The Panther Book Club is a virtual, private forum offered by the FIU Alumni Association to facilitate lifelong learning, personal growth and networking among FIU alumni. The Panther Book Club will read and discuss one book every two months so that you'll have plenty of time to enjoy each book. Joining is completely free; you just have to obtain your own copy of the book. We hope you enjoy connecting with fellow alumni over these great reads, and that the Panther Book Club gives you a reason to keep putting your Paws Up!

1. Embrace Lifelong Learning: Embrace lifelong learning: The books we read will help you broaden your career horizons and provide insights to make you more effective in key areas, including leadership, communications skills and achieving a fulfilling life.
2. Reading is good for you: Reading is good for you: Reading can reduce stress, help you sleep better, and improve your relationships. Did we mention it also makes you smarter? Reading increases your verbal intelligence, emotional intelligence and creativity [1].
3. Connect with fellow alumni: Our book club will introduce you to fellow alumni across industries, generations and geographies, while gaining different perspectives as we read our book. The network you'll build may offer you career advice, introduce you to new people, and help you find your next opportunity.

How often will books be read, what is the time commitment and what are the expectations?

We plan to start the book club by reading one book every two months. The texts selected will be lifelong learning, personal growth, novels and other books and take an average of nine hours to read cover to cover. If you have between 1 and 2 hours a week to read you should be fine.

Will there be any in-person meetings of the book club?

No, the book club will be entirely online. You can participate anywhere you have Internet access and on days and times that are convenient to you.

Is there any cost to participate?

Participation is free for all alumni!

How do I get the books?

Participants can get books for free at their local library or purchase them.

How do book club discussions work?

The book club will have a moderator from PBC Guru who manages the forum where discussions occur online. The moderator will pose questions to the book club, share relevant articles and facilitate conversation about topics in the book. Members will be encouraged to post and share as well. This format allows for ongoing conversation and makes it easy for readers to connect with each other through the forum.

How do I make a forum profile?

We're using a private forum to host the virtual book club so it's easy to connect with fellow alumni. During our sign up process, you will enter the information to auto-generate your free profile. After you complete the sign up, we'll send you a link to the forum and you can begin to post right away!

What exactly is Professional Book Club (PBC) Guru, and what do they have to do with the book club?

Professional Book Club (PBC) Guru is a book club management company that works with businesses, alumni associations and professional societies. The FIU Alumni Association is teaming up with PBC Guru to put this program in place for our alumni. Check out their website at www.pbc.guru to learn more about them!

I've already signed up. How do I log in?

If you are already a member, you can click the log in button above.

What if my question isn't answered?

Feel free to send an email to info@pbc.guru and we'll be happy to help.