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book club important links
VHCB Approved Book List VHCB Book Review Form
Book Club fAQ's
How do I participate in the book club?
Good Question! The book club starts with picking out a book that is related to your service and reading it. Then you will write a brief report about the book and how it connects to your service. This report gets turned into the AmeriCorps leader who reviews it and then authorizes you to add hours to your time sheet for participating in the Book Club.
That sounds too easy...
I know, right? Reading as part of your service? Who knew AmeriCorps was so awesome! Service Learning is an important aspect of your time in AmeriCorps and this is a means of deepening your understanding and enriching your service.
Well, how do I know what kind of book to read?
There are two answers to this question. The first is that there are a ton of books that have been "pre-approved". With these books all you need to do is pick up a copy and start reading. We may even have some of these books at the VHCB office in Montpelier.
The second answer is that if you find a book out in the world that could have an impact on your service, then its probably good for the Book Club! All you have to do is send the title and author of the book to the AmeriCorps Leader and they will review it to make sure its appropriate.
How do I find Pre-Approved Books and how Do I Navigate GoodReads?
Our pre-approved book list can be found by clicking the link at the top of this page! It will take you to the VHCB AmeriCorps 'Bookshelf' on Goodreads.
On the left, you can click on different categories but we have a lot of books that may not be categorized well. So you can select the "All" bookshelf and scroll through, or use the small search bar (below the larger one) to search to see if a certain book is in our pre-approved list.
Where Can I find all these books?
We have some here at the VHCB office in Montpelier. But Vermont is also home to rich community of public libraries. Check out this list!
What do I put in my report?
Nothing too complicated! You can answer the following questions...
- What was this book about?
- What did you get out of it (related to your service)?
- Would you recommend this book to other members? Why or why not?
Or you can look at a sample book report and work from there...
How many hours do I put on my time sheet?
For each completed report, you can claim up to 10 Hours of Training on your time sheet after we have received and approved the review. Once the report has been received and approved, you’ll receive an email from the AmeriCorps Leader or AmeriCorps staff letting you know it’s okay to go ahead and claim the hours.
How many books can I read?
Full time members can read 6 books over the course of their term and half time members can read 3 books over the course of their term.
All members may only submit one book report per month.
Can I read the same book as someone else?
Absolutely! You could even start you own mini book club with members serving nearby. Book Club and regional get together at the same time? Oh yeah!