Who would like to be the discussion leader?

Would someone like to lead the discussion of The Secret Garden?

How do you be the leader? Do you have to be here for a certain amount of time?

How do you be the leader? Do you have to be here for a certain amount of time?

Good question. What's the commitment and what's expected? Does it hurt? Or tickle? Do you just start a string with a question about a specific section and leave town? Or what?

We really do need to create a page describing the role of a discussion leader. Remind me to do this please. But for the time being I will share my thoughts right here.

Leading a discussion is all about being involved in the discussion threads. A discussion leader doesn't have to agree or disagree with the author. They don't have to answer other peoples questions or reply to every post. Just be involved for the entire discussion period and make an attempt to keep people talking.

Ideally, a discussion leader will take some pride in their role and will create some threads. Be creative and add a poll or two. Maybe ask a few questions or share some relevant links found elsewhere on the web.

Over the years we've had all sorts of discussion leaders. Some have been very involved and others vanish after volunteering. We'd all prefer the kind that stick around and get their hands dirty. But it shouldn't hurt to lead a BookTalk.org discussion. If it tickles consider yourself lucky.

That sounds like fun, actually. If people thought it would be okay to let me try it, and if someone would split the role with me, I would like to do it for December. My fear is that I will be doing trainings on the weekends in January and could prove flaky if expected to be consistently present for developments throughout that month, thus the request to split it with a January partner. I'll also understand if others would be better choices for this. As you like to hear me say, "I'm not attached to it."

Okay, I just read Thomas Hood's post on The Secret Garden and I take my volunteering back and instead nominate Thomas, first to be discussion leader, then, for a free book because he always contributes so much information and pays such close attention to what other people are saying. Please, Thomas?

Have you emailed or PM'd Thomas?

By the way I agree that Thomas deserves a book or two. I did mail him East Anglia and Macachiavellian Intelligence a few months ago, but will offer him another soon.

I talked to Thomas in the string where y'all had already started talking about The Secret Garden and he answered there.

GentleReader9 wrote:Okay, I just read Thomas Hood's post on The Secret Garden and I take my volunteering back and instead nominate Thomas, first to be discussion leader. . .

What? You had already volunteered? I didn't know that or I wouldn't have. Your social skills are so much better than mine, so don't let me hold you back. Burnett is one interesting lady -- enterprising, creative, independent, scandalous, . . . She was into Theosophy and spiritualism as were many writers and artists of her era. (I have to be nice to the Theosophists because they were once good to me.)

Burnett's writings appear like a conclusion of the Romantic era: the healing influence of Nature, mind over matter, importance of the child and the childlike -- Walden with more concreteness. What's the view from The Fort?

Tom