“Boar Shank” Books
The highlight of my work-week was most definitely Booklist's Book Club webinar, where I joined library marketing compatriots Talia Sherer, Dave Eicke, and Erica Melnichok to share our picks for the best book club books of Fall 2011/Winter 2012.
Before I started talking about my titles, I discussed a pet theory of mine, namely, that book club books are a bit like the boar shank I tried recently at the Good Fork. What, you might ask, makes a perfect book club book?
For starters, it should be:
- Meaty
- Challenging to digest
- Completely memorable
Just like the boar shank, a book club book will sit in your stomach. While it's there, you will need to talk about it. These books, like Susanna Daniel's Stiltsville or Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter beg for discussion, whether it's at your library, in your living room with a glass of wine, or over double espressos at the coffee shop. So without further ado, here's a link to the slide show as well as a list of the titles we mentioned. Update: audio is here!
As always, happy reading/eating.
-Kayleigh
PS: After you've finished your boar shank, you may be tempted to brandish the large bone at your dining companions while crying, "Huzzah!" Unless you're at Medieval Times, I don't recommend this. You are, however, more than welcome to brandish a copy of Caribou Island.
