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Having seen the quantity and quality of the discussion for this month's book, I'm convinced that we _can_ have a good and active discussion. But for that to happen, we need to actively think through all aspects of the process as we first choose a book, and then discuss it. We've talked about what characteristics make for a good Book Club selection, even though I'm not convinced we've all internalized them, but there were two aspects of the discussion this month that I think made a material difference in the quality of the discussion.
The first of those was having the author present and participating. Obviously that's not likely to be an option very often, but the unusual circumstances this month made it possible and I'm glad we were able to have Ms. Kirstein join us. If the opportunity arises at some future point for a book we've chosen, I would love to have it happen again, but I'm not holding my breath.
The second thing that I think helped was having an active discussion facilitator. As the nominator, I felt a certain responsibility and tried to make sure I stayed active in the discussion throughout. There's certainly no rule that says the nominator (or any other designated person) needs to do that, but I think it helps, and I'd like to encourage others who nominate a book to play a more active role than has sometimes been the case. I think we all benefit.
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