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Earl Theisen, 1953

Ernest Hemingway

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899, Ernest Hemingway served in the Red Cross during World War I as an ambulance driver and was severely wounded in Italy. He moved to Paris in 1921, devoted himself to writing fiction, and soon became part of the expatriate community, along with Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, and Ford Madox Ford. He revolutionized American writing with his short, declarative sentences and terse prose. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, and his classic novella The Old Man and the Sea won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. Known for his larger-than-life personality and his passions for bullfighting, fishing, and big-game... Read full bio

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Book Club Tips

Starting Your Own Reading Group

Ask people you know to help you organize the first meeting. Decide the ideal size for your group. Smaller groups (somewhere between four and ten) are great because they allow everyone a chance to participate, while larger groups (ten-plus) allow for greater diversity. You can also have special guest meetings where people invite friends or co-workers to join.

Mapping Out Meeting Logistics

Where will the group meet?
How often?
What time?
Are refreshments served?

Selecting Books

Identify what types of books you will read. Do you want to focus on specific topics or genres?

Decide how you will choose the books –discuss candidates and vote, host/hostess pick, members take turns, random drawings –all have their benefits and your group may try several methods before finding the right one.

Choose books that challenge the group and generate discussion. Books with additional resources such as reading group guides, publisher/author websites with author interviews, enhanced bios, blogs, etc. add new dimensions to the conversation.

All Book Club Picks

Discussing Books

Consider what atmosphere you want to cultivate. Groups may be serious and academic in tone, or lighthearted and social. It's important to establish the tone as well as the pace of the meeting. "Social hour" may be designated at the top of the meeting with a specific time designated for the start of the book discussion.