Resources for Reading Groups
- Starting a reading group
- Reading group resources
- General book questions -- What to ask if there's not a reading guide
- Books about reading groups (fiction and nonfiction)
Thanks to Robin Beerbower of the Salem Public Library for some of these title suggestions.
Starting a Reading Group
Reading Group Guides.com offers Advice & Ideas for bookgroups, including sections on Starting a Reading Group, Running a Reading Group, Choosing What to Read, Books about Reading Groups, and Write Your Own Guide (or, What To Do When There's No Guide Available -- general questions suitable for any book).
Book Club Classics offers an Effective Book Clubs Series, with sections on purpose, choosing what to read, involving everyone and fostering a satisfying discussion, and dealing with too much socializing.
Book Browser offers Things to Consider Before Joining/Starting a Book Club, an intelligent guide to planning and starting a book group. Questions to consider: How many people? What kind of people? What's the purpose? How many books do you want to read, and how often do you want to meet? Followed by Surviving the First Meeting and Tips on Handling Difficult Meeting Situations.
Also from Book Browser, Suggestions For Choosing Good Books To Discuss.
Multnomah County Library (OR) offers advice on Getting Your Book Group Started.
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (KS) offers an FAQ about book groups, with answers to questions including How many people will we invite?, Who will we invite to our book group?, How often will we meet?, How will we choose what to read and discuss?, Who will lead our book group?, What if no one talks at the beginning of book group?, What if no one talks in the middle of book group?, What if everyone keeps talking, but not about the book?, What if some people who attend haven't read the book or haven't finished the book?, etc. Also: General Book Discussion Questions.
The Seattle Public Library (WA) has Book Group How-Tos, with sections Getting Started, Choosing Good Books for Discussion (e.g., 'books with complex characters who are forced to make difficult choices under difficult situations,' books with unclear endings, books that raise many, many issues), Reading a Book for Discussion, Leading the Discussion, Coming Up With Good Discussion Questions, etc.
Reading Group Choices offers Ten Tips for Starting and Running a Successful Book Club, by Rachel Jacobsohn. It contains 'dos and don'ts' for bookgroup leaders, such as 'Consider what atmosphere you desire. Serious/academic/scholarly or social/therapeutic/bonding. Conscientiously separate the socializing from the discussion.'
Multnomah County Library (OR) hosts book discussions for kids called Talk-it-Up, with some icebreakers, discussion questions, and a link to specific discussion guides for YA/kids' books..
Find a local readers' gathering at Readers Circle, "academic, civic, social." It's 'a free online directory for book clubs and reading groups. Anyone may post a listing or search for a group by zip code -- all for free.'
Resources for Reading Groups
Note that resources that are by subscription or that require purchases are not listed.
Good Books for Reading Group Discussions
Reading Group Favorites, compiled by the Skokie (IL) Public Library provides only author, title, pub. year and webcat link for about 25 books, from Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven to Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk about Kevin. Most were published in 2007 or earlier.
Book Club Classics offers links to 'What To Read' resources, including Tattered Cover lists, Book Sense picks, Nancy Pearl's Book Lust recommendation, the NY Public Library's suggestions, etc. Their home page (a blog) offers more reading suggestions, lists and reviews as well as bookgroup advice.
Best Book Club Books (Tales from the Reading Room): 'Best book club books, in the sense of being a) good to discuss b) interesting to a wide range of readers c) available and d) not too long.' Title and authors for about 30 books, in categories like Love Stories, Novels of Ideas, In Translation, Cultural and political stories, personal histories, crime and thrillers, etc. Compiled in Feb. 2009
Discussion Questions
General Discussion Questions for Any Book
Discussion Questions Part 2: Characters from Bookgroup Buzz (by Neil Holland, at Booklist) offers a list of questions concerning fictional characters that might be suitable for a book group meeting.
Write Your Own Guide: What To Do When There's No Guide Available: General questions suitable for any book, from Reading Group Guides
Some Typical Discussion Questions, offered by Canadian Book Clubs.
Mystery Writers of America offers a good list of Mystery Discussion Questions for use by Mystery Book Groups or other groups discussing crime novels. Some are generic for any book, others are more mystery-focused.
Book Discussion Guides
Reading Group Guide.com, with more than 1,800 reading group guides available. New guides added regularly.
