I've now graded your answers to last week's book group pop quiz and you all earned an A+. Over the next few weeks, we'll share your responses to the questions and let you do the talking for a change. As always, everyone is invited to join the conversation at any point because, well, it's a conversation.
1. How important are book groups to the publishing world now?
Valerie Koehler, owner of Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Tex., gives book groups a hearty "Yes, yes, yes" vote, adding, "I talk to book groups at least five times per month (not counting facilitating the two in-store groups). For a shop with a reputation as a children's specialty shop, our second biggest selling category is adult fiction. And I attribute this completely to our focus on book groups, the books that they are likely to choose and our ability to reach out to them with booktalks. We have roughly 50 'registered' bookclubs here. The bookclub table is the single most shopped table in the bookstore. Many people head straight there and make all of their selections, so being on the table can translate into a lengthy stay with many more sales."
"Book groups are it for publishers these days," according to Mary Bisbee-Beek, director of trade marketing and publicity for the University of Michigan Press. "They are economical and the author doesn't even have to travel if the book group has access to a speaker phone. Although it's nice for a face-to-face, it's not always possible."
Ami Greko, marketing director for Folio Literary Management, believes the importance of book groups isn't limited to the book world: "Honestly, I see them as important to the world-world (aka, the real world). It's rare that you have ten people in a room who have all read the same book. This happens for movies or albums all the time, but so rarely for books. It's depressing on one hand, but on the other I think it speaks very strongly to the way people read and how that reading is different than what publishers would like us to do. So a book club, no matter what you discuss, is a rare and unique place in the world today."
Ann Kent, founder of Book Group Expo, shared author Joshua Henkin's post with her book group earlier this month: "Josh 'gets it.' Book clubs and reading groups are about community and conversations and connecting. I have always been an avid reader, but I would not read half of what I read were it not for my book group. My life is better for having read more. Sharing a book--like a good bottle of wine--is best when done with others."
Mary Alice Gorman, co-owner of Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, Pa., considers book groups "very important" to her bookstore's success: "Were it not for book groups, much fiction would never be sold. Think about it. With most sales going to big box stores where selection is so limited, where else would the other trade paperbacks be selling? Chains and Amazon do nothing to support book groups, but they find support through friends in other book groups, folks with whom they work, online and from the lucky ones who have a relationship with an indie like ours. Publishers love to send writers to dinner with a book group, and writers--who engage in a solitary activity most of the time--love talking with real readers about their work."
Book groups "keep the literary dialogue alive," according to Barbara Drummond Mead of Reading Group Choices. "Libraries and booksellers have always treasured reading groups because the groups are all about books and community outreach. Reading groups help keep publishers' backlists thriving--our annual survey of the Favorite Discussible Book of the Year reports most books chosen throughout the year are three to five years old, along with many classics. The reading group market is very influential and powerful (they buy tons of books). Publishers and booksellers have known that for years, though some just got on the bandwagon a couple of years ago."
We give Joshua Henkin the final word this week: "I do think bookstores want to expand beyond the public readings format. I have nothing against readings, and I've given a lot of them, but it all depends on how many people show up. With a book group, everyone at least has read the book, so the discussion is much more elevated. And it's much more interactive than a reading, which more and more is what people want."--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)