Book Salon FAQs & Ground Rules
FAQs
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Book Salon is different from your average book club. We are an online community of Stanford alumni, parents, friends and faculty who value our connection to the Farm and find comfort between the pages of a good book. We share our thoughts and insights around the world, around the clock and on our own time.
The Book Salon season runs from September through May and covers six different books. Each is handpicked by a Stanford faculty member who introduces the book through an audio interview and hosts the discussion during that given month.
Book Salon is a great way to collaborate with fellow book lovers on your own terms, without any pretense. Yes, we're a salon. But we are seriously unstuffy.
Book Salon is hosted entirely on an online interface that allows readers to connect from every corner of the globe.
Book Salon has more than 5,000 followers who participate in a number of ways. Around 2,500 of our followers subscribe to the discussion pages. Many simply read the discussion posts. Our most active participants post their thoughts and comments on the discussion page or through email interaction. Here's how you can, too:
Send an email to the discussion list from your own personal email account. To locate the discussion list email address, reference the header of a current post you received in your email. The title of the book will be at the beginning of the list address and should generally look like this:
greatgatsby@discussions.stanford.edu
Alternatively, visit the discussion page directly. Then you can visit the current book's webpage by clicking the book title. (You must be logged into your alumni website account). To start your own post, click "new post," or reply to a previous post by clicking "reply" at the bottom of the thread you wish to comment on.
Every past book discussion is archived on the Stanford Alumni Association website, so readers can refer back to past discussions or even use the selections as a reading list.
Book Salon is a free program that invites all interested Stanford alumni, family and friends to join in the discussion by simply clicking the "join" button here.
No! But you do need to have a Stanford Alumni Association account to participate. You can open an account whether you attended Stanford or not. To do this, go to the login page and click "Sign up now" to get started.
Depending on your preferences you can choose to receive e-mail notifications weekly, daily or in real time. You can also opt out of notifications and simply view comments when you log onto the website.
To set your preferences, visit "my account" in the upper right hand corner of the Stanford Alumni Association webpage. In the right hand column under Messaging Summary, click "update your messaging preferences." You will see three tabs halfway down the page. Under the discussions tab, you will see a listing of all the book discussions you follow. Use the drop-down box to the right of the discussion to select your batching preference.
Confused or need help? Email us
You may unsubscribe from the discussion at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link found on the footer of any discussion post sent to your personal email, or by logging into our website. If you're having any trouble, please email us
Unfortunately, we no longer host in-person events for Book Salon. This online only community thrives by enabling readers to connect with each other from their corner of the globe.
Confused or need help? Email us
Ground Rules
- Please stay on topic and introduce information relevant to the discussion (historical facts, book background, related authors/subjects, themes, etc). Think of the online discussion like a book club meeting at your home, where everyone has shown up to hear about the book, more than anything else.
- Please only reply if you have something new to add to the discussion. Many alumni last season shared they really loved the book discussion, but unsubscribed due to the increase in messages like, "I agree with so and so," "I just started reading the book!" or even "Me too!". Generally in online discussions, silence implies agreement.
- If you have a reply specifically for the sender of the message, go ahead and reply just to that individual. Otherwise, reply to the forum when messages are relevant to the public discussion.
- Please jump in when you have something to contribute to the discussion, but don't post excessively or monopolize the conversation. Patience in responding encourages more contributors with a wider variety of ideas and perspectives.
- Feel free to share your ideas and Stanford experiences and remember this is not a place for advertising, promotion, recruiting, campaigning, soliciting, etc; please use your best judgment.
- Please remember to be respectful of others ideas and thoughts?we do not want to discourage discussion participation. We encourage the more timid to speak up and contribute to our discussion. Remember, our faculty hosts love to hear your thoughts on their selection, and this is a perfect forum to bring insight into literature.
