Posted by Yvonne Barlow on Tuesday, September 18, 2012,
Tea and biscuits have a deep association with book groups, but this connection is significant for book groups that meet in prisons.
Almost every volunteer and librarian who spoke at the Prison Reading Group conference at Roehampton University last week, talked of tea and biscuits and how integral they are to meetings. It was just one of the details that fascinated me, that put prison reading groups on a par with any other reading group in any community.The conference was held, primarily, to sh... Continue reading ...
Posted by Yvonne Barlow on Monday, April 23, 2012,
No one expects prisoners to read novels, let alone discuss them.
But the Prison Reading Groups have released a list of recent choices among prison book groups.Women prisoners choose fairly predictable titles by authors such as Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love), Anita Shreve (Testimony), and Sarah Waters (Affinity).But male prisoners selection of titles is a bit more surprising: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox.Okay, Michael J. ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Yvonne Barlow on Monday, February 6, 2012,
Mention reading groups to most people, and they expect middle age, middle class and middle brow.How wrong!Reading groups are a growing force in publishing, and some big name authors owe their success to word-of-mouth recommendation through book groups. For instance:Number One Ladies Detective Agency
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Devine Sisters of the YaYa Sisterhood
The Kite Runner
These were all small-time debut novels until discovered by reading groups.Following the success of these books, publish... Continue reading ...
Editor at Hookline Books - where book clubs and readers choose the novels that go to print.