Reading Group Choices: 'An opinionated guide of great books to read and discuss that have been published by independent presses as well as major publishers.' Books are recommended by subject: Adventure, Art, Biography, Culture and World Issues, Faith, Family, Identity, Military, Personal Discovery, etc.
Book Browse.com, run by Davina Morgan-Witts, lists more than 400 reading guides by genre, title, and author. Excerpt, reviews, book jacket synopsis, author biography, and often reading guides and interviews for each book. Weekly newsletter.
Book Discussion Guides for Kids from Multnomah County Library (OR), with questions and background for more than 100 books for children and teens.
Book Spot.com: Simple, alphabetical list of books for which reading group guides are available (from various publishers).
Amazon's Book Club Suggestions and Reading Group Guides
Publishers' Book Discussion Guides
Beacon Press Reading Group Guides, A handful of reading group guides for Beacon's books. Also, Reading Group Guides for Unitarian Universalists.
Bloomsbury Reading Groups, which provide plot synopses, discussion questions, author biographies and suggestions for further reading.
Harper Collins Reading Groups: Reading tips, monthly newsletter, notification of author events near you, reference books for leaders, books for kids and teens, browse books by category (African-American; Bio/Memoir/AutoBio; Business; Classics; Eating and Reading; Fiction; Latino; Mother-Daughter; Movie Tie-in; Mystery; Nonfiction; Science Fiction and Fantasy; Spanish Language; Spirituality, Teen), tips for starting groups, etc.
Houghton Mifflin Featured Reader's Guides, and catalogs of guides for fiction and guides for nonfiction books. Offers e-mail updates of new reading group guides and resources. Also has a section of readers' guides for young adults.
Macmillan Reading Group Guides: Includes guides for Henry Holt, Picador, St. Martin's Press, FS&G, and Thomas Dunne publishers. Guides are listed by category. Click on 'Publisher' for guides from Macmillan's various imprints.
Penguin Reading Group Guides, with more than 450 guides, covering both fiction and non-fiction titles, which include discussion questions, in-depth interviews with authors, their biographies, and a brief synopsis of each book. Browse categories (Autobiography; Classic Fiction; Fiction; Historical Fiction; History; Mystery; Non-Fiction; Short Stories; Spanish Language; Young Adult).
Random House Readers Circle , offers sections for booksellers and librarians, a list of their complete library, books to be published soon, bestseller lists, author chats, and a newsletter. Random House's Book Club Center features various themes and offers a list of Best Books for Reading Groups and Tips for Book Group Meetings.
Simon & Schuster's Reading Group site has separate pages for reading group guides (29,640 as of 3/13) and book club tips, such as how to start the group, select the books, manage the discussion, etc.
Vintage Books and Anchor Books Reading Group Center, with online reading group guides, tips for reading group discussions, planners, cheat sheets, recommendations.
W.W. Norton offers Fiction Reading Group Guides and Non-Fiction Reading Group Guides.
Books About Reading Groups
Fiction
The Book Class (Houghton Mifflin, 1984) by Louis Auchincloss. Twelve women from the heights of New York society meet monthly over sixty years to discuss selected literary works.
The Used Women's Book Club (Bloomsbury, 2003) by Paul Bryers: The individual members of the Used Women's Book Club -- Jo, Meg, Liz and Amy -- each have good reasons for feeling as used as the books they swap. On the night the Used Women's Book Club last met to exchange literary views, the philandering husband of one of its members was being murdered. "Literary threads interweave this tense thriller."
Book Club: Books Are Their Life and Their Life Is a Book (2004) by Curtis Bunn. A novel that's really five stories about five fictional book clubs: B.E.L.L.E.S. (Beautiful Elegant Literary Ladies) in Atlanta; Everybody's Book Club in NYC; Women of the Knights Reading Group in D.C.; Bay Area On-Line Book Readers in Oakland CA; and Ballers, Shot-Callers and Book Worms in Houston, TX.
Coast Road (Simon & Schuster, 1998) by Barbara Delinsky. Romance. The protagonist, Rachel, finds friends and female bonding in a book group.
The Jane Austen Book Club (Putnam, 2004, 288 pp.) by Karen Joy Fowler. Set in California. Five women and one man meet each month to discuss one of Jane Austen's works.
Sew Deadly (Avon, 1998, 224 pp.) by Jean Hager: Iris House Bed & Breakfast owner Tess Darcy volunteers her time as book discussion leader and quilting project helper at a senior center, becoming involved in detective work when a very disliked senior is murdered.
