Booklist’s Book Group Buzz new partner blog for National Reading Group Month
Contact: Mary Ellen Quinn
Booklist
(312) 280-5720
mquinn@ala.org
NEWS
For Immediate Release
September 29, 2008
CHICAGO. The popular
Booklist blog Book Group Buzz, which provides helpful and entertaining information to reading groups both in and outside libraries, has been selected as the official partner blog by the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) for its second National Reading Group Month (NRGM) in October 2008.
National Reading Group Month , which debuted in 2007 to immediate acclaim, celebrates the joys of shared reading, strengthens the community of the book and promotes a more literate, engaged community. “Reading groups are a bulwark against a troubling trend in Americans’ leisure-time pursuits,” said NRGM Chair, Jill Tardiff. “People are reading less and less for pleasure, yet month in and month out, thousands of groups nationwide gather to discuss the latest from Barbara Kingsolver or Isabel Allende, to revisit Tolstoy or Nabokov, to share Harry Potter or the Twilight series with enthusiastic sons and daughters.”
Why do we need to talk about books? According to Book Group Buzz blogger Nick DiMartino, “Unfortunately we’re far from divine readers. We have short attention spans. We have limited knowledge. We’re easily distracted. We miss details. And sometimes we miss the whole point. Occasionally half a dozen smart, committed readers banding together into a book group can correct that.”
Book Group Buzz addresses the growing interest in adult and youth book-group related news expressed by librarians, general readers, authors and publishers, with regular posts by a selected group of expert contributors from around the country. Contributors offer informative, wise, witty and salutary posts, as well as links to a wide range of free book group-related guides, tips and other resources. “This online destination for reading groups is the ideal blog for NRGM,” said Tardiff. “We are delighted to partner with ALA’s
Booklist and to make Book Group Buzz a visible part of the program. We’re impressed by the scope of this one-stop resource for reading groups.”
To learn more about National Reading Group Month and scheduled events, visit
www.NationalReadingGroupMonth.org.
Booklist’s free one-stop resource, Book Group Buzz, can be found at
http://bookgroupbuzz.booklistonline.com
Booklist is the book review magazine of the American Library Association, considered an essential collection development and readers advisory tool by thousands of librarians for more than 100 years. Booklist Online, launched in 2006, includes more than 120,000 reviews as well as a free Web site offering the latest news and views on books and media.
The Women’s National Book Association, founded in 1917, is the oldest continuously running women’s literary organization in the USA. For the past 90 years, it has united women – and now men – from every corner of the book world: writers, editors, librarians, bookstore owners, and more. It provides a vehicle through which members can act on their professional and personal commitment to champion the book and to stimulate the increased tolerance, social awareness, and civic involvement associated with reading.
