Many libraries and organizations in South Carolina offer reading groups as opportunities to get involved in reading. Sponsored by the Women’s National Book Association, National Reading Group Month salutes reading groups and fosters their growth to promote the love of literature.
Columbia, SC – Many libraries and organizations in South Carolina offer reading groups as opportunities to get involved in reading. Sponsored by the Women’s National Book Association, National Reading Group Month salutes reading groups and fosters their growth to promote the love of literature. Reading groups are proving that good books bring people together. It's an opportunity for reading groups to reflect on their accomplishments and plan for the future. State Library Director and avid reader, David Goble, said that “it is very important to get involved in a reading group at your library, church, or other community organization because reading groups explore the nuances of novels and through discussion, everyone can learn more about one another and the world around them.”
Among the goals of National Reading Group Month, which debuted in 2007 to immediate acclaim, are to celebrate the joys of shared reading, strengthen the community of the book, and promote a more literate, engaged community. “Reading groups are a bulwark against a troubling trend in American’s leisure-time pursuits,” said NRGM Chair, Jill Tardiff. “People are reading less and less for pleasure, yet month in and month out, thousands of groups nationwide gather to discuss the latest from Barbara Kingsolver or Isabel Allende, to revisit Tolstoy or Nabokov, to share Harry Potter or the Twilight series with enthusiastic sons and daughters.”
Why do we need to talk about books? According to Book Group Buzz blogger Nick DiMartino, “Unfortunately we’re far from divine readers. We have short attention spans. We have limited knowledge. We’re easily distracted. We miss details. And sometimes we miss the whole point. Occasionally half a dozen smart, committed readers banding together into a book group can correct that.”
Book Group Buzz, a Booklist blog from the American Library Association, addresses the growing interest in adult and youth book-group related news expressed by librarians, general readers, authors, and publishers, with regular posts by a selected group of expert contributors from around the country. The contributors offer informative, wise, witty, and salutary posts, as well as links to a wide range of free book group-related guides, tips and other resources. “This online destination for reading groups is the ideal blog for NRGM,” said Tardiff. “We are delighted to partner with ALA’s Booklist and to make Book Group Buzz a visible part of the program. We’re impressed by the scope of this one-stop resource for reading groups.”
For more information about National Reading Group Month, visit www.nationalreadinggroupmonth.org.
