How to Start a Book Discussion Club

A book club is a great way to meet new friends and read good books. This step-by-step  guide will help you start a book club that can last for years. How to Start a Book Discussion Group Get together a core group - It is much easier to start a book club with two or three people who already have some connection. Ask around the office, playgroups, your church, or civic organizations. Sometimes you might find enough people to start a book club right away. Often youll at least recruit some help in completing the rest of the steps.  Set a regular meeting time - An ideal size for a book club is eight to 11 people. As you can imagine, it is often difficult to coordinate that many peoples  schedules. Go ahead and set a regular meeting time and date for your book club with your core group. For instance, meet the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. By setting the time before advertising the book club, you avoid playing favorites when working around schedules and you are upfront about what commitment is required.Advertise your book club - The best advertising is often word of mouth. If your core group doesnt know of other people to ask, then advertise in your circles of interest (school, work, church) with fliers or announcements.  Establish ground rules - Get together with your potential book club members and set the groups ground rules. You might want everyones input. However, if you have set ideas of what you want, then set the rules with your core group and announce them at this first meeting. The ground rules should include how books are chosen, who hosts, who leads discussions and what kind of commitment is expected.Meet - Set a schedule for the first few months and start meeting. If the book club is small at first, dont worry about it. Invite people as you go. Some people will be more likely to join an already established book club because they feel less pressure than they would as a founding member.Keep meeting and inviting people - Even if your book club is an ideal size, from time to time youll have the chance to invite new people as other members move away or drop out. Hopefully, youll always have a core group, and together you can reload. Example Ground Rules for Book Clubs Hosting Duties: You may decide to rotate hosting duties. The host may select the book, lead the discussion, and provide the meal or select the restaurant or coffee shop where you meet and perhaps provide appetizers and drinks.Food and Drink: Food is not required, but it helps the discussion roll and makes the book club meetings more fun. Some book clubs meet at a different restaurant each month. Sometimes meetings are held in peoples homes. (Check out this sample book club schedule  for some suggestions). How to Choose Books Some groups vote on what books they are going to read at the beginning of the year. Others let the host for the month choose. You can also use the bestsellers lists or a national book club such as Oprahs Book Club  as a guide. No matter how your book club chooses books, you also need to decide if there will be any restrictions on the choices (ie, just fiction, paperbacks, etc.).   You may want to base choices on whether they are available at the library or have a long waiting list, and whether they are available in electronic format or audiobook format. Leading the Discussion Be prepared with discussion questions. You can search for these online for most bestsellers. Even if youre shy about leading, a few creative pointers can get the ball rolling.

Analysis Of The Novel Young Goodman Brown By Nathaniel...

