Book Talks! If you are a reader, any age/any ability, you should add Book Talks to your arsenal of reading tools. I first learned about Book Talks in Prof LaGarde’s YA Literature class at Rutgers University where we practiced giving Book Talks each week.

If you’re wondering, what the heck is a book talk, here’s a great example from School Library Journal Editor Kiera Parrott:

To dig in deeper, last week, I made a series of Instagram stories about book talks, which you can view here. Here’s what I covered:

What is a Book Talk?

Book Talks are distinct from Book Reviews and Book Reports. A Book Report recounts what happens in the book. A Book Review is a critical appraisal of book’s quality. A Book Talk connects a specific set of readers to a book. Book Talks can have elements of Book Reviews and Reports, but they must focus on connecting to a reader(s).

So a Book Report is about content, a Book Review is about quality, and a Book Talk is about connection.

Why Should I do Book Talks?

There are three reasons to do book talks: (1) It levels up our learning, (2) It capitalizes on the power of books, and (3) It’s a (unmet) public service.

Levels Up Our Learning: Book Reports and Reviews require summarization, paraphrasing, and evaluating against outside criteria, excellent skills to hone. Book Talks require readers to connect their personal experience (emotional reaction, ideas, lived past experiences) to formulate an opinion of who would or wouldn’t like this book. In her work on Information Search Processes, Carole Kuhlthau has found that formulation, the stage where a learner makes a personal connection to the materials and focuses on this narrower, personal connection, is key to constructing information and learning.

Book Talks help readers construct knowledge through asking the reader to combine their knowledge of the book with their own experiences and imagine those of a reader.

Capitalize on the Power of Books: Speaking of imagining the reader, research suggests that reading books increases our empathy for others. Book Talks super charge this power. They require you to think about other readers. Try this out by trying to Book Talk a book that you did not like very much. By the end of the exercise, you may find your empathy has increased for both the book and potential readers.

It’s a Public Service: There are a myriad of places to go read book reviews or read what critics think of a book. There is only one YOU. Books that get passed on based on personal connection and experience stick with readers. You have the power to put a book into the hands of a reader who really needs that book.

How Do I Get Started?

Book talks combine the book, your impressions as a reader, and your imagination of the reader who needs to read that book. Focusing on the reader is a MUST. So to help you get started with that part I have two recommended activities: (1) Go Beyond Genre and “Reading Level” and (2) Dedicate the Book to someone.

Go Beyond Genre and “Reading Level”: When you are thinking “Who should read this book next?” don’t limit yourself by genre or reading level. After all, a Young Adult Sci-Fi novel, might be perfect for someone who is older (or younger) and has never read Sci-Fi before.

Nancy Pearl’s Four Doorways offers a way to think more broadly about who might like this book. Does the book have beautiful, atmospheric language? Does it have a face paced plot? Does it feature a character who leaps off the page? Does it transport you to a time or place? Books prioritize language, plot, character, and setting differently, and so do readers, based on their mood and preferences. One YA Sci-Fi novel might be described as a brooding, foreboding deep space thriller that will leave you shaking in your boots (Language). And another might be described as a fast-paced race against AI that will have you flipping pages as fast as you hands can fly (Plot). Pearl’s Four Doorways help readers walk into the book that’s right for them.

Dedicate the Book: When you get to the end of the book, re-write the dedication. Is the author writing to a younger version of themselves? Are they trying to reach someone who has given up on every understanding economics? Are they hoping to make someone laugh so much their sides hurt, even if they are having a rough time? Whoever you’d dedicate the book to, this is who you are addressing.

Now what?

Try it out! Big or small. You could write an email to a friend and connect them with a book. You could make a video and post it to the platform of your choice. I’m currently committed to Book Talking every book I read this year over on Instagram, so check out more there.