Helpful Advice on Book Club Hosting~or Idle Suggestions and Riff Raff or Bric a Brac or maybe just Chit Chat

Thank you Shel Silverstein for keeping me a bit batty and this artwork. Check out Shel's posthumously published book on spoonerisms, Runny Babbit, a laugh a minute ride!

And now for something completely serious ~ A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR HOSTS distilled from bookmuse.com and Caroline's somewhat water-logged brain ~ 

1. Check out some of the links!
2. Formulate 3-5 questions- minimum- for discussion and/or choose 3-5 passages to discuss.
   Choose open ended questions- not "yes" or "no", but "why does" and "how did", etc...
3. Dumbledore and Ron (yes, Ron!) tend to be great resources for quotes worthy of discussion.
4. Topics for discussion are not limited to plot mysteries or intrigues but can and should also include things such as : language-word choice and tone; narrative voice-who is telling us the story & why- what's their deal?; character development- how a character is introduced, matures, unfolds throughout the story; plot development- how, where, and why does it evolve, progress and culminate; author's vision and intent- what is the author's purpose, angle, interest in telling us the tale; mood and setting- Where are we? Why are we there? How does the mood and setting help or hinder the story and our experience?; Background Inspirations for Story-Dig into the "back story" of the story; etc...
5. Reading- or having a reader- read a passage out loud prior to discussing it- the host child might be perfect for this task.
6. Do have comfortable seating arranged before guests arrive- circlish spaces near floors work well when children are present-tables and chairs infer class time...for the grown ups, a few chairs would probably be appreciated...
7. Be aware when prepping for your host time that there exists loads and loads of mis-information out there regarding these- and other- books. Check your resources carefully and question if you're not sure...One very useful site that I visited (www.sparknotes.com) listed J.K. Rowling's first name as Joanna (its "Joanne") and said that Harry was created in her mind when she was a single mother living on welfare. In fact, Harry was "created" during a train ride prior to J.K. Rowling's eldest daughter's birth and nearly five years later the first novel was completed while Rowling was receiving government assistance as a recently divorced single mother who was also working in the teaching field at the time. Our perception affects our understanding.
8. Sometimes an individual talks too much during group discussions- cornering the market as it were; hosts can re-direct the talking by calling on someone new to participate or prompting with a new question. Other techniques involve suggesting that the group "get back to the focus topic- question- passage, etc" or "So and so has been wanting to put ideas in for a while, let's hear from them". Politeness, perseverance and persistence pay off!