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What do we read?

Choosing 'good' literature is key to the success of shared reading.  Not everything we read is serious, but it all has depth and makes us think and feel; our discussions tend to focus more on characters and what makes them tick than on plot, and we enjoy finding out what a poem means.  Our discussions are likely to focus on the characters and what motivates them, so the plot tends to be of secondary interest. We usually read a short story and a poem or two in each session, but some groups prefer to read a novel alongside the poetry. Over the last month or so, our groups have shared stories by authors as diverse as John Steinbeck and Louis de Bernieres, Hilary Mantel and Joanne Harris.  One group is halfway through 'Flight Behaviour', a long novel by Barbara Kingsolver, while another has just embarked on 'Kipps', a classic rags-to-riches tale by H.G. Wells. Poetry choices have included works by Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu, Kahlil Gibran and Thomas Wyatt, with more modern poets represented by Seamus Heaney, Cecil Day-Lewis, Penelope Shuttle and Gillian Clarke. Group members often talk about the delight of getting to know new writers as well as the pleasure of revisiting more familiar works.

After each session, the Reader Leader compiles a short report, recording what was read and how it was received.  You can read an example here - this is from a group of around six members. It gives us a good sense of how the conversation unfurls and develops as the reading progresses... but the best way to find out how shared reading works is to visit a group, of course! Why not give it a try?

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