SPD Book Clubs/Reading Groups-Start Here!
SPD's Open Book Project offers low-cost books, plus free book reading guides and advice about which books to read to those interested in starting book discussion groups using SPD books.
Many libraries, community centers and private individuals sponsor or host book discussion groups. SPD's Open Books Project makes it easy for your book group to offer independently published books from communities close to your patrons for use in book groups, including groups for seniors and Spanish speakers.
SPD offers a 45% discount (nonreturnable) for books ordered for use in books groups, plus free domestic shipping!
If your library or community organization does not yet offer reading groups featuring SPD books, following are things to think about in starting a group. It's easy!
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WHAT Decide what kind of books you will read. Choose a literary genre or a mix of genres. SPD books feature a wide variety of poetry, fiction, memoirs, essays and many books in translation from Spanish, French and other languages that often include the original language along with the translation.
WHO Determine how many members the groups should have. We find that 8 to 16 members work best: enough for a discussion if people are absent, but not too many to make discussions unwieldy.
WHEN Decide how often to meet. Once a month is best for most clubs. Deciding when to meet will depend on who the likely members will be: during the day works best for seniors, but evenings or weekends work better for students and those who work regular hours.
WHERE Where to meet is the next decision. Sometimes libraries can help provide space, but other spaces, such as restaurants and private homes, may work equally well.
HOW It helps for the facilitator as well as book club members to have a book guide with information about the author and suggested questions to get the conversation started. Whenever possible, SPD will provide a FREE BOOK GUIDE with your order of books for your reading discussion group. SPD books are frequently by living writers and we can also help you get in touch with authors for in-person or virtual interaction.
WHY The living authors who write SPD books frequently represent the marginalized ethnic, esthetic and other groups who are also the ideal readers of these books. SPD books come from the more than 400 small independent publishers we carry; they are not produced to make a profit, but because the people who write and publish them believe passionately that they should be made available to readers like you.
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Help SPD to achieve our mission to connect readers with writers. To start your book club, please email orders@spdbooks.org with the subject "Book Club Proposal" and let us know about your plan. We will then provide you a custom discount code to purchase the titles for your club at a 45% discount.