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A Dutch-language example of a weblog dedicated to book reading is http: What do they read? How do they discuss? Second, the study concentrates on motives people have for reading and participating in a book dis- cussion group. Why do people feel the need for a book discussion group, despite the fact one can read in solitude? The third aim of this study is to increase the understanding of learning for personal development in book discussion groups: Fourth, it investigates how the outcomes on characteristics, motives, and learning for personal development, relate to each other.

The four goals are formulated into four research questions. The origin and formula- tion of these questions will be elucidated in the first chapter: What are characteristics of present-day book discussion groups in the Netherlands? What motives do participants have for taking part in their book discussion group? To find answers I first oriented on the existing theories about book discussion groups, motives, and learning. This theoretical framework forms Chapter 1. Next, Chapter 2 gives an overview of methods used to answer the research questions. I conducted two different surveys and fifteen interviews.

For the group survey, book discussion groups filled out a long list of questions. An individual survey for members was set out at the same time. In addition to these surveys, I interviewed fifteen book discus- sion group participants. The outcomes of both the surveys and the interviews provided information on characteristics of book discussion groups, their members, as well as their reading material Chapter 3 , motives of members to read and to participate in a book discussion group Chapter 4 , and the experienced learning outcomes of reading and book discussion group participation Chapter 5.

Chapter 6 ends with combining the findings to answer research question IV, and a discussion of the study. General image of book discussion groups and participants 85 Book discussion groups: Group survey 85 Book discussion group participants: Individual survey and interviews 86 3. The book list The book list: Dutch language books and international titles The book list: New books and classics The book list: Literary prizes and other media attention The book list: Female writers The book list: Nonfiction and other notable genres 3.

Sex, age and educational level Group characteristics: Affiliation, composition, having a coach or not, and age of the group Overview: Number of entries and number of titles 1. New books and classics 1. Renate Dorrestein, p. Still, the existence — and in some cases: One way to share reading is by participating in a book discussion group. Book discussion groups are a popular phenomenon today in the Netherlands and several other countries.

In addition, there is interest in studying these groups of which many different forms exist. Some are very stable and long-lasting, while others consist of a less fixed core of participants, or exist only for a short time. There are mixed-sex groups and single-sex groups. Groups may consist of colleagues or friends, or of people who did not know each other before their first group meeting. Some groups read books from various categories while other groups focus on one au- thor, one period, or one topic. Participants may read a book in advance of the meeting, while in other groups the book or poem or play is read during the meeting itself.

Meet- ing can be physically meeting each other or meeting each other online. The first aim of this study is to learn more about the phenomenon book discussion group. The first research question therefore is formulated as follows: What are characteristics of present-day book discussion groups in the Nether- lands? In the present section, first the origin of book discussion groups in the Netherlands will be described. Next, the characteristics of present-day book discussion groups and their members are explored. Characteristics embrace among other things composition of groups all-female, mixed, or all-male , affiliation of groups, the method of working what do they read, how do they organise their meetings , and personal characteristics of members such as sex and age.

Book discussion groups can have various manifestations, and therefore it can sometimes be difficult to draw a line and point out what group will be and what group will not be subject of this study. In the last part of this section, the book discussion group will be defined as a fixed group of non- professional readers who meet physically to discuss books fiction or nonfiction that they all have read on their own or read together. The consequence of this definition is, that in the remainder of this study, certain groups will be included while others are excluded.

Furthermore, for the answering of the subsequent research questions considering mo- tives Chapter 4 and learning Chapter 5 , it was decided to focus specifically on groups reading mainly or only fiction. Origin of the book discussion group It is often said that the present-day book discussion group, where readers gather to dis- cuss books, has various predecessors in the history of reading. Especially before the printing press was in use, books were expensive and scarce, and most people were illiterate: Reading silently in solitary had become in use since the thirteenth century.

Many di- verse ways of text consuming existed alongside each other: The invention of the printing press in the second half of the fifteenth century did not result in the disappearance of the oral text culture, but individual reading in silence did be- come more and more prevalent in the fifty years following this groundbreaking discov- ery. It was at the time common that people intensively read and reread passages of one book or a small number of books, rather than reading a book from the beginning to the end, followed by the reading of a new, different book from the beginning to the end, and so on, as how most people read today.

In this same age — influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment — reading socie- ties were founded in places all over Europe: Moreover, engaging in activities in a community rather than at a solitary basis would enable people to even better develop themselves, and it would better stimulate development of the society in general. An extensive description of the concept of the book discussion group, as well as a definition used in the current study, is given in the last two parts of Section 1.

