Starting a book club can be as simple as getting together with other people who like to read and discuss books. Running and keeping the club going takes a bit more effort, some ground rules and some coordination and cooperation among book club members.
How to Start a Book Club – Finding Members
A simple way to start a book club is to ask friends or coworkers who enjoy reading if they'd be interested in setting up a book club or if they know anybody else who would be. People with kids in school or daycare can ask other parents if they'd be interested. Or put up a notice at local gyms, grocery stores, places of worship, libraries and bookstores.
The optimum number of members is between 8 and 12. That's small enough so everybody gets a chance to talk and big enough that it doesn't matter if one or two members miss a meeting.
Choosing a Meeting Time and Place for Book Club Discussions
If most of the members are friends, it's easy to meet at people's homes. Take turns hosting so no one member has to do all the work. For coworkers, a lunch hour or after work meeting time probably works best.
Schedule the meetings every 6 weeks or so to give people enough time to get the book or borrow it from the library, and then read it. Some groups choose not to meet during December because of holidays or during the summer as people often go away. Let the group decide.
Appoint one person to send out reminders regarding the location of the next meeting and the book title. An email a week or two before the next meeting works well.
What to Serve at Book Clubs – in Home or At a Restaurant
For small groups made up of friends and neighbors, taking turns hosting the book club at home is fairly easy. Some groups prefer to meet at a restaurant, turning the book discussion into a social event. Adventurous groups may choose to match the cuisine to the book.
If the emphasis is on the book discussion, keep the at-home food fairly simple. Finger food, veggies, chips, dips and other easily prepared or bought food means the host is not spending too much time in the kitchen and has time to enjoy the discussion. A bit of wine can add some festivity. To ease the expense on the host, members can BYOB.
How to Choose Books Using Book Club Recommendations and Reviews
To find book club recommendations, check local libraries and bookstores which publish lists of popular books. The newspaper book review section is a good place to find books, as are lists of book award winners and nominees. With the increasing popularity of book clubs, online sites now have book club recommendations.
Decide on what types of books to read e.g. literary books, nonfiction, genre or a mix and match. Have someone keep track of what books have been read so new (and old) members don't select previously discussed books or authors.
If the members are going to borrow books from the library, choose slightly older books so the waiting list isn't too long. Some libraries order larger numbers of recommended book club reading material and lend them as sets. Always check the number and availability of library copies.
Some book clubs choose the booklist (and dates) for the year in advance. Anyone missing a meeting knows the next book on the list. Other groups choose the next book at the end of the discussion of the current book. One way to ensure a selection of titles is for host of the current session to come up with three or four books. That also means everybody gets a chance to put forth their own selections when they host.
How to Host the Book Club Discussion
Book clubs are for exercising the mind while having fun. Depending on the membership, the first little while can be devoted to eating and social chatter.
After that, the host can start the actual book group discussion. Some hosts may begin by reading book club reviews, using a reading club discussion guide or simply giving their own opinions. Today, more books come with their own list of questions at the end of the book, making the host's job easier. There are also a number of private, educational and publishing sites that have a wide variety of free reading group guides.
The host's role is to make sure everyone gets a chance to talk. Whether members like or dislike the book is secondary, as long as they can voice their opinions. For more tips on hosting and running a book club discussion group, check out How to Lead Book Club Meetings.
Sources:
- Book-clubs-resource.com. "Reading Group Guides and Summaries."
- readinggroupguides. "Starting A Reading Group."
- readinggroupguides. "Running Your Reading Group."
- Thereadingclub.co.uk. "How to Lead Book Club Meetings."
Harriet Cooper - Harriet Cooper writes for magazines, newspapers and websites on health, nutrition, the environment, ESL, cats and feng shui.
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