In the world we have witnessed crimes from the beginning of time up until present time and such crimes have often been the cause of fear overtaking those who are easily fearful. The fear that can overwrite a person’s mind can be found in the short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this particular story, the author uses a relatively fair amount of allegory, imagery, and symbolism to bring the story to life and make us imagine the disturbed mentality of those who lived during the Salem Witchcraft Trials. To the stories like â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† are still being reviewed and criticized by those who study his work, including those that differ from the original view I had perceived from his piece of literature. Through evidence obtained throughout the course of the story, it will provide evidence that will give support to my original analysis as well as those who oppose my view and strike their argument on what their meaning of the story is. Nathaniel Hawthorne begins the story with the departure of a newly wedded couple, a young man named Brown and his wife, Faith. From the beginning it is easy to infer that Brown’s wife, Faith was something full of innocence for Mr. Brown since he states that â€Å"She’s a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven† (Hawthorne 387). She was the one Brown can depend on and express his feelings towards Faith was what kept Young Goodman Brown going throughout theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Novel Young Goodman Brown By Nathaniel Hawthorne1091 Words   |  5 Pagesparticularly applies to musicians, artists and writers, since they are also humans, but better at expressing themselves. The short story my group and I did was â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A vast majority of Hawthorne’s work is based during the Puritan era. In the short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† the protagonist quests into the forest for a higher truth. While in the forest, he encounters many bizarre acquaintances. At last he is faced with a group of devil worshippersRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel Young Goodman Brown By Nathaniel Hawthorne879 Words   |  4 PagesIn the story † Young Goodman Brown† by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author demonstrates the ideas of the dual nature of man, which represented by the character Goodman Brown. He is a religious man who left his wife; Faith, behind to travel into the wood where a devil ceremony is takes place. The allegory of the story is that the innocence of a man can easily be corrupted if that person is not truly believes in his religion. Although, Goodman Brown is innocent, he also a devil himself by following devilRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1230 Words   |  5 Pages Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American novelist, who writes and focuses on sin, punishment, and atonement. However, he mainly focuses on the Puritan legacy. Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. From 1825-1837, Hawthorne perfected his writing and spent this time to help generate ideas for his novels and poems. One of the most well known novels by Nathaniel Hawthorne is â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.† The Scarlet Letter helped Hawthorne’s career to become one of the most successful of hisRead MoreThe Heart Is A Lonely Hunter And Nathaniel Hawthorne s `` Young Goodman Brown ``3100 Words   |  13 Pages How does the use of worship in both Carson McCullers’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† shows that ultimately the void of loneliness can only be filled through connection with one’s self? Candidate number: IB Extended essay Word count: 2,768 Table of Contents: I. Abstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..3 II. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 III. Loneliness through incompletion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 IV. IncompletionRead MoreScarlet Letter Symbolism Essay982 Words   |  4 PagesScarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a gothic satire of the puritan beliefs and value. Nathaniel Hawthorn of a puritan based background wrote various harsh satires such as Young Goodman Brown, and The Scarlet Letter, all based on his ancestral history. Furthermore, in his satires, they all shared a common point in structure and his use of symbolism to develop meaning for his works. With the use of symbolism, Hawthorne is efficiently able to introduce the conflict withRead MoreSymbolism Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s Scarlet Letter And The Minister s Black Veil 1083 Words   |  5 Pagesof his writing counterparts, Nathaniel Hawthorne extensively uses symbolism in several of his major works to explore sin and human nature. The Scarlett Letter, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and â€Å"The Minister s Black Veil† are all vivid examples of this exploration and are the focus of this analysis. Before discussing his works, it is important to explore Hawthorne’s background to better understand how they connect to his writing and to his use of dark romanticism. Hawthorne came from Puritan ancestry. HisRead MoreAnalysis of Three of Hawthornes Works: Solitude and Isolation2063 Words   |  9 PagesAnalysis of Three of Hawthornes Works: Solitude and Isolation Julia Pesaresi Burns 3rd Period Pre-Ap English 20 February 96 Solitude and isolation are immense, powerful, and overcoming feelings. They possess the ability to destroy a persons life by overwhelming it with gloom and darkness. Isolate is defined: to place or keep by itself, separate from others (Webster 381). Solitude is the state of being alone (Webster 655). Nathaniel Hawthorne uses these themes of solitude and isolation forRead MoreTragic flaw in Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Birthmark† Essay1201 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ An expository essay: Tragic flaw in Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Birthmark† In literature a tragic flaw refers in plain words when the main character ends up dead or defeated a characteristic feature of the heroes of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil†, and â€Å"The Birthmark†. However this concept is even more extensive and best explained in terms of â€Å"Hamartia†. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica that word can be understood as an inherent defectRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Mind1900 Words   |  8 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne-The Mind Nathaniel Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804 he was known as an American novelist, who writes dark romantic short stories. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts to his parents to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning. Nathaniel Hawthorne was originally named Nathaniel Hathorne but he later added a w to make his name Hawthorne in order to hide the relation to his ancestor John Hathorne, who was the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never feltRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesï » ¿TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS The purpose of Text Interpretation and Analysis is a literary and linguistic commentary in which the reader explains what the text reveals under close examination. Any literary work is unique. It is created by the author in accordance with his vision and is permeated with his idea of the world. The reader’s interpretation is also highly individual and depends to a great extent on his knowledge and personal experience. That’s why one cannot lay down a fixed â€Å"model†