Pure Fiction (Headline/Trafalgar Square, 2003/2004, 336 pp.) by Julie Highmore. Humourous. When the local librarian starts a reading group, the folks who join are motivated by many things besides a desire to discuss literature and their book meetings quickly turn to gossip and mayhem.
The Dead of Midnight (St. Martin's, 2002) by Catherine Hunter. Mystery. The members of Winnipeg's Mystery Au Lait Cafe book club can't get enough of the Midnight Mystery novels, until someone beging killing club members using scenes from the novels.
The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo (Tarcher/Putnam, 2003, 255 pp.) by Paula Huntley. Nonfiction. Story of Huntley's teaching experiences during the war in Kosovo and the bonds she formed with her students.
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons (Random House/Ballantine Books, 2003/2004, 432 pp.) by Lorna Landvik. Reading Group Guide. Set in small-town Minnesota. Five women bond through food, books, and laughter.
Bloodhounds by Peter Lovesey (Mysterious Press/Soho Crime, 1996/2004, 359 pp.). A Peter Diamond Mystery (police procedural). Set in Bath, England. The victim of a murder belongs to an elite group of mystery lovers called the Bloodhounds. Has one of the other Bloodhounds decided to commit the perfect crime?
Murder of the Month (Five Star, March 2005) by Elizabeth C. Main. Mystery.
D[oris] R. Meredith's Reading Group Mysteries (aka Murder by the Yard) series, set in Amarillo, Texas:
- Murder in Volume (Berkley Books, 2000, 241 pp.). Reference librarian (and former paleopathologist) Megan Clark has a passion for fictional crime, but when she and her felllow book group members go from reading mysteries to solving them, they discover that real-life crime is more complex than the most puzzling whodunit.
- By Hook or by Book (Berkley Books, 2000). Second in series. In When the owner of a valuable manuscript is killed, Megan needs the help of her reading-group crime solvers.
- Murder Past Due (Berkley Books, 2001). The Murder by the Yard book group has been going strong for six months, and Megan is eager to increase membership. For fun and publicity, she volunteers her friend, Dr. Ryan Stevens, to lead tours of famous Amarillo murder sites ...
- Tome of Death (Berkley, 2005): Megan Clark must unravel the mystery behind a burial site in the Palo Duro Canyon containing two corpses, one a human skeleton, the other a mummy in Comanche garb, murdered more than 100 years apart.
The Book Club (Don Mills/MIRA, 1999, 402 pp.) by Mary Alice Monroe. Five friends, members of a monthly book club, face turning points in their lives. The book club plays only a small role in the book.
The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble (2005): Five English women, all members of a book club, read 12 novels (including Atonement, Rebecca and The Alchemist) and over the course of a year their lives intertwine.
...And Ladies of the Club (Ohio State University Press/Putnam, 1982/1984, 1176 pp.) by Helen Hooven Santmyer. Sweeping saga of the lives of two small-town women and their fellow members of a ladies' literary society, beginning in post-Civil War Ohio and continuing to the Great Depression.
He Had It Coming (St. Martin's, 2004, 207 pp.) by Camika Spencer. Five women who belong to a reading group spontaneously abduct Marcus Brooks, a gorgeous and obnoxious bestselling author of African American fiction. Can these five women rehabilitate the most arrogant author in the world and teach him a few lessons about life, writing, and women?
Playing With Light (Arte Publico Press, 2000, 245 pp.) by Beatriz Rivera. Set in Miami. Rivera's Cuban-American female characters form a tertulia (get-together) to read counter-cultural histories and stories together, and in the process learn to assert themselves as Latinas in the patriarchal U.S. mainstream and the macho Cuban culture.
Nonfiction
Book Discussions for Adults: A Leader's Guide (American Library Association, 1992, 67 pp.) by Ted Balcom. A step-by-step explanation of how to set up a book club, how to select books, how to lead the discussions, and an annotated list of book suggestions for stimulating discussions.
King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller (Gibbs Smith Publishers, 2005, 305 pp.) by Betsy Burton. Betsy Burton, who owns The King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City, has been a bookseller for nearly thirty years, hosting at her store authors such as EL Doctorow, Isabel Allende, Updike, Atwood, and Sue Grafton. In this book, she writes about the "amusing trials and triumphs of author visits, attempts at censorship, the modern business of bookselling, and the complexities of staying afloat as an independent in the world of chains and superstores. Burton also offers dozens of 'Top 25' reading lists on a multitude of topics."