Use- fulness of reading was combined with the pleasure of it. The first manifestations of read- ing societies were reading circles. These text circulated among the members; at the end of the season books were sold among them. Participants of these reading circles could read about 25 to 50 books or magazines per year thanks to their membership. While in the eighteenth century mainly the useful purpose of reading in societies was important, in the course of the nineteenth century societies addressed more and more to the pleas- ure of reading.

These libraries are in Dutch usually called leesmusea or leeskabinetten. Reading circles could gather to decide which new material had to be bought, but discussions on texts that were already read were not organised Honings and Lubbers , p. Similar to the first reading societies that established in the Age of Reason, the new book discussion groups that were founded in the s arose from a need to develop, and mainly had women — who in general had had less opportunities to attend an education that met their abilities and ambitions than men and subsequently were less highly educated as men — as a target audience.

During the first evening, the book itself played a central role; dur- ing the second evening social problems related to the theme of the book were the topic of discussion. The SLD is still very active and nowadays it has around members in groups. It is estimated that there are 3. Inter- net groups often are devoted to a specific genre. There are several digital book discus- sion groups active in Dutch, using forums or twitter.

Present-day book discussion groups in the Netherlands Present-day book discussion groups can be divided into two main categories. Wild groups at the other hand are not or: The number of book discussion groups in the Netherlands was estimated in at two to three thousand, with eleven members on average ten female; one male. He thinks this number is increasing, especially among wild groups. In the UK, the number of book groups is estimated at As the estimation mentioned above already indicated, and studies about book discussion groups confirm, it seems the Dutch book discussion groups mainly consist of females; male participants form a minority.

Two possible explanations have their roots in the s. First, in the Netherlands, women are more avid leisure readers than men. Since the s, for several reasons, females began to read more than males, and today they still spend more time reading than males do. She studied all-female book discussion groups in Houston, Texas. As in the Netherlands, book discussion groups in the USA mainly consist of women. Book discussion groups would form a safe envi- ronment to develop personal opinions and insights, and offer an opportunity to negoti- ate the choices to make in life.

Long claims women might still have more need for these possibilities that book discussion groups can offer. The same image is valid for the UK book discussion groups, see Hartley , p. The VN-survey showed that the average age of the members was Furthermore, the survey showed that members are generally well educated: According to VN, in still, most organ- ised book discussion groups seem to be situated in the more rural parts of the Nether- lands, mostly in the north.

First of all, there is the way groups meet. Today, there are groups who meet face-to-face for discussion, and groups who only meet online for discussion. For online meetings, diverse possibilities of the Internet are being used. Members of the group may be professionals and non-professionals. This distinction can be interpreted in two ways. First, literary scholars can understand this as the distinc- tion between professional readers and non-professional readers.

A survey was sent to one thousand book discussion groups, of which responded. Sedo studied online and face-to-face book discus- sion groups using an online survey. According to Dijkstra professional readers are readers who participate in professional literary activities such as writing, publishing, review, teach or sell literature. Reading as a leisure activity is the only non-professional literary activity Dijkstra describes.

She does not mention other non-professional literary activities such as visiting a play or a poetry recital, or writing as a leisure activity. Engaging with literature as a literature student, is seen as a professional activity. Second, one can interpret a group of professional read- ers as readers who read about the subject of their profession, such as medicine, psychol- ogy or law. This can take place outside their working hours or not, be organised by their employer or professional organisation to which they belong, or not. Members can be colleagues of the same institution or from different institutions.

This reading, however, is directly connected with their profession. Non-professional readers are in this case people who do not read primarily about or for their profession. Book discussion groups, in particular organised ones, may have a professional coach. A professional coach is for instance a literature teacher or library employee. He or she can have various tasks or responsibilities, such as leading the discussion, or providing information about the books that are discussed. Professional coaches may have a good view of the enormous amount of books available in bookshops and libraries, the quality of these books, and the suitability of a book for their book discussion group.

The choice may also be made by the organisation the group is affiliated to as is the custom for SLD-groups. Peer groups who do not have a professional coach can choose to divide mentioned and other tasks among the group members, either based on individual initia- tive or assignment of roles. Groups can have various ways of organising their meetings. For instance, if the group works with a discussion leader, this role can be allocated to one person either explicitly or through an implied agreement, or it can rotate among group members.

Additionally, the topics discussed and in which order they appear, may vary. Groups for instance may focus on literary analysis or have a discussion on a more personal or social level. Addi- tionally, guides for book discussion group leaders and participants give examples of how to organise meetings and indicate the number of choices groups can make. It is possible that groups not only meet for discussion, but combine this with other activities, for instance 49 This distinction is mentioned by among others Gerritsma , pp. Next to these guides, concised folders or digital texts are for instance published by local libraries, publishing houses e.

