Book Club Meeting | Let’s Talk Books and Reading Strategies

Written by Dmitrii Cucer

“Book clubs are not just about books, it’s also a place to meet other readers, share your passion for reading, and exchange ideas about your favorite novels”

On August 20, America House Chișinău held its monthly Book Club meeting. Although this time it was not dedicated to a particular book, participants got a chance to discover 18 of the most interesting and inspiring books written by American authors, as well as useful strategies for reading.

Throughout the event, participants got acquainted with several eminent American authors, such as Ray Bradbury, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, and others.

The audience was introduced to the authors’ books, biographies, and interesting facts about their lives and the reasons for writing their novels. For example, the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger portrays two days in the life of a depressed 17-year-old, Holden Caulfield, after he has been expelled from prep school. The dominating theme of “The Catcher in the Rye” is the protection of innocence, especially of children. Through this novel, readers, especially parents, can better understand what their children are going through.

Another example of the book that caught the audience’s attention was “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou. The book represents an autobiography describing the young and early years of American writer and poet – Maya Angelou. Through this book, the writer illustrates how the strength of character and love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma. Her book suggests that the desire to be free will always be expressed, despite circumstances that might quiet the spirit. Her book is also an outstanding example of a fighter for justice, which proves the fact that in order to overcome something, you have to open your heart and work on yourself. Only after doing inner alchemy, you can live fully and breathe freely.

After the audience fell in love with those incredible books, they also learned some of the most important reading strategies to improve speed and reading comprehension. These were: Comprehension, Memorization, Intention, Focus, Speed, Discovery, and Mindset.

This month’s book club meeting taught young readers a lot of useful reading tricks and revealed outstanding authors. Most of them were very grateful to America House for giving them the right collection of books that would bring a lot of changes in their lives.