Teen Book Discussion Groups @ The Library (Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2004, 172 pp.) by Constance B. Dickerson. Provided 15 surefire suggestions for successful book discussions; provides discussion resources for 50 books aimed at specific ages and genders, with bibliographic and programming information for each title (theme and genre, main characters, synopsis, and ideas for questions with possible responses). Author/title/theme index.
The Mother-Daughter Book Club: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Reading (HarperPerennial, 1997, 296 pp.) by Shireen Dodson with Teresa Baker. Tells the story of 10 mothers and their preteen daughters and how their relationships were enriched through a monthly reading club. Step-by-step guidelines, stories, anecdotes, reading lists, sample themes and related activities.
A Year of Reading: A Month-by-Month Guide to Classics and Crowd-Pleasers for You and Your Book Group (Sourcebooks, 2002, 336 pp.) by Elisabeth Ellington and Jane Freimiller. Recommended by Booklist.
Reading Oprah: How Oprah's Book Club Changed the Way America Reads (SUNY Press, 2005, 164 pp.) by Cecilia Konchar Farr. A scholarly examination. Farr "suggests that Oprah initiated an all- important mantra: trust readers. Not only did the public start reading accessible novels, but they also would snatch up formidable titles and read them with a growing confidence and skill." Table of Contents here.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively And Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines (Harper Collins, 2003, 336 pp.) by Thomas C. Foster.
Read It and Eat: From Irresistible Beach Reads to Timeless Classics, a Month-by-Month Guide to Scintillating Book Club Selections and Mouthwatering Menus (Hudson Street Press, June 2005.) by Sarah Gardner.
Book Club Cookbook: Recipes for Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors (Tarcher, 2004, 544 pp.) by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp. The authors have a website. Offers anecdotes, food ideas from club members across the U.S., and profiles of various clubs, plus recipes drawn from favorite books, with short plot summaries.
The Go On Girl! Book Club Guide for Reading Groups (Hyperion, 1999, 353 pp.) by Monique Greenwood, Lynda Johnson, and Tracy Mitchell-Brown. Provides a history of African American reading groups in America, a history of African American literature genres, and book synopses.
The Reading Groups Book: 2002-2003 (Oxford University Press, 2002, 248 pp.) by Jenny Hartley and Sarah Turvey. Not so much a how-to as a scholarly survey of reading groups, written by a UK professor. Table of Contents includes: What's a Reading Group?, Who Belongs to Reading Groups?, How Groups Choose What They Read, How Groups Talk, The Reading Group in the 21st Century. Contains tables analysing characteristics of 350 groups, titles read by groups in 1999, lists of the UK's most popular authors and books 1999-2001. Also, reading lists from reading groups 1990-2001.
The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo (JP Tarcher, 2003, 255 pp.) by Paula Huntley. Huntley's diary about teaching English at a private school to a group of Kosovo Albanians, and about the the deep friendships and the remarkable book club they formed. The first book the bookgroup read was Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea. Reading group guide online.
The Reading Group Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Own Book Club (Hyperion revised, 1998, 272 pp.) by Rachel W. Jacobsohn. Recommended by Library Journal. Appendices include selected reading lists; syllabi from other reading groups; sources for reviews, criticism, and author information; a glossary of literary terms; and advice from questionnaire respondents. [Published in 1994 as Reading Group Handbook: Everything You Need To Know, From Choosing Members to Teading Discussions.]
Running Book Discussion Groups: A How-To-Do-It Manual (Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2006, 250 pp.) by Lauren Zina John. $55 paperback. Midwest Book Review called it "an outstanding introduction and in-depth guide to the ever-popular and effective educational technique and activity of reading in groups. ... [D]eftly covers such issues as book group organization, recruitment, resources, members, discussions and discussion kits, proper book selection for particular grouping interests, and so much more."
The Reading Group Book: The Complete Guide To Starting and Sustaining a Reading Group, with annotated lists of 250 titles for provocative discussion (International Thomson Publishing, 1995, 208 pp.) by David Laskin and Holly Hughes. See Table of contents.