Both websites were accessed on July 1, Examples of guides in English are Daniels , Jacobsohn , Loevy Groups may plan separate meetings for additional activities such as visiting a restaurant, a museum or the cinema. There are groups who discuss during their meeting one or more books that are de- termined beforehand. In addition, there are groups where book-swapping takes place, so not every group member reads the same book in advance of or during a specific meet- ing.

These groups are usually called multi-title clubs. During their meetings, members discuss books while advising each other and sharing their thoughts with the previous reader or readers of the book. Discussions will be organised in a very different way than in plenary book discus- sion about one specific book. At the end of each season it is likely that the greater part or all of the members will have read the same corpus of books, though. This approach may resemble the eightteenth-century reading circles, though in the present-day multi-title clubs specifically do not evade discussions.

If members of a group — unlike members of multi-title clubs — choose to read and discuss the same title together at the same time, groups can choose to read the same book or part of it together during their meeting, or choose that every member should read it in advance of the meeting. They can read prose, poetry, or drama. Nonfiction consists of for example professional litera- ture — for instance scientific or professional texts about medicine, law, or management — or popular science, religious works, autobiographies, biographies and more or less ac- cessible works about humanities like art, philosophy, history, or works about social sciences.

Groups may alternate different genres. This group also participated in the current study. On page 57 of her work, she names different categories of fiction works groups may choose from. Authors of these works have tried to specify the concept of book discussion groups. Contemporary book discussion groups have been a subject for scholarly studies in several countries, some of them give a more or less broad defini- tion. A selection of definitions will be described below. Because of the goal of her study i. Drewes uses the term leesclub literally: This is the most common Dutch term for book discussion groups.

Gerritsma also uses the term leesclub. Third, she excluded groups that were founded before Gerritsma wanted to study the modern, present-day form of book discussion groups. Groups that are older may still use very old habits that differ from the current form of the book discussion group. For practical reasons, Gerritsma eventually chose four wild groups of which two had a coach. In English-speaking countries, book discussion groups have been a subject of study as well. Hartley studied reading groups in the United Kingdom. In her study she concentrates on book discussion groups located in and nearby Houston Texas, USA , consisting of European American women.

Kooy studied teacher book clubs. Duyvendak uses the term leeskring literally: Original Dutch defini- tion: Kooy ; Kooy a; Kooy b. The groups are learning communities and Kooy specifically aims to study the learning that takes place inside these groups of professionals. These definitions of book discussion groups make clear that there is a great variety in book discussion groups and they may therefore be classified in different ways. This definition will include certain groups and exclude others. The choices made in order to define the subject of study depend on the aims of this study.

Furthermore, for practical reasons this study will concentrate on book discussion groups located in the Netherlands only. Accounts for the choices made in order to formulate this definition and restrict the subject of study will be given below. The definition that is used in this research is: In this study, the academic literature about book discussion groups that is used as sources of information and reference may focus on book discussion groups that do not fully apply to this definition.

These studies may for instance describe the investigations of book discussion groups that are not included in the current study, such as groups of professional readers or online groups. Because of different defi- nitions of the book discussion groups, assumptions or, moreover, conclusions, are not naturally applicable on the subject of study in this current research.

Sedo ; ; includes online groups in her survey. Her choice to restrict herself to these groups was partly stemmed from her research method: See also Chapter 2. Changes may take place in the composition of the group across time: One of the aims of this research is to study learning in the book discussion group. As will be discussed in Section 1. This is also one of the reasons why this study only includes face-to-face book discussion groups. It is expected that a part of online groups, particularly those using public discus- sion boards, differ from face-to-face groups considering their fixedness.

The members have certain motives and expectations com- mitting to a fixed group, that are of interest to this research. Non-professional readers Because of the focus of this study about learning for personal development, only groups of non-professional readers are included. Apart from groups of non-professionals, there are groups of professional readers active. Though these groups do have similarities with non-professional book discussion groups, there are fundamental differences. Profes- sional readers have a primary focus on learning about their profession such as teaching, medicine or law.

In line with this, groups of professional readers such as literary review- ers or scholars are excluded from this study as well. Analogous to this decision, university book discussion groups who read and discuss literature as a subject for which they receive ECTS-credits, are excluded from this study. Students or alumni gathering and reading books outside their curriculum are however included. Next to these organised groups, wild book discussion groups are included. The definition of non-professional and professional readers as a base to exclude or include groups remains indistinctly in case of high school literature teacher groups.

Personal and professional development are intertwined and are not strictly to be sepa- rated. In line with the decision to exclude groups affiliated to their workplace, groups of teachers who discuss literature at the workplace primary for their professional develop- ment, are excluded. Teachers who are a member of a wild book discussion group, and 69 Wenger , p. The impression is that online groups have a more open character. All- female, all-male, and mixed-sex groups are included in this study.

