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If everything goes well with your book presentation, most of the class will want to read your book themselves afterwards. To achieve this, your lecture should be as entertaining and exciting as possible. Here are 7 steps to make your book launch a success!
1) Choose the right book
Do you have an absolute Favorite book? The book that you were really immersed in while reading, and that you didn’t want to put down? If you can’t think of anything right away, rummage a bit in your bookshelf and in your memory. The most important thing is that you are excited about what you want to present to your class. If you can think of several books right now, think about which of the stories you can tell best and most exciting without giving too much away (never spoil the story)!).
You can think of absolutely nothing, because you are a real Reading Sufficiency or your teacher has given you a topic you haven’t read about yet? No problem: just browse a bit on the internet, ask around with your friends or go to the library or a bookstore to get the inspiration you need. The staff there are always up to date and will surely be happy to help you out.
A little tipAudio books are books too – so if you have a favorite audio book, just get the book to go with it!
2) Read correctly
Whether you’re just learning about the book or already know it inside and out, it’s time to read (again)! It’s best to schedule a certain amount of time each day to do this. You know best how fast you read and what you need to pay attention to in order to stay focused. Always good: Mute your smartphone and put it aside! Every time you look from the book to your phone or quickly answer a message, it takes you out of the reading flow. Imagine that your brain is a computer (while you are working on it)!) would shut down and restart over and over again – exhausting? This is exactly what happens when you read, if you reach for your smartphone at every sound and blink – so give your book a chance and enjoy the time offline.
3) Find the right parts of the text
As you read, look for passages that are good to read aloud (especially funny, exciting, eventful). Mark the passages with a pencil or sticky notes and write down the page numbers.
Now you are spoiled for choice. Attention – you should neither anticipate too much with your reading sample nor read out text sections that are absolutely meaningless. Of course, you can cut out or shorten parts if they seem too long or superfluous to you. The text must remain comprehensible. If need be, briefly summarize the events between two different parts of the text.
Your excerpt is perfect if your class gets a good impression of the style and writing of the story and can follow the action without any problems. If the reading ends then still with Cliffhanger, the success of your book presentation is virtually pre-programmed.
4) Collect the right info
In a book presentation, you don’t just read to your class, you also tell them about the book. In order to provide your class with exciting information, you should do a little research beforehand. Who wrote the text? Is it a well-known person? What other works come from it? Where did she come from and when did she live? Are there interesting events in the author’s life that might be reflected in the story?? Sometimes it is historical events that influenced a book.
Find out from which period the text originates and whether it can be classified in a certain era or genre. If so, describe how you can tell.
5) Provide the right reasons
It is especially important in a book introduction that you justify why you chose this book and no other: What makes the story stand out? Is it particularly beautifully or excitingly written? Can you identify with the characters?? Do you share experiences with the characters or do they provide you with insights into completely new worlds or times? Maybe the book even started out boring and you had trouble getting into it? Or did it grab you right on the first page?
Tell your class how you felt when you read it, and imagine recommending the book to your best friend.
6) Summarize the story properly
First of all, you should briefly tell us what your book is about. The following questions should be answered:
- When and where the story takes place?
- What (special) situation is described in the text?
- Who is at the center of the story and what characterizes this figure(s)?
Be careful not to be too specific about the story and give too much away – reading a book whose secrets have all been revealed is no fun.
Before you start reading the text excerpt aloud, you should provide your class with all the information they need to understand what it is about. Describe the characters who appear and their relationships to each other. Also, explain in which situation the passage enters by roughly summarizing the immediately preceding events.
7) Prepare your book presentation properly
Now you have everything you need to practice the book introduction. As with a paper, you should have gone over your presentation aloud at least once before you stand up in front of your class. It is best to practice your book presentation in front of someone who has not yet read the book. Then you can find out if everything is understandable, or if your listeners are still missing information.
You should pay special attention to read the text excerpt fluently and clearly understandable. If you have a favorite audiobook, listen to a chapter and pay attention to how the narrator reads the text. Of course, no one expects you to give each character its own voice, but how captivating a text is when read aloud depends above all on the intonation. To check whether you are satisfied with your own way of reading aloud, you can also record yourself with a smartphone or laptop and listen to the result (do not be distracted by the fact that your voice sounds different from how you usually perceive it).
Nothing stands in the way of your book introduction now! Mostly you get to know many interesting books and new genres through book introductions. As a class, you can also collect all of the featured books in an open "book box" and create a list for everyone to sign behind their desired title. Then everyone will be able to take out the books that are of interest to them. With our tips, the waiting list for your book is sure to be hard to top!