one: I really enjoyed the speaker from AADL. I kind of want to check out some of the books she brought in about book clubs (especially the one that was half book clubs, half recipe book) now. I also thought that it was interesting how universally liked books don't make for very good book club books, because people don't really say anything about them other than "I liked it. It was really good." Which I suppose makes sense, because I know that I will pull a book I don't like to bits, but all the same, if I'm going to spend my non-existent free time reading something, I kind of expect to like it, useful conversation about it later be dammed. I guess I'm not a very good candidate for book clubs.
two: Having seen a Socratic Seminar implemented now, I'm still not sure that I'm a fan. Maybe some of this could have been ameliorated if the entire group were involved in the discussion, rather than a small subset in the front of the class panel style, but the seminar still seemed rather stilted and like an oral examination, rather than the depth of discussion and involvement the readings lauded so highly.
three: The other groups for our book group session have selected some interesting readings for our meeting. Two of the four readings for our group are by Edgar Allen Poe, which I find to be rather improbable, even controlling for how he's a well-known short story author whose work is in the public domain. Just wondering how the groups were put together.... Anyways, I'm looking forward to the discussion tomorrow night.
I liked the AADL guest speaker as well. I think her point about not doing highly popular books for book club, though, stems from the idea that people are going to read it anyway--like Twilight or Harry Potter--and talk about it with people. Think of all the websites, forums, and facfiction that exists for these books; with all that dialogue already, it makes sense that you'd want to give readers something similar to introduce them to new authors and works based on their interests and reading tastes.
ReplyDeleteI participated in the in-class Seminar and maybe part of what you noticed was the fact that classmates were put on-the-spot in front of the remainder of class. It was a little nerve-wracking to be on display as an example group and know that you all were supposed to scrutinize and take notes on us and our discussion. Had it just been us and Kristin, things probably would have gone smoother. Also, though I was fine, had we known the day before that we were the selected example group, maybe some people would have taken more notes and been a little more prepared.
I agree with you that, at this point in life, pleasure reading is a somewhat neglected luxury, so when I do have time for it my top priority is enjoyment! One of the things I got out of the AADL presentation was how difficult it must be to pick a "good" book club book. Understanding which books or stories will simultaneously drive discussion, while also appealing to a reader's desire to read things they "like" seems a little tricky.
ReplyDeleteI was also curious about the recipe book for book clubs - and I do believe food is always a good thing for members to look forward to. As for the Socratic Seminar, I was not expecting it to be the leader calling on names to answer questions - I was expecting more of a discussion, so that came as a surprise.
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