Meeting The intended fixedness of a group implies that the group meets on a regular basis. Being a group, and therefore coming together more than once, means that a shared history of learning can be build. For groups participating in this study, no restrictions were made to how often the group comes together or for how long the group has been coming together. This research focuses on groups who meet for discussion face-to-face.

Besides these face-to-face groups, there are many groups active on the Internet. These online groups are relevant for the study of the phenomenon book discussion group. Unlike face-to-face groups, online groups only discuss books using an internet forum i. Besides this, studying both groups, each with their own character- istic discussion method, requires different research approaches. Next to the supposed differences with face-to-face groups considering the stability of the group, this is a sec- ond reason why online groups are excluded from this particular study.

Kooy a; b studies groups of teachers who primarily come together for their profes- sional development.

Long ; Poole ; Kooy b. On differences between face-to-face and online book discussion groups, and on the advantages and disadvantages of using weblog or chat as forms of communication for online book discussion groups, see for instance Balling, Henrichsen and Skouvig , pp. Differences and similarities between members of online and face-to-face groups are studied by Sedo In book discus- sion groups, one or more books can be read by all the group members.

This will be the same book or books for all the members. This will enable the participants to have a thorough discussion about the book or books. A different approach is found in multi- title clubs. Here, all members read a different book and during the meetings, the ex- changing of experiences and actual book swapping takes place. At the end of a season, the members may have read more or less the same books that circulated in the group. Because of the different character of the discussions in their meetings and the focus of this study about learning from the group discussions, multi-title clubs will not be in- cluded in this research.

Group members may all be expected to read the same book or books in advance of the meeting. It is also possible a group prefers to read a book or parts of it together during their meetings. Both types of groups will be includ- ed in this study. Groups may have a professional coach who can have several tasks, such as leading the discussion or choosing the books to read.

This study includes groups with as well as groups without a coach. Fiction and nonfiction The books discussed may be either fiction prose, poetry, and drama or nonfiction. Any fiction will do, highbrow as well as more accessible reading. It is not the aim of this study to intervene in the discussion of what is considered literature and what is not, though groups themselves and their members may form opinions about this issue.

Groups who read nonfiction works such as travel books, history books, popular science books, biographies and autobiographies are included too. Book discussion groups may choose books from only one category or from diverse categories. As was already men- tioned in the beginning of this section, during the follow-up studies, the focus however lies with groups who mainly or only read fiction. Furthermore, in accordance with the choice to exclude professional readers, groups who read professional, specialist litera- ture will not be included in this study.

For this reason it was decided to include this group in the first part of this study. It is the same group Duyvendak described in her article. The second research question of this study is formulated as follows: In order to investigate this subject, not only motives for participation in a book discus- sion group are of interest, motives for reading are relevant as well. Theories that are of interest for the study of reading motives and group participation motives have been described by scholars from different backgrounds: A literature study led to the formulation of four motives for individual reading and subsequently six motives for participating in a book discussion group, which will be presented in this section.

Theories and studies about reading behaviour, reading mo- tives, cultural participation motives, didactics of literature, and specifically motives for book discussion group membership are included in this literature study. Theories rele- vant for finding out about book discussion group membership show resemblance with the theories that are relevant for investigating individual reading motives. The first four book discussion group participation motives correspond to the four motives for indi- vidual reading, but have a somewhat different interpretation. The fifth and sixth book discussion group participation motives are uniquely applicable to book discussion group membership.

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Motives for individual reading People may have multiple motives for reading. These motives change constantly, de- pending on the goal someone has for his or her reading at a specific moment. Mo- tives for reading are developed primarily as a result of the cultural participation theory of sociologist Bourdieu. By participating in cultural activities, like visiting a museum or attending a concert, people mean to distinguish themselves from others. By showing that they have the cultural knowledge to participate, they heighten their status.

Sociologist Ganzeboom however claimed that this need for social distinc- tion is not the most important influence to cultural participation. Rather, it is the com- petence of a person to handle more or less complex information that influences his or her cultural behaviour. Like Ganzeboom, sociologist Kraaykamp understands reading as a cultural leisure activity comparable to visiting the theatre or a concert. He investigates reading connect- ed to three matters: It is however experienced as rewarding. Readers enjoy processing complex cognitive information adjusted to their competence.

If a person participates in a cultural activity expecting to enjoy this, he or she has a hedonistic motive.

