Prepare for a Book Discussion — Wilton Library
137 Old Ridgefield Road Wilton, CT 06897 Tel: 203-762-3950

Prepare for a Book Discussion

Books/Literature: Prepare for a Book Discussion Print and Electronic Sources:
[Note: all of the electronic resources listed below are available in the reference area of the library in addition to being accessible from home or work as noted in the descriptions below.]

  1. EBSCOhost
    An online index of over 400 general interest periodical titles, such as the following, recommended as sources for substantive book reviews: 

    • The Atlantic
    • New York Review of Books
    • New York Times Book Review
    • Newsweek
    • The New Yorker
    • Time

    The reference librarians are happy to show you how to use EBSCOhost to retrieve citations and full text of articles and reviews. We will also show you how to use the microfiche reader/printer. EBSCOhost is available from home to Wilton residents (using their Wilton Library barcode number as a logon).

  2. iConn Major Newspapers
    NY Times, London Times and Christian Science Monitor,  all full-text.  iConn Major Newspapers is available to all Connecticut residents with current public library cards. If you are in need of a library card, please visit your home town library — the Wilton Library cannot issue cards to non-Wilton residents.
  3. InfoTrac OneFile
    General interest and business magazine databases from Gale are combined into a single search. Many of the articles are available full-text online. After you have entered your barcode number, click on “InfoTrac OneFile” in the list of databases. OneFile is available to all Connecticut residents with current public library cards. If you are in need of a library card, please visit your home town library — the Wilton Library cannot issue cards to non-Wilton residents.
  4. Novelist
    Reading group guides, book reviews, author bios and interviews, articles, and more. Also find recommendations for similar books. Novelist is available from home to Wilton residents (using their Wilton Library barcode number as a logon).
  5. What Do I Read Next?
    A collection of more than 88,000 titles with summaries, reviews, author information, subject classifications and more. After you have entered your barcode number, click on “What Do I Read Next?” in the list of databases. What Do I Read Next is available to all Connecticut residents with current public library cards. If you are in need of a library card, please visit your home town library — the Wilton Library cannot issue cards to non-Wilton residents.
  6. Literature Criticism Online: Access to extensive biographical and critical information combined with subject-term accessibility and other powerful search options. Search by author name, title, subject. Literature Criticism Online contains full-text access to Contemporary Literary Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. This database contains all the information contained in the “brown books” in the reference area! You can now perform one search that will cover all volumes in all three series. [Available to Wilton residents with current Wilton Library cards -- if you are a Wilton resident in need of a card, stop by the library.
  7. Sources for ideas, book lists, organizational and group leader guidance:
Reading Group Guides

Many publishers provide Reading Group Guides to encourage sales and discussion of their books. Guides often include information about the author and his or her other works in addition to a list of questions to be used to spark discussion on the specific book featured. Guides are often available as printed pamphlets as well as online. (Reading Group Guides are usually created by the publisher of the paperback edition of a book.)

Other Useful Internet Sites

Simon and Schuster