Pram Lady and Forbidden Clothes Free Essays

An important idea in both â€Å"The Pram Lady† by Vivien Alcock and â€Å"Forbidden Clothes† by Jamila Gavin is how people are unaccepting of differences. This is important to me because people should be able to be themselves without being hassled or excluded, also because people my age are not very accepting of others’ differences. In the â€Å"Pram Lady† Helena does not accept the way her mother dresses and behaves. We will write a custom essay sample on Pram Lady and Forbidden Clothes or any similar topic only for you Order Now She want her mum to be like other mums with â€Å"dyed hair and a perm† because it reflects badly on her. When William, Helena’s new boyfriend, sees Helena’s mother and doesn’t realize who she is he makes a rude comment about her appearance: â€Å"God, what a fright! What a ridiculous creature! † Helena reacts to this by running away from him and telling him she never wants to see or speak to him again. Even though Helena’s mother is â€Å"enormously fat† and wears stained clothes, Helena still will not associate with people who disrespect her mother. This shows us that Helena herself has not accepted her mother for the way she is. From this, I learnt that I should not be so quick to judge others before getting to know them because personality shines through and is the most important thing. Oddly, though Helena doesn’t want people saying rude things about her mother, she says those things herself. Helena’s mother doesn’t mind what people think about her and tells Helena that she should just laugh with her friends when they see her. Helena just wants her mother to be normal, when Helen tells her mum this she responds by saying â€Å"But that’s what you want, isn’t it, Helena? An ordinary mother like your friends have. † Over time Helena gets stressed by the fact her mother forgets to do regular things like wearing unstained clothes. This doesn’t work for either of them because Helena is always worried about her mother and her mother is forced to change into something she isn’t to please Helena. I relate to this because girls my age sometimes don’t except people for their flaws. Reading this short story made me feel that I should wait until I know someone before judging them. As is in â€Å"The Pram Lady†, â€Å"Forbidden Clothes† also shows the way people are made to feel like outsiders because they have differences from their peers. Nasreen, a girl who is living in the UK never felt different in Pakistan, How to cite Pram Lady and Forbidden Clothes, Papers

Art Strike In Nyc Essay Example For Students

Art Strike In Nyc Essay Haril PatelStrike In Modern Art Museum Of New YorkThe Professional and Administrative Staff Association (PASTA) of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) represting 250 administrative assistants, archivists, curatorial staff, conservators, educators, graphic artists, librarians, salespeople, secretaries, visitor assistants and writers. Their union started the strike on April 28, 2000. The central issues involve salaries, healthcare, the threat of layoffs and union rights. The old contract expired October 31 1999. This is the first major strike at the museum since 1973. The Professional and Administrative Staff Association (PASTA), which is Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers, represent the strikers. They comprise a varied workforce of administrative assistants, archivists, curators, conservators, graphic artists, librarians, salespeople, secretaries, visitors assistants and writers. PASTA is one of six unions in the museum. The members of the other five bargaining units are continuing to work. The workers have rejected the museums offer of a three percent raise a year for three years, and is demanding five percent for the first year and four percent for the subsequent years in a five-year contract. The strikers believe that this demand is more than justified considering the very low wages they receive, which they say are even lower than what is paid in other museums for comparable work. The median wage for the employees is $28,000 a year, and the starting salary for 40 of the workers is $17,000 a year which is nothing. Furthermore, the union says that the museum is refusing to maintain the employees health insurance and other benefits. PASTA maintains that MoMA has been very successful in its investments, and could easily afford a decent salary hike while maintaining benefits. The workers feel that their wages are being held down while the managers are more than amply compensated. Another issue provoking the strike is job security. The museum is undergoing a $650 million expansion project for at least two years, and is planning relocate to Queens from its present location in Manhattan during that period of time. The union fears that the jobs of many of its members will be lost, and wants a guarantee that the workers will be able to return to their positions when the project is completed. The union is seeking a five-year contract in order to ensure that any job security clause will not expire before the project has been completed. This way everyone will know they have a job when they come back and not be in fear that they will be jobless. This is one of the major issues. PASTA wants the museum to agree that all new workers be required to either join the union or, if they dont join, be required to pay an equivalent monetary amount of the dues as an agency fee that goes to the union. At the same time, PASTA has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board charging the museum with not bargaining in good faith by attempting to bypass the union and negotiate with individual employees. The strike has forced the museum to cancel a fundraising event starring the singer Sheryl Crow. MoMA officials said that they did not want Ms. Crow or the ticket holders to have to cross a picket line, and refunded 450 tickets with prices ranging from $500 to $1,000 each!Other than this event, some workers on the picket line have stated that it is difficult for them to judge how many people they have managed to discourage from going into the museum. MoMA officials are maintaining that the museum is running normally, and that ninety of the two hundred and sixty workers that are represented by the bargaining unit are working. Union officials dispute the claim that the strike is having no effect on the institution and say that only thirty workers are crossing the picket line. .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 , .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .postImageUrl , .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 , .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7:hover , .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7:visited , .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7:active { border:0!important; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7:active , .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7 .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc273e5637c0bd1f7dc874093f104abb7:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Construction Quality Assessment System Construction EssayOne striker, Ela Respina, a photographer with one year at the museum, said, Our salaries are quite low. MoMA is penny pitching on our wages. The museum has made a lot of money in the last couple of years, and this is on public record. One problem is that all the other unions have contracts that expire at different times, and so they are working. The guards have a no-strike clause in their