Mercredi 8 juillet 2020
It looks like we’re all social distancing for the near future at least. That means your Book Club might not be able to meet until...who knows when? What to do in such a situation? Why not take it online? You might be connecting online for work and for visiting with loved ones already, why not try it with Book Club?
We’ve been shifting our purchases to digital in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and we’ve purchased a lot of “Always Available” titles that you may find compelling. Titles in these “Always Available” collections can be taken out or streamed anytime by many readers at once – perfect for Book Club.
This month why not try listening to My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. The first in a four-book series, My Brilliant Friend is a captivating and beautifully written classic Book Club book about the beginning of a lifelong friendship between two Italian girls that begins in1950s. Or perhaps, Lawrence Hill’s Any Known Blood, the story of the son of a black man and a white woman who struggles to determine his identity in racially polarized Canada and within his own well-educated, upwardly mobile family.
If you would rather read the written word instead of listen, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott in the Duke Classics collection provides a great opportunity to revisit what, for many, is a familiar favourite and discuss the changing cinematic interpretations of this novel over time. If you prefer to get lost in a love story, The RomanceBookCloud collection has a wide selection of romance titles of all flavours, available anytime until August 31st 2020.
There are many more suggestions coming up – keep your eyes on the OPL website for our Digital Book Club Blog at the beginning of each month with some great “Always Available” titles and some suggestions and resources to get the most out of your online Book Club.
Suggestions and Resources for a successful online Book ClubIn order to have your Book Club take place online you can try creating Facebook groups, or using various social media channels to discuss books. Or you could try meeting live via online video conferencing tools. The following tools are free:
Google hangouts provides free video/chat/voice conferencing and does not have a time limit Jitsi is a free open source video conferencing tool Finding eBooks and eAudiobooks for your Book Club Always Available eAudio from OverDrive – many great Book Club reads in this list Always Available eAudio from RBDigital -- many always available Classic and Contemporary titles for you to choose from Always Available ebook Classics from Duke Publishing OPL streaming eBook and eAudio collectionsContact OPLs InfoService 613-580-2940 if you need help accessing these titles and resources.
Hosting and DiscussionsIf you would like discussion questions for your book, here is a list of 40 Great Book Club Discussion Questions from Book Riot. They work for any book.
Here are some great tips about how to host an online book club from Bustle Magazine: 10 Tips For Hosting A Digital Book Club
Enjoy your Book Club – online or off!