If a person expects to gain knowledge, then he or she has a cognitive motive. With the description of the coordination motive Fokkema and Ibsch focus on the assumption that participat- ing in cultural activities provides us with knowledge of cultural conventions. These conventions provide solutions to coordination problems. Based on these theories about differences in and motives for cultural participation, four main motives for reading are described and used for research by both Dijkstra and Duyvendak.

An empirical investigation into factors influencing reading behaviour, literary theorist Dijkstra studies the reading be- haviour of the inhabitants of the Dutch city of Utrecht. To explain what factors influence the decisions of people, Dijkstra uses theories from three academic disciplines: Subsequently, literary historian Duyvendak stud- ied these four motives for reading among members of the Damesleesmuseum literally be considered as motives but rather as conditions and can be studied as aspects of what makes a book suitable for a book discussion group.

Hartley for instance found several book discussion groups who only choose to read books that meet a practical aspect, for instance books that are low in price or available as paperback, or books that are available in the library, or books that do not exceed a certain number of pages Hartley , pp. Dijkstra defined professional readers as readers who are engaged in literature in their education or occupation.

The hedonistic motive applies to people who enjoy reading because they want to relax and immerse themselves in a book. When people read because they want to show they are readers, the status motive applies to them. The aesthetic motive applies to people who read a book because they are interested in the theme of it and the style of writing. The cognitive motive implies that people read because of their need for the development of general knowledge and expansion of more specific knowledge, also about moral subjects. The fact someone wants to read a novel depends on the fact that he or she has had positive experiences with reading in the past and wants to bring about a positive experience again by reading.

According to Pette, the need to relax applies most to people with a lower level of education while people with a higher educational level also read because of a need for gathering infor- mation and interest in the literary-aesthetic aspect of the book. By reading motive she means the more basic, long-lasting willingness to read.

This positive attitude towards reading depends on social influences start- ing from childhood. Reading motivation is the impetus that someone has at a particular moment for reading a particular book. If readers have a stabile reading motive, the reading motivation is influ- 90 Duyvendak ; ; Dijkstra uses the term social motive, Duyvendak calls this the status motive. Reading motives are interpret- ed as important distinguishing features for the different competence levels Witte de- fines.

A reading motive, he states, implies a certain way of reading, an opinion about literature and how a reader positions the reading of literature. Witte defines six succes- sive literary competence levels, each of them accompanied by a specific reading motive. These six motives are preceded by the pragmatic motive, which implies a person only sees reading as an obligatory activity, for instance because of a school assignment. The six subsequent motives that were defined are: Students are then able to switch between different reading motives, depending on what they want to accom- plish by reading at a specific moment.

On the concepts trait and state see for instance Reigeluth , p. In the same table the six levels are compared to development models of Appleyard , Thomson , Applebee , Kohlberg and Piaget The upper two literary development levels exceed the final attainment levels of secondary schools and are not often reached by the students. For this current study, a connection is made with these theories originating from literature studies, literature sociology, psychology, cultural sociology and didactics of literature. Here, four reading motives are derived from these theories.

The occurrence of these four motives for reading will be investigated among book discussion group members. In order to have a consistent set of terms to refer to in this study, the motives will be used according to the following description: If people intend to learn by reading, they have a Cognitive Reading Motive. Also, developing practice — such as or literary analysis — may be seen as learning. Besides this, people may read because they aim to develop their self- identity. It also includes learning with respect to social ability or cultural conven- tions. This motive concerns the need to experience the style or theme of a book.

Almost all readers develop and read more and more complex books. Fokkema and Ibsch , pp. This motive means people read because they want to relax, immerse in a book, enjoy themselves. The Status Reading Motive concerns peoples need to distin- guish themselves as — specific types of — readers. They dis- tinguish themselves from others who do not read or read different types of books, and conform themselves to a type of reader they want to belong to. It is therefore possible that readers have different motives for reading a book for the book discussion group than motives for reading a book individually.

Motives for participating in a book discussion group In addition to motives for individual reading, book discussion group members have motives for participating in a book discussion group. Below, existing theories about motives for book discussion group participation will be described. Next, six motives for book discussion group membership will be defined.

Motives for reading individually prove to be — in a somewhat different or intensified form — applicable when describing motives for reading in a book discussion group. They form the base of the first four motives for book discussion group participation.

These four motives consider primarily the reading aspect of the book discussion group. The fifth and sixth motive for partici- Cf. The aesthetic motive is also classified in the hedonistic motive, cf. The term hedonistic may have a negative connotation, in English as well as in Dutch hedonistisch. It is however not intended to brand this motive as something negative. The motives described here are not intended to have positive or negative overtones. He states that it is possible for people to characterise oneself as a reader, however, for instance by having a filled bookcase, citing authors, or having conversations on literature.

