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. Far from being an isolated activity, she finds reading for club members to be an active and social pursuit, a crucial way for women to reflect creatively on the meaning of their lives and their place in the social order.
The Richard & Judy Book Club Reader is the first book to consider the impact of the televised book club on reading practices and the publishing and promotion of books in the UK, in comparison with other reading groups, including Oprah's Book Club and online reading communities. The club, the books and their readers are considered from the perspectives of literary, cultural and media studies in this compelling collection.
“Part cookbook, part celebration of the written word, [The Book Club Cookbook] illustrates how books and ideas can bring people together.” —Publishers Weekly "We are what we eat, they say. We can eat what we read, too. The Book Club Cookbook by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp (Tarcher/Penguin, $21.95), first published in 2004 and now newly updated and revised, offers up dozens of new recipes inspired by book clubs’ favorite books, their characters and authors." —USA Today "It's pretty much a no-brainer why we love something like The Book Club Cookbook - it combines two of our all-time favorite things: food and books. Even better - the recipes in the book let us get a fuller experience of our favorite novels by thinking up recipes either inspired by the story or literally contributed by the author as essential to the book." —Flavorwire "The Book Club Cookbook excels at offering book groups new title ideas and a culinary way to spice up their discussions." —Library Journal Whether it's Roman Punch for The Age of Innocence, or Sabzi Challow (spinach and rice) with Lamb for The Kite Runner, or Swedish Meatballs and Glögg for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, nothing spices up a book club meeting like great eats. Featuring recipes and discussion ideas from bestselling authors and book clubs across the country, this fully revised and updated edition of the classic book guides readers in selecting and preparing culinary masterpieces that blend perfectly with the literary masterpieces their club is reading. This edition features new contributions from a host of today's bestselling authors including: Kathryn Stockett, The Help (Demetrie's Chocolate Pie and Caramel Cake) Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants (Oyster Brie Soup) Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper (Brian Fitzgerald's Firehouse Marinara Sauce) Abraham Verghese, Cutting for Stone (Almaz's Ethiopian Doro Wot and Sister Mary Joseph Praise's Cari de Dal) Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Annie Barrows's Potato Peel Pie and Non-Occupied Potato Peel Pie) Lisa See, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See's Deep-Fried Sugared Taro) The Book Club Cookbook will add real flavor to your book club meetings!
Pop culture is the heart and soul of America, a unifying bridge across time bringing together generations of diverse backgrounds. Whether looking at the bright lights of the Jazz Age in the 1920s, the sexual and the rock-n-roll revolution of the 1960s, or the thriving social networking websites of today, each period in America's cultural history develops its own unique take on the qualities define our lives.American Pop: Popular Culture Decade by Decade is the most comprehensive reference on American popular culture by decade ever assembled, beginning with the 1900s up through today. The four-volume set examines the fascinating trends across decades and eras by shedding light on the experiences of Americans young and old, rich and poor, along with the influences of arts, entertainment, sports, and other cultural forces. Whether a pop culture aficionado or a student new to the topic, American Pop provides readers with an engaging look at American culture broken down into discrete segments, as well as analysis that gives insight into societal movements, trends, fads, and events that propelled the era and the nation. In-depth chapters trace the evolution of pop culture in 11 key categories: Key Events in American Life, Advertising, Architecture, Books, Newspapers, Magazines, and Comics, Entertainment, Fashion, Food, Music, Sports and Leisure Activities, Travel, and Visual Arts. Coverage includes: How Others See Us, Controversies and scandals, Social and cultural movements, Trends and fads, Key icons, and Classroom resources. Designed to meet the high demand for resources that help students study American history and culture by the decade, this one-stop reference provides readers with a broad and interdisciplinary overview of the numerous aspects of popular culture in our country. Thoughtful examination of our rich and often tumultuous popular history, illustrated with hundreds of historical and contemporary photos, makes this the ideal source to turn to for ready reference or research.
Is your book club feeling stale or uninspired? Has attendance dropped, or are you struggling to keep your patrons engaged? What you need is a reboot. This resource published in cooperation with ALA's Public Programs Office profiles dozens of successful book clubs across the country.
What do we know about literature circles now that we didn't understand eight or ten years ago? What new resources and procedures can help teachers organize their classroom book clubs better? What are the most common pitfalls in implementing student-led discussion groups? And getting beyond the basics, what do mature or advanced literature circles look like? In this thoroughly revised and expanded guide, you will find new strategies, structures, tools, and stories that show you how to launch and manage literature circles effectively. Advanced variations are explored and include alternatives to role sheets and flexible new guidelines for their use. The second edition includes: four different models for preparing students for literature circles using response logs, sticky notes, and newly designed role sheets;dozens of variations on the basic version of student-led bookclubs;new models and procedures for primary, intermediate, and high school grades;new materials for assessing and grading literature circles;an inventory of common management problems and solutions;new scheduling patterns for group meetings and reading time;ideas for using literature circles with nonfiction texts across the curriculum;research on literature circles, including correlation with increased achievement on standardized tests;an explanation of how literature circles match with the national standards for literacy education.With detailed examples provided by twenty practicing teachers, Harvey Daniels offers practical and concrete suggestions for each aspect of book club management and proven solutions for problems that arise.
In January 2004, daytime television presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan launched their book club and sparked debate about the way people in Britain, from the general reader to publishers to the literati, thought about books and reading. The Richard & Judy Book Club Reader brings together historians of the book, literature scholars, and specialists in media and cultural studies to examine the effect of the club on reading practices and the publishing and promotion of books. Beginning with an analysis of the book club's history and its ongoing development in relation to other reading groups worldwide including Oprah's, the editors consider issues of book marketing and genre. Further chapters explore the effects of the mass-broadcast celebrity book club on society, literature and its marketing, and popular culture. Contributors ask how readers discuss books, judge value and make choices. The collection addresses questions of authorship, authority and canon in texts connected by theme or genre including the postcolonial exotic, disability and representations of the body, food books, and domesticity. In addition, book club author Andrew Smith shares his experiences in a fascinating interview.
