to be delivered

The Interestings book kit, shipped to Stanwood

If you're not already a part of a book group, whether your group originates with Sno-Isle or not, here is a great way to get a group started. Click here to learn more about book discussion groups, then look at the options of titles available and the dates they are available and put a kit on hold. But beware, these kits are so popular that sometimes groups have to wait as long as a year to get the titles  they really want. 

Or contact your local Sno-Isle library to learn when their book discussion group meets. There ought to be room for you to join in the fun! 

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To see earlier posts in this series, click here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. 

Here's a great video that will introduce you to even more benefits of the library!