Book Club Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Book Group Experience (Berkley Trade, 2006, 352 pp.) by Diane Loevy. Offers "10 Indispensable Titles" for genres such as Beloved Lit, Brit Lit, Book Club Favorites, Classic Lit, Black Lit, Noir Lit, Literary Respite, Nonfiction that Reads Like Fiction, and Memoir. Also: Childhood favorites, 'Guilty pleasure' titles, Conversation starters and tips for keeping discussions lively, Theme gatherings and special places for meetings, Drink and food recipes, and Craft ideas.
Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life (University of Chicago Press, 2003, 280 pp.) by Elizabeth Long. A cultural study of book groups. From the publisher: "Book clubs are everywhere these days. And women talk about the clubs they belong to with surprising emotion. But why are the clubs so important to them? And what do the women discuss when they meet? To answer questions like these, Elizabeth Long spent years observing and participating in women's book clubs and interviewing members from different discussion groups."
The Readers' Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites (2000, 288 pp.) by Victoria Golden McMains. Two hundred favorite reads culled from more than seventy U.S. reading groups, with brief profiles of each, fiction and nonfiction.
Good Books Lately: The One-Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers (St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, 348 pp.) by Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens. Tips on how to start a group, how to tell a book by its cover, how to generate a lively discussion, favorite book lists, book group troubleshooting, etc.
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (Random House, 2003, 394 pp.) by Azar Nafisi. Nafisi's account of two years in the 1990s during which she gathered seven young women at her house every Thursday morning to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. Reading group guide is online. A bookgroup favourite since its publication.
Circles of Sisterhood: A Book Discussion Group Guide for Women of Color (Harlem River Press/Writers & Readers Publishing, 1997, 214 pp.) by Pat Neblett. "A down-to-earth view of the formation and workings of an ethnic book club. Neblett's dual purpose is to celebrate the love of reading and promote minority writers" [School Library Journal YA review]. Offers tips on starting a group, logistics of meeting, choosing titles, facilitating discussion, handling author appearances, book collecting, and lists of multicultural titles and of African-American literary societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Book Sense Best Books: 125 Favorite Books Recommended by Independent Booksellers (W.W. Norton/Newmarket, 2004, 96pp.), ed. by Mark Nichols. Provides "Book Sense Best Books of the First Five Years" list of 15 adult and 10 children's titles, annotated; Top Reading Group Recommendations, an additional 50 titles, organized by category (such as The American Landscape, Stories of Memorable Women, Cultural Perspectives); Top Classics for Children and Young Adults, 50 more titles, organized by age and reading level.
Read 'Em Their Writes: A Handbook for Mystery Book Discussions (Libraries Unlimited, 2006, 250 pp.) by Gary Warren Niebuhr. Written by a librarian. Includes how to organize the group, get participants, select book club titles, prepare for the meeting, conduct discussions, book club themes, inside tips, background material, provocative questions for 100 of the best mystery titles for discussion. Also lists 50 additional mystery titles.
Recipe for a Book Club: A Monthly Guide for Hosting Your Own Reading Group: Menus & Recipes, Featured Authors, Suggested Readings, and Topical Questions (Capital Books, 2004, 107 pp.) by Mary O'Hare and Rose Storey. Starts in January and ends in December, offers reading theme for each month with menu and recipes, a featured favorite book and author, suggested reading list, and questions to ponder and discuss.
Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (Sasquatch Books, 2003, 288 pp.) by Nancy Pearl. Also: More Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (Sasquatch Books, 2005, 286 pp.). More at Nancy Pearl's website.
What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members and Other Book Lovers (Perennial revised, 1999, 368 pp.) by Mickey Pearlman. Suggests how to organize and run a reading group as well as an email book club. Provides 33 briefly annotated lists of contemporary and classic titles arranged by topic, such as Stop Kidding Around (books for children and young adults), Let's Talk About Me (memoirs by men and women), and Keep it Short (short story collections).
Reading with Oprah: The Book Club that Changed America (University of Arkansas Press, 2005, 248 pp.) by Kathleen Rooney. "Her book offers analysis of the novels Oprah selects and explores the impact of being selected on a novel and its author. While Rooney questions some of Oprah's literary analysis, she praises the book club for encouraging more people to read serious works" (per Inside Higher Ed review).
The Reading List: Contemporary Fiction: A Critical Guide to the Complete Works of 125 Authors (Owl Books reprint, 1998, 368 pp.) by David Rubel: Author info on authors such as Chinua Achebe, Isabel Allende, A.S. Byatt, Bebe Moore Campbell, Edwidge Danticat, Ivan Doig, Umberto Eco, David Guterson, Jane Hamilton, Jamaica Kincaid, Barbara Kingsolver, Naguib Mahfouz, Steven Millhauser, Lorrie Moore, Cathie Pelletier, Annie Proulx, Amy Tan, Anne Tyler, Mario Vargas Llosa, etc.
