This article explores how teachers can engage with ideas (research findings, theory, and professional knowledge) through participation in a reading discussion group. Focusing on one group formed by English language teachers at a Japanese university, the study employs survey data, attendance statistics, and observational notes regarding the group's meetings over one school term to investigate the relative merits of six discussion formats, varied according to the type of text discussed (conference presentation slide handout, opinion piece, plenary address video, book chapter, book review, and transcribed interview) and, in one case, the participant make-up (an author was invited to discuss his own work). The paper also identifies group management practices that are most effective for facilitating participation.