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Rating: 
Summary: A highly comprehensive survey
Review: A very well edited book that does indeed list a good number of thought-provoking books... I was a little baffled by the non-inclusiveness of the work (most of the authors listed are white males, which does not accurately reflect my personal literary tendencies). Overall a good book that I would nonethless recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Worked Great for Me!!
Review: I started a reading group about 6 months ago. I started with two friends and recruited the rest of the group over the Internet. This was a great guide and probably prevented me from making a lot of mistakes. I'd never even been in a reading group, so I had no idea there was so much to consider in forming and sustaining a group. Our group is going great, we're still a bit too large, but I'm sure we'll dwindle a bit over this first year. If you're considering starting a group, I suggest reading this book to help you along. Have fun!!
Rating:
Summary: Worked Great for Me!!
Review: I started a reading group about 6 months ago. I started with two friends and recruited the rest of the group over the Internet. This was a great guide and probably prevented me from making a lot of mistakes. I'd never even been in a reading group, so I had no idea there was so much to consider in forming and sustaining a group. Our group is going great, we're still a bit too large, but I'm sure we'll dwindle a bit over this first year. If you're considering starting a group, I suggest reading this book to help you along. Have fun!!
Rating:
Summary: Good Advice, Not So Good Reading Suggestions
Review: The Pros: Some very useful and solid advice about starting and running a reading group, including how to recruit members, how to conduct your meetings, and how to keep things running smoothly. The chapter on how to handle problem people and situations is especially good. Their advice is based on their personal experience with reading groups they've been in, as well as the experiences of the many people they interviewed while doing research for the book. This is good, solid, well-tested information on how to start and maintain a successful and enjoyable book group.The Cons: Their book suggestions are, to be kind, a wee bit politically correct. A theme that runs throughout the book is "Lesbians love book groups, " and many of their book choices reflect the interests of that particular demographic. Their introductory chapters on the history of book groups is history as viewed through the lenses of 20th century American feminism. The fact that they refer to Mortimer Adler's choices for the great books program as "a parade of dead white males," pretty much lets you know where they're coming from. Their book choices focused almost exclusively on 20th century novels, and they basically ignored the "parade of Dead white males" they seem to care little for. In other words, they leave out 99% of the books that have been the most influential in shaping western thought and culture in the past 2000 years. Their recommendations for books of poetry fare no better, being limited again to mostly 20th century, and mostly female, poets. In defense of their book choices, though, they note that the great majority of book groups, over 90% if I remember correctly, and composed entirely of women. They also note that books that stir up the most controversy are the ones that make the best reading group books. Given those two facts, their suggested reading lists make sense. If your reading interests go a bit deeper, however, or you already know the kind of books your group will be pursuing, their lists of suggested books will be of little use. My suggestion: buy the book for the excellent advice on how to start and maintain a reading group. Look elsewhere, say Fadiman's "The New Lifetime Reading Plan," for suggestions on which books to read.
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