Bookclubs

Whether you join ours or start your own, bookclubs are a great way to meet and chat about your love of reading and all things book related.

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Ben's Online Bookclub

Ben’s Online Bookclub

Ben’s Book Club is a digital book club available exclusively to Australian and New Zealand libraries, hosted by best-selling author Ben Hobson.

As more and more Australian’s read and listen to books on their smartphone or tablet, Library card holders can now borrow the book chosen for Ben’s Book Club each month with no waiting or holds on the Libby reading app. Libby is the leading digital reading platform for libraries worldwide, created by OverDrive,

Check out Eventbrite for the next book on the list and Zoom meeting invite.

Missed last month’s session?

Click below and listen to it using passcode 53z^I.!&

Library Run Bookclubs

Want to join an existing club or start one at your local library? Talk to our friendly staff to see what can be done.

Calliope Library Bookclub

Once a month, bookworms from around the region gather to discuss bookish things and the month’s read in our cosy little library. The monthly reads for 2023 have been provided so you can come prepared if you are new to the group. Book club runs from 5.30-7pm on the last Thursday of the month. All welcome from ages 18+.

2023 Book List

March: Judge a book by it’s cover

April: Made into a movie or TV show

May: Banned book

June: “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens

July: Christmas in July – Midwinter book club celebration

August: Written by a person living with a disability or chronic illness/condition

September: Isabel Allende

October: From the perspective of an animal in part or all of the book

November: Twisted fairy tale

Starting Your Own

Starting Your Own Bookclub

Already have a group of friends but don’t have enough copies of the book? Members of Gladstone Regional Libraries have access to the 300+ bookclub sets available from State Library of Queensland.

Accessing State Library of Queensland Bookclub Kits

These free kits have 10 copies of the same book in them and are able to be ordered through our Inter Library Loan service.

Click here to see the range of titles available
We recommend you make a list of 2-3 sets that are marked as having “Items Available” to ensure you get a kit in time for your meeting
Write down the Author, Title and kit number to be included in your request e.g. Bookclub set 256 : The eye of the sheep / Sofie Laguna
Submit an Inter Library Loan request via our catalogue, online contact form or just give us a call Note: you will need an active membership
You’ll receive notification of the kits arrival and the kit is then borrowed like a normal item. Kits are available for a minimum of a six week loan.
The borrower is responsible for collecting all of the books in the kit prior to returning the kit.

Questions & Tips

Discussion Questions:

Not sure how to get the discussion going? Try some of these, either as an open floor discussion or going around the group in turn.

Did you like the book? What was good/bad about it?
Were the characters likeable/believable/relatable?
For the person that chose the book, why did you choose it/suggest it? Did it meet your expectations?
Would you change the ending? How?
How was the writing style? Did it transport you? Make you feel?
Did it remind you of a time/place/personal experience/different author?
Would you read another by this author?

Tips:

Tip for time poor facilitators. Don’t have time to read the whole book? Check out the reviews on https://www.goodreads.com/ and base some questions on both the 5 star and the 1-2 star reviews.
Bookclub set didn’t turn up in time? Try choosing a genre that isn’t normally read by your group and everyone reads a random book.
Want to spice up your meetings? Try a cookbook club where you choose a style/theme of cooking and everyone prepares a dish (Great for endo of year breakup).
Need more questions? Just Google “Bookclub discussion questions” and the title of the book and see what comes up.