Where is the meeting room?

The meeting room is on the 3rd floor of the Central Library. We are usually in the large Conference Room.  Please ask the library assistant on the 3rd floor if it looks like we are not there, or you haven’t found the room. There is a Café near the Conference Room.  You can purchase drinks and snacks there and take them into the meeting room with you.

How do we run the meeting?

No particular person runs the meeting.  We all play a part. The meeting is a relaxed format within a timeframe of 2 hours - 2:00PM to 4:00PM.  The discussion about the selected book is held from 2:30PM to 3:30PM.  The half hour before and after the meeting has been reserved for friendly chats, discussion about ideas and events, and administration of the group.  Members are welcome for the full 2 hour period, or just for the book discussion hour - it is up to your own personal preference.

How do we select which book to read?

We take it in turns to provide a selection of at least three books for the group to vote upon. At each meeting we select the book to be discussed in two months’ time. The rota is established 12 months ahead, so you know when your turn is coming up (see the Calendar page for rota details).

When it is your turn, you need to select three books we might read. At least 1 book could be from the Booker Man or Orange Prize List of any year. You do not have to have read any of the books. Prepare brief resumes of the books, and  if possible, email these choices to the group in advance, to give people a chance to think about them. At the meeting, we discuss these choices briefly and then vote on which book we want read. 

Before the meeting, check on the library website to see how many copies they hold of your suggested books. If there are no copies, or not enough copies, some members may already have it or may decide to buy it, and we make arrangements to share if needed.

If you are stuck for a book, then we have prepared a short list of books not yet read by the group, where copies are in multiples at the library.  The list is in text format and is accessible from the reading group website http://www.onlinedesignmakers.com/cityreaders/ There is a button on the left hand side of the screen saying ‘Book List’ - when you press this a list comes up.

Mainly we read contemporary novels i.e. written on or after 1960.  We refer to ones written prior to 1960 as Classics.  If you would like to chose a Classic to read, please also chose two contemporary novels to present to the group.  The Classic will be read by the group in conjunction with one selected from the contemporary choices.  Hence on a Classics month, two books can be read if desired.

How do we order and collect our library books?

When we have selected one of your books, it is your turn to order the books from the library. The easiest way is to do this is after the meeting while you are still at the library. (You can also order books by phoning or emailing.)

Tell them the date of the next meeting (i.e. the month before the meeting where we will discuss your book) and ask for the books (usually 12 copies) to be held in the City Readers box (under or beside the 'Hold Shelves' near the Ground Floor Information Desk).To ensure that we (and the library) can keep track of who has which book, fill in a form giving the title, author and the last 4 digits of the barcode number of the book and the date of the meeting, so each member can record when they take and return the books. 

On the day of the next meeting, you can collect any remaining books from the box and bring them to the meeting. You should renew them to a date at least a week after the following group meeting (i.e. middle of following month), to ensure that we are not fined for late returns.  As a reading group we are allowed to hold books for up to 6 weeks.

After the meeting when we discuss your selection, when you collect and return all the books, check to see if there are any spare copies of the book in our box and return them as well. Check with the library website, or ask a librarian to see if any 'On Hold' copies are still in transit, and if so have the 'On Hold' status cancelled – you can do this on the Library website quite easily.

Who provides the tea?

We can buy drinks at the Café next to the meeting room, and take them into the meeting room.  At the meeting when your selection is being discussed, it is also your turn to bring the biscuits or cake.