The New York Public Library Guide to Reading Groups (Three Rivers Press, 1995, 180 pp.) by Rollene Saal. Explains how to get a group started, determine its ideal size, understand various leadership styles, develop a book list for your specific group, and foster a good discussion. Annotated book suggestions by topic, such as Literary Lives, the Big Russians, from the Far East, etc.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Reading Group (Alpha Books, 2000, 359 pp.) by Patrick Sauer. Offers specific organizational ideas (including how to pace a discussion and how to make sure everyone is included) and suggested reading lists for various types of groups.
Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Bookstore (Beacon Press, 2004, 223 pp.) by Suzanne Strempek Shea. After recovering from breast cancer, Shea volunteers at a friend's independent bookstore (Edward Books) in Springfield, Mass. This is the account of her first year working in the store, considering questions that bookstore customers ask, her experiences as a touring author, and an overview of the state of the book world, particularly of independent bookstores.
The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group (Chicago Review Press, 3rd edition, 1993/2000, 395 pp.), ed. by Ellen Slezak. Provides anecdotes from 25 book discussion groups across the U.S. Covers book selection, discussion initiation, reasons for meeting, group rules, etc. Offers reading lists, some annotated.
Readers' Journals
Blank or mostly blank books in which readers can record their own impressions, responses, thoughts, ideas, lists of books, etc.
A Book Lover's Journal (Perseus/Addison Wesley, 1986, ). Hardcover blank book for recording details of books read. Most of book contains pages with space for title, author, date read, and comments. There's also a Books to Read section of 7 pages; a Books Borrowed section; a Books Loaned section; a Bookstore information section; a Libraries section; and a section for Notes.
Reading Group Journal: Notes in the Margin (Abbeville Press, 1999, 192 pp.) by Martha Burns, Alice Dillon. A spiral-bound journal in which the reader can record details of books read, lists of books TBR, favourite book quotes, etc. Also offers resources such as websites for on-line book sellers, library resources, book and book award lists, and on-line reading groups. And suggestions for setting up and running a book group. Quite nice.
Booknotes: The Booklover's Organizer (Jackson Creek Press, 1994) by Marilyn McDonald. Paperback, not spiral bound. Sections: Tracking system for books loaned ; Book Notes (alphabetically organised book log); Notes to Myself; Numbers of Note (phone list). Book quotations throughout.
Reader's Journal (Stewart, Tabori, & Chang; 1998, 144 pp.) by Yan Nascimbene. Spiral-bound journal. Comprised of five tab-delineated sections: Book Register, with fields of title, author, published, began reading ... finished, notes, recommended to or lent to, rated; Books to read, 28 pages; Reading group notes, 3 pages for names and phone numbers, and 22 pages for individual books; Book stores and services (address book); and a blank lined-pages section.
The Reader's Notebook: a personal diary of the books you have read (Grove Publications, 2001, 116 pp.) by Lobi Powell. Spiral bound. Space for title, author, subject, comments/discussion notes, rating for each book, favourite quotes. Reference sections: Best Coffee Table Book, The Most Useful Book I've Read, I'll Read Anything Written By, etc., with suggestions from other readers and space for your additions.
Book Club Journal: A Workbook and Record Keeper (Peter Pauper Press, 2003, roughly 150 pp.) by Martha Rosen. Spiral bound. Approx. 115 pages of Book Club Record Keeper Pages, preceded by 1-pagers on How to Find a Book Club, What to Read, How a Book Club is Organized, Membership, Starting Your Own, When and Where to Meet, To Eat?, Audio Options, Discussing the Book, Troubleshooting. Also space for a Member Directory, and a list of Literary Prizewinners. This books seems meant for use by a book group as an entity and not by individual members.
A Book Lover's Diary (Firefly Books Ltd., 1995, 144 pp.) by Shelagh Wallace, Scott McKowen: Hardcover, not spiral bound. Illustrated with woodcuts. Sections: Books to read, Books read and a personal review (brief bit of space for each book), Books to buy, Books loaned out or borrowed, Favorite books, Memorable passages, Addresses of libraries and book stores.