Book Discussions

The focus of our SeniorLearn website is book discussions as well as Latin courses. Our book club discussions began in 1996 on seniornet.org and continue here at SeniorLearn. They span the gamut from monthly discussions of specific titles and ongoing discussions of general book genres, to op ed discussions and games based on books and literature. We also talk about PBS programs that are related to books, such as the Masterpiece Mystery series, during late Spring and Summer 2009.

We have 19 experienced Discussion Leaders who lead book discussions, including monthly discussions we designate as "Book Club Online," which is the oldest book discussion club on the internet. We are often fortunate to have the author of the book under discussion participating actively in our discussions.

SeniorLearn Books is one of the reading promotion partners in the Library of Congress Center for the Book. This association started in 2000 when our book discussions were on the SeniorNet website. This partnership has connected SeniorLearn to a number of stimulating, worthwhile projects, beginning with representation at the National Book Festival in Washington in 2000; a meeting with the author Wally Lamb at this festival in 2001, which resulted in our Prison Library Project in 2002; our partnership with the Pen/Faulkner Foundation in 2003, which has since provided hundreds of books to the Prison Library Project; and our recent 2009 partnership with PBS Masterpiece, which promotes the reading of books related to the programs. We are grateful to PBS to be recipients of sets of books for participants in those discussions.



Since 1996 some of the participants in our book discussions have met in person many times, including attending many National Book Festivals. We've met with Thomas Hoving, Studs Terkel, Mary Alice Monroe and, most recently in 2008 for our 10th reunion in New York City, we met with prize-winning author Carol Goodman.