How to Create a
Book Discussion Kit

The following databases and web sites can help you to gather information that will enhance your book discussion. The databases (in bold print) are available through the Library's homepage and most can be accessed remotely with a valid PA Library Card. For a list of databases, go to www.carnegielibrary.org and click on Research Databases in the left navigation menu or follow the links below.

Biography

• Literature Resource Center -- Under "Literature" in the database menu
• Biography Reference Bank and Biography Resource Center -- Under "Biography" in the database menu
• Author Website -- To find the author's page, try entering the author's name and ".com" in the address bar of your web browser. For example, www.khaledhosseini.com.
• Links to author websites

Interviews

• Powell's City of Books: Author Interviews
• Identity Theory: Interviews
• beatrice.com -- See Author2Author and 5 Questions with...

Reviews

• New York Times Book Review -- Please note that free registration for the New York Times website is required.
• Biblioreview.com
• ReviewsofBooks.com
• The Complete Review
• Fiction Review Source
• Bookreporter.com
• Literature Resource Center -- Under "Literature" in the database menu
• Biography Reference Bank -- Under "Biography" in the database menu. Search under the author's name and look for a line that reads "Articles about [author's name]."
• Expanded Academic ASAP, MasterFILE Premier, and MAS Online Plus -- Under "Magazines" in the database menu
• Newspaper Source, New York Times Newsbank, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Newsbank -- Under "Newspapers" in the database menu
• Novelist -- Under "Books" in the database menu

Discussion Questions

• NoveList -- Under "Books" in the database menu
• ReadingGroupGuides.com -- Find a guide; also a good source for interviews

Often, discussion questions can be found at the publisher's website.

• Book Group Corner Bantam, Broadway, Dell and Doubleday Books
• Bloomsbury USA Reading Club
• Harcourt Trade Publishers Reading Group Guides
• HarperCollins Reading Groups
• MacMillan Reading Group Gold
• Penguin Group (USA) Book Club Reading Guides
• Picador Reading Group Picks
• Simon & Schuster's SimonSays Book Club Reader

Additional Information

• Google
  If you can't find anything using the above sites or databases, try using this search engine.

Examples of Google Search Methods:

• Try entering the title in quotes: "The Life of Pi"
  This will retrieve many hits about the book and will also supply you with many hits from online bookstores. Take a second look at the website address to weed through unnecessary or irrelevant sites.
• Try narrowing the search by using limiting words. For example, "Yann Martel" and "interview" or "Life of Pi" and "review"