Membership of a book discussion group may be seen as anoth- er example for readers to position themselves. Though book reading is an activity one can do alone, talking about books may be part of the reading process for individual readers. Talking about a specific book with another reader provides new insights to them. Book shop keepers and librarians of course can be a discussion partner or source of information for readers. The internet can also provide a forum or be a source of information. Nonetheless, book discussion group members choose not only to read and have an occasional chat about books, but they are looking for something extra that, hopefully, a book discussion group will pro- vide.

Researchers from different fields of study have been investigating book discussion group membership motives by defining diverse motives and testing them. Literature teacher educator Smith audio-taped two sessions of two book discussion groups and interviewed a part of the members of these groups. He investigated what aspects of their membership were valued most by the participants. The social aspect includes more than the joy of meeting friends: This is because members tend to use personal experiences as a source of knowledge, which is made possible by the atmosphere where members are equals and collaborate.

See also Section 1. They read books they normally would not have read, and become capable to understand books they normally would not have understood. Not only are books discussed, but in time the groups become safe and supportive environments to discuss personal issues. Besides the value of discussing personal issues, some respondents said that being a member of a book discussion group gives them a valid excuse to actually take time for reading.

It makes reading, otherwise seen by their environment or even themselves as a luxury or waste of time, a legitimate activity. Be- sides this, visiting the meeting gives participants a few hours for themselves, away from their normal daily activities. They all recog- nise these possibilities. Moreover, they use this possibilities to explain why participating in a book discussion group is so valuable to females in particular. Sociologist Long stud- ied all-female book discussion groups in Houston, Texas and found that the social aspect of gathering and discussing both the books that the members have read and what is occur- ring in their lives seems to be very important to them.

Duyvendak looks at what actually happens in the book discussion groups and what makes them attractive. Literature provides the female readers with models of experience and observation of the world. By discussing books, women talk about litera- ture and by that about their position with respect to social issues and her position in society.

The book discussion group gives members the opportunity to test and confirm Hartley , pp. Based on existing theories about reading motives and book discussion group membership motives, she defines in total five motives for reading in a book discussion group. By joining a book discussion group, people conform what they read to other members and show their literary taste and interest, not only to the members of the book group but also to other people in their environment. Second, corresponding with the motive of social appreciation, the socially-active motive holds that people want to show that they conform to the current norm of being socially active.

Kraaykamp also emphasizes the importance of visibility of cultural practices, which increase its communicative value for social interaction. These people are afraid that, when there is no pressure to read, they will not find the time to do so, even if they really want to read. By making an appointment with their book discussion group, they will feel more or less forced to read. Fourth, the already mentioned cognitive motive implies that people read because they want to gain more insight in the texts they read, as well as insights at an individual, personal level.

The fifth motive Gerritsma focuses on in her research is the educative Duyvendak , pp. For her study, Gerritsma questioned 35 members of four book discussion groups in the Netherlands, using a survey. Subsequently, she interviewed eight of these respond- ents. She had specific interest in their motives for reading in a group. Different combinations are possible. Moreover, she states, motives can change over time: Though it was never the most important reason for a person to become or stay a member of a book discussion group, it was almost al- ways present and the respondents were aware of this.

This motive turns out to be valid for participants who experience having enough spare time to read as well. Many participants appreciated the fact that the book discussion group appointment forced them to do read although they did have enough spare time: For almost all participants in the research, an important reason to be a member of a book discussion group was the cognitive motive.

Gerritsma thinks this second part of the cognitive motive is more present in a subconscious way and therefore did not appear prominently in the results of this research. In this current research, motives people have for participating in a book discussion group will be subject of study research question II.

Based on the discussed literature, motives for reading in a group are categorised in six types of motives which presence will be investigated. The first four correspond to motives for reading but have a specific interpretation that is adapted to reading and discussing books in a group. The fifth and sixth motives are specifically applicable to book discussion group membership.

Four motives for reading in a book discussion group that can be derived from the motives for individual reading are described as follows: If people intend to learn by reading and discussing books with a group, they have a Cognitive Motive. This learning for personal rather than professional development can include the same aspects as described by the Cognitive Reading Motive.

Because of the added value of a group discussion, the learning itself may be intensified. For instance, the group discussion ena- bles people better to learn at a social level, such as learning more about your friends, developing your own social ability, be a better debater, or learning about cultural conventions. This motive implies people attend book discussion groups in or- Gerritsma , p. In this research however, both these types are combined in one term, the cognitive motive.

Both types of knowledge will be studied in this research. Talking about books is part of the book reading process and it enables participants to get more pleasure from reading and enjoy the style or theme of a book. Some readers do not specifically notice style but focus mainly on the narrative thread. Other members of their book discussion group who do focus on style could pay attention to it in the group. This motive means people participate in a book discussion group because they want to relax, immerse in a discussion about books, enjoy themselves.

