About 5 years ago, my scientist professor husband and I started and co-coordinate a land trust based book group in the US. Though I personally read from many genres, I am not a scientist but I do read Nature Science Environment type books for the book group as well as for my own personal reading. (We are also in a second coed book group with more eclectic book picks.)
The NSE books for book group are almost entirely non-fiction. We normally read the same book but occasionally we also choose a single category —say birds—and we each choose our own book. We require sign ups every year, giving previous members who had good attendance the first choice for roughly 12 spots. Our attendance is extraordinarily high and spots for new members have been limited to one new person, lamentably due to a death. The sign-ups also did not typically know one another ahead of time, and some had never been in a book group previously. We normally have a summer break but during the pandemic, when we’d shifted to zoom. ten wanted to have a special summer book group.
In case anyone wishes to arrange a local in person Nature Environment type group, in addition to this online one, I include a bit more. The discussion facilitator encourages readers to share what we each might have learned or found surprising or new n noteworthy …from the book…. rather than focusing much of the limited group meeting time on the book’s shortcomings; though critical comments may arise parenthetically that is not where we spend our limited time together.
Prompts also encourage folks to share any personal connection to the book topic (often in the first of the, at minimum, 3 opportunities each person gets to speak during a meeting) and that helps us build community. Each member has options to pitch future books or specific authors to the group, though to schedule any specific title, at least one, and preferably 2, people must have read the book and confirmed its suitability for discussion.
The NSE books for book group are almost entirely non-fiction. We normally read the same book but occasionally we also choose a single category —say birds—and we each choose our own book. We require sign ups every year, giving previous members who had good attendance the first choice for roughly 12 spots. Our attendance is extraordinarily high and spots for new members have been limited to one new person, lamentably due to a death. The sign-ups also did not typically know one another ahead of time, and some had never been in a book group previously. We normally have a summer break but during the pandemic, when we’d shifted to zoom. ten wanted to have a special summer book group.
In case anyone wishes to arrange a local in person Nature Environment type group, in addition to this online one, I include a bit more. The discussion facilitator encourages readers to share what we each might have learned or found surprising or new n noteworthy …from the book…. rather than focusing much of the limited group meeting time on the book’s shortcomings; though critical comments may arise parenthetically that is not where we spend our limited time together.
Prompts also encourage folks to share any personal connection to the book topic (often in the first of the, at minimum, 3 opportunities each person gets to speak during a meeting) and that helps us build community. Each member has options to pitch future books or specific authors to the group, though to schedule any specific title, at least one, and preferably 2, people must have read the book and confirmed its suitability for discussion.