A Very Good Place to Start

In part because November seems to be Literary Award Month in Canada, book clubs or book groups have been on my mind lately. In the U.S., it seemed that they were known more as book "groups"--because "club" sounds too formal and exclusive, perhaps? Who knows. I've also heard them called "reading groups."

Here, they seem to be, unselfconsciously, book "clubs."

In any case, selecting books to read and discuss with a group of people is always a process fraught with conditions and clarifications and definitions. Someone wants to read "classics," meaning Middlemarch, not Euripides. Someone wants a theme for the year--war, for one depressing example.

Some insist on reading best-sellers or a celebrity's selections. Nothing wrong with that--but why do that in a group? They may be interesting or entertaining but you probably don't need a group discussion to gain a full understanding of the book.

To counteract the "there's not much to discuss about this book" syndrome, some clubs choose from award-winning books--for example, those that win National Book Awards or the UK's Man Booker prize. The idea is that these books are notable in some way beyond catching a celebrity's eye.

And in that vein, here are another couple of good resources for interesting books that are worth reading in a group: the sites for two major Canadian literary awards.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize is an award for fiction. The players are different every year, the jury is different every year, and the results are always interesting.

The Governor General's Literary Awards, presented by the Canada Council for the Arts, have lots of categories in both languages. Children's books can win either for illustration or for text, and this year the winner is the same in both categories--in English. Because yes, there are awards for writing in French, too.

Just call it "resource week" here at Half-Canadian: linking you to information you never thought to ask for!