Participants enjoy the social aspect specifically of discussing books, preparing the discussion about the book, sharing reading experiences. This motive concerns peoples need to distinguish them- selves as — socially active — readers. People may want to distinguish themselves by being a member of a book discussion group because it shows they are active read- ers. This motive indicates people enjoy the social aspect of the gathering, meeting the group, talking together also about other subjects than books, all things that come to meeting with and belonging to this group of fellow readers.

This motive includes the practical advantages of read- ing in a group. It includes the pressure-of-time motive. People with a Practical Membership Motive for instance want to read but do not take enough time for it when they read individually. The appointment with their group allows them to take time for reading.

Furthermore people for instance find it convenient their group chooses what to read next, or provides copies of the books. As stated in the previous section, this motive can also directly apply to reading alone. The fact a person reads in a book discussion group however, makes him or her more visible as an active reader.

This reason does not apply to motives on reading individually. In the following section, a framework for the third research question will be described. In understand- ing with the studies that will be discussed in the current section, it is accepted that book discussion groups enable participants to learn about different aspects. It is however not taken for granted that all participants with their different baggage or motives actually learn from their membership.

In order to investigate the learning by reading and dis- cussing books together, the third research question is formulated as follows: Exploring motives for reading individually and motives for participating in a book dis- cussion group Section 1. Researchers mention among other things learning about literature, general knowledge, social conventions, social issues and insights at an individual, personal level.

This study wants to contribute to the under- standing what participants of book discussion groups experience to learn in their leisure time from reading and discussing books in their book discussion group. Interpretations of the concept of learning and collaborative learning will be explored, followed by an examination of learning by reading — in specific: Learning The term learning is not easily bounded. It is generally defined as implying a change in cognition, behaviour, skills, and the considering of meaning. This change should be relatively lasting and is a result of practice or experience.

See also on this subject for instance Pieters and Verschaffel , p.

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First, formal learning is an institutionalised form of learning and is situat- ed inside schools and other education and training institutes. It is organised in a cur- riculum and it tends to lead to recognised diplomas and certificates. In this definition, learning is synonymous to education. In addition to formal learning, it is increasingly recognised that non-formal and informal learning play an important role in learning in general, and in lifelong learning for professional as well as personal development in specific.

The main characteristic that separates both non-formal and informal learning from formal learning is that they take place outside official institutions. Non-formal and in- formal learning do not provide the learner with a recognised certificate. Because schol- ars use different definitions of informal and non-formal learning, other learning charac- teristics are not consistently classified within these terms. These characteristics concern, for example, whether the learning takes place in the workplace or not, whether it is or- ganised and supported or not, whether it is conscious or unconscious, whether one intends to learn or if the learning is unintended, and whether the learning is incidental or not.

Learning should primarily support personal development. The learning may however be organised or supported by institutions such as community centres and libraries, but not formal education institutes such as schools and universities. In sum, this study includes conscious and implicit, planned and unplanned, and incidental learning, as long as it is not organised in formal institutions or is primarily work-related.

It is not intended to measure learning by comparing test results, but to study peoples self-reported experiences of learning. What people may learn from their book discussion group membership is formed by the books they read and discuss. Similar to the discussion of motives in Section 1. Learning by reading is perhaps obvious in case of nonfiction works. People learn about a specific topic they are personally interested in.

That people can learn from reading fiction may seem less obvious. These inten- tions by the author are however not a strict condition for fiction in order to have any instructive potential. Besides this, boundaries between fiction and nonfiction are not always that obvious. It offers models of experiences and perceptions of the world. Readers can gain insight in their self-development, and moreover in political and social issues, and link their personal life to society.

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This implies reading is sometimes seen as a waste of time. Original title of the book: See for instance Ceelen and Van Bergeijk Related to this topic is the article by Rose who studies the representations of disability in popular fiction and the impact this has on readers. The historical and contemporary collection of the Damesleesmuseum shows interest in engagement in society as well as in self- development.

This gives people knowledge about how people act and react in all sorts of situations. Furthermore, litera- ture in specific provides readers with knowledge that is of a different level than pure scientific facts, because it not only gives answers but also raises questions to the reader and gives him the opportunity to create a general understanding and wider context. Psycho- logical research has shown growing evidence that reading fiction has cognitive, social and personality outcomes and that it positively predicts measures of social ability and empathy.

More extensive research is needed to confirm expectations of the influence of reading fiction on cognition, action, perception, personality, or Theory of Mind, and to investigate whether changes are long-lasting.

