Allen, C. (2006). The book club companion: Fostering strategic readers in the secondary classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 
Cassandra Scharber - "Online Book Clubs: Bridges Between Old and New Literacies Practices"
Diane Lapp and Douglas Fisher - "It's All About the Book: Motivating Teens to Read"
Elizabeth Edmondson - "Wiki Literature Circles: Creating Digital Learning Communities"

Book Clubs

Say:
     So the opening of this book goes into detail describing the important factors that define a book club and make them run efficiently: approximately 6 readers per group, weekly meetings, systematic discussions, books (and other texts) based on reader choice, and implementing a variety of open-ended discussion questions. All of these things directly translate into the high school classroom fairly well; being an adult-book club organizer seems much like teacher preparation for certain lessons.
     Book Clubs and Reading Groups are different things. Round Robin reading isn't even always the best way to perform--the performance aspect of reading aloud is a tricky minefield for a lot of struggling readers or shy students; old habits die hard. Unlike that, the reading for book clubs takes place mostly outside of the meetings. The passages read aloud during clubs are by choice "and in the service of interpretation" (Allen 7).  Thinking about last weeks reading, this format seems like a legitimate way to foster talks about literature, as opposed to group discussions or reading circles that lead more with guided or seeded questions, much like a majority of classroom instruction. The open-ended based discussion tends to heavily favor each individual's reader response; in fact, book clubs are breeding grounds for reader responses.
     To speak more on the community and defining factors of book clubs, when working with another format, the rules and puzzle pieces of the different individuals are all easily recognizable, both during the sessions and for whatever final product that it may yield. With book clubs, due to the functions and mingling that occurs between the members, "tracing an individual discrete contribution is almost as impossible as identifying the single shade of blue in an impressionistic painting"(13). Where as literature circles are more task-based and short-term, book circles hold more longevity, community, and flexibility. Even when one chosen novel is done with, readers can take turns suggesting another.
     "It's always up to teachers to make use of theory and research that can serve as a framework for our teaching"(17). Like older readings mentioned, Everything we do is somehow based in theory--so make sure they're the right ones.
     Students need certain things to thrive and learn--what kind of environment do they need (obviously a safe one), more specifically what needs to present in their reading environment? As a follow up question: What can book clubs offer in this regard? One answer: access to books and time to read them. "For the same amount that a school would spend on a class set of The Adventures of Huck Finn...teachers can select a small number of titles that are unified in some way (e.g. by theme, issue, author, genre) yet still provide a range of books, students can pursue books according to their interests and abilities" (19).  Students also get self-expression a social interaction. As much as i would love for all my students to devour Hamlet and learn all the rules of grammar--there is more to (high) school than that. Socializing kids for the real world is a very important aspect of school--learning how to live with and associate with others; book clubs help with that.
     Something I really enjoy from this book is the notion that students get from book clubs, not just time to read and reflective opportunities, but that book clubs allow real reading instead of school reading. For some who're reading this, the two may not seem different, but for many (struggling) readers and students whose passions lie outside of English content, most reading isn't done (at all, or) for pleasure. One might be inclined to bring up reader response theory's strength here by saying that allowing such honest and open reflective spaces increase the connection to, and therefore growth and pleasure to reading. Taking this farther, "even when the content of a text is familiar, activation students' prior knowledge can help them become invested in a text before they read it...pre-reading strategies are ideal for the first book club meetings"(30).

"To enter texts successfully, our students need to be able to do more than simply decode them. They also need knowledge about text structures and the disciplinary habits of mind it takes to comprehend them. The degree of help they need from us depends upon their familiarity with the genre at hand, the author's adherence to its typical conventions, and what we're asking them to actually do with the text" (31)

     Students need help when authors throw them curveballs. They need help when their own brain throws them curveballs. Teachers need help too. The community that arises from book clubs works to battle all of these notions by being able to compare with peers, having conversations and then reporting out from their groups to the class give firsthand responses that can be interpreted and commented on yet again. 
     I once heard a colleague mention that a teacher of his said that he wasn't doing book clubs and all that fun stuff, because he didn't have time. So where, do they fit in the year? How can we make them fit as teachers? Rule number one: always be flexible. Now jump to what O'Donnell-Allen calls the "Adventure" section (56). Have some goals that are more than just reworded state standards. What do you really want your students to get from these? If we don't reflect as a teacher when crafting these lessons and events, how can we expect our students to?
     Assessment is a very real thing.  The texts highlights an example of a teacher who physically checked off his standards on a class list when they were met--he was concerned about the impending standardized tests for his students. Backwards Design is important here, by identifying "end points indeed suggessted pathways" (60). To be effective, the teacher will need to assess students' immediate needs as readers as well as identify the tasks the'll be expected to complete by the end of the book club cycle. By doing this, it will better illustrate the response tools and texts needed to help meet these individual goals. 

See page 62 for example

     Kids need books, so kids need book talks, book previews, and exposure, exposure, exposure. Teaching students how to pick out a book is step one. Read passages aloud, and group students by race and income level--just kidding. But honestly, the groups are important because that's where the conversation and club will actually occur, so it's important to think about things like, "How might I match the student who tends to dominate discussions with another student who can hold their own?" and "How can I balance students' needs for intellectual challenge with emotional safety?" (70).
     Make a schedule and make ground rules. Have the students create them, because they will more than likely be more strict and involved than yours may initially be. 

Use and implement response tools/activities on pgs. 78-89

So why book clubs? Book clubs acknowledge the constraints of standards, curricula, and testing by "putting adolescent readers' needs first"(15). They help with community, real reading, and meta-cognition. They allow for a safe and productive environment to learn, and grow as a reader, writer, thinker, and learner.

Do:
     In all honesty, I can't wait to try this with my internship B class (or if that is unsuccessful, then during my first year teaching). Book Clubs seem incredible. They get students reading, idealling they help them understand and find a love of reading because they hopefully choose books of interest and actually read for pleasure. I am excited to model the Book Selection/Check-Out discussed in the Lapp Article (very similar to what Dr. Styslinger exhibits for us regularly).
    All the fun fantasies aside, teaching still has to have assessment, meet goals, and hit standards. Just because students visit their book clubs weekly doesn't always mean that the teacher can just accept that everything is going perfectly--we are still there as the intructor for a reason. Below I have linked a planning chart of sort that was modeled in the Allen book. Starting a project, especially one as large as class Book Clubs without planning, is planning to fail.
Book Club Pre-Planning