Saxton Reads! & Reviews

October celebrates oh, so many things. It's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, for which our library has done displays, National Animal and Safety Protection Month, Gay and Lesbian History Month, Positive Attitude Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, among others, and of course Halloween.

The one celebration I'd like to highlight today is

National Reading Group Month Celebrating the Joy of Shared Reading

National Reading Group Month was started by The Women's National Book Association, WNBA, an organization which was founded in 1917, before women had the right to vote, whose mission states in part "is a national organization of women and men who work with and value books."

National Reading Group Month is the brainchild of two sisters, Martha Burns and Alice Dillon, two members of WNBA and began in 2007 as the premier event of its 90th anniversary. If your reading group needs help finding the next selection you can't go wrong with WNBA's list of Great Group Reads. The 2010 list is a humdinger, providing thirteen intriguing titles.

Blame by Michelle Huneven
The Blessings of the Animals by Katrina K
Cheap Cabernet: A Friendship by Cathie Beck
Eternal on the Water by Joseph M
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. D
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin
Room by Emma Donoghue
Safe from the Sea by Peter G
Up from the Blue by Susan Henderson

I've linked to our catalog for the books we own and for those that we do not, remember interlibrary loan is a great way to seek out these books.

Saxton B. holds several book groups each month, for all ages. Our adult fiction and non-fiction groups have been meeting for years and we always welcome new members. What I love about the belonging to these books group is not only the shared reading, but the sharing of ideas and conversation about the books. Last month's Second Tuesday Book Group choice was Embers by Connie Seymour led the discussion. She hadn't read the book when she recommended it to the group and after reading it, wondered if there was enough substance to carry on an hour talk about the book. There was an hour and more! Our group members are always amazed on what we take away from these discussions. Each of us brings something to the mix and each of us gains from listening to a member's point of view. Our book groups are definitely a shared joy of reading.

And now for you...
How many of you belong to a book group?
What are you reading?
Has there been one book that prompted an exciting discussion?
One you would not recommend?

Please share a bit about your experiences with book groups and celebrate National Reading Group Month with us.