Emotions are Duyvendak , p. Next to natural emotions explained by biology and psychology, cultural emotions exist. This im- plies one can learn about cultural emotions and cultivate them. Literature can play an important role in both the learning about emotions and the cultivating of emotions. The ability to experience meaningfulness and the forming of identity play important roles in learning. Fiction enables people to relate their own experiences to the events in stories and undergo these narratives as if they were own experiences.

Subse- quently readers may integrate these fictional experience into their own identity. Her research of teacher book discussion groups brings together narratives, teacher knowledge and identity, relational learning, and the social construction of knowledge. The point of departure of this study is that people may learn from reading nonfiction as well as from reading fiction. What readers may learn from fiction is situated in a very broad spectrum and may include a development of literary knowledge, self-insight, understanding of emotions and social conventions.

The idea that readers can learn from reading fiction is supported by many scholars from different fields of study. Learning through book discussion group membership In the s, educational research started to orient at collaborative learning. The im- portance of collaborative learning in addition to individual learning has gained interest since. Learning is characterised as social; cooperation between learners contributes to the learning outcomes. Connected to this interest in collaborative learning, Wenger interprets learning as a social rather than a solitary or individual activity in his theory about communities of practice.

The idea of these communities is similar to the idea of sociability in the En- lightenment that played a role in the origin of the book discussion group as described in Section 1. The practices that are the result of collective learning in such a community show its goals as well as the developing relationships between the members.

Though in his theoretical framework Wenger focuses mainly on communities of practice related to work, his ideas about learning relate to communities that affect learning for personal development as well. Learning is generally interpreted as a process of developing knowledge, meaningfulness, and skills Pieters and Verschaffel , p. These communities can be formed, for instance, by colleagues at work or people living in the same street. A person may be involved in each community at a dif- ferent level of participation. What is learned in one community is usually not strictly applicable in just that one community or situation.

Membership as a mutual engagement: A joint enterprise that is negotiated by the members. A dynamic shared repertoire, that develops over time and forms a resource for the negotiation of meaning. Based on the definition of the book discussion group, these three dimensions are ex- pected to be relevant for the book discussion group being a community of practice. Firstly, the mutual engagement of members of the book discussion group lies within their practice of reading and discussing books as described in Section 1.

Within the group, participants are connect- ed to each other by this practice of reading and discussing books. Together, they ascribe meaning to their practice. As communities of practice, book discussion groups may be formed by participants with — largely — the same competences, or more complementary competences. This will influence the engagement between the members and the diverse roles found in a group. Secondly, the perception of their being a book discussion group forms what Wenger calls the joint enterprise of the community.

By their interactions, the joint enterprise is negotiated by members of the community of practice. It is not static but may evolve during time. Thirdly, book discussion groups build a shared repertoire during time: Over time, the collective frame of refer- Wenger , pp. This shared repertoire is used by the group to engage in their joint enterprise. The negotiation of meaning and creation of knowledge by members are important aspects of communities of practice.

Because of the evolving character, communities of practice are seen as shared histories of learning. Being a member of the community of practice at the workplace enables people to learn to do their job properly, a community of practice formed in leisure time can help members to develop skills, knowledge or competences related to their personal devel- opment.

In other words, the social aspect of the getting together and discussing books together, may have an added value for the learn- ing of the participants. Over time, participants build a collective framework of books they have all read and with their discussions they build a collective history of learning. Several scholars have pointed at the possibilities for learning specifically by partici- pating in a book discussion group. Gerritsma and Duyvendak both show the importance of the cognitive motive to book discussion group members. Besides this, a number of book discussion group associations specifically start up their groups with an emanci- patorial, educational goal.

The social aspect of regularly discussing books together in a group enables certain readers to learn better or different from reading individually. Return to Book Page. Preview — Noord van Naboom by Lodie de Jager. Noord van Naboom by Lodie de Jager. Dit was Saterdag 15 Maart , agtuur die oggend. Ek het op my eie alleenmanier die wonderlikste verhouding met God opgebou. Ek het die Afrika gesien wat Dit was Saterdag 15 Maart , agtuur die oggend. Ek het die Afrika gesien wat die media en ander reisskrywers misgekyk het. Ek het my rug finaal na die Suiderkruis toe gedraai.

Vir 4 maande was Afrika, die Baltiese lande en Duitsland my tuiste. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Noord van Naboom , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Jul 10, Leon Kock rated it did not like it Shelves: Good reading, wish is was in English as I battle a bit with reading Afrikaans.

Will update when I'm done reading. OK, I abandoned the book, just could not get my head around the Afrikaans. I have to admit I'm not sure about the 1 star rating I gave the book, but I have my reasons.

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