1. What kind of book club?
To start a book club, first step is to decide on a club orientation: somewhere between highly social and seriously academic.
2. What kind of books?
Choose a literary genre or a mix of genres: fiction (current or classic), poetry, drama, mystery, sci-fi, current events, history, or biography. (See Selecting Books.)

3. What about members?
• Number—8 to 16 members are best: enough for a   discussion if several are absent, but not too many to
  make discussions unwieldy.

• Getting started—ask 3 friends, all devoted readers;
  have each of them invite 1 or 2 others. It's not
  important that you all know one another; in fact, it's
  fun if you don't. Then grow your club as you see fit.

4. Meeting—how often and when?

• Frequency—once a month works well for most clubs.
  Many don't meet during the summer. The important
  thing is to pick a schedule and try to stick to it.

• When—weekdays: mid-morning, lunchtime, dinner,
  evening. It depends on jobs, childcare, family
  dinners or difficulty driving at night. Weekends:
  Saturday morning, Sunday afternoon or evening.

5. Where should we meet?
Homes, clubhouses, public libraries, churches, Y’s, cafes and restaurants—all make good meeting places.

6. What about food?
You have to ask? Never be without. Decide whether you want to eat in or at restaurants, whether you want meals or appetizers, and if you want the food themed to the book.

• Check out our Book Club Recipes—more than 200   from around the world. And we're adding more.

• Home meetings—in some clubs the hosts do all the
  cooking—that way members don't have to prepare a
  dish every time a meeting rolls around. But other
  clubs like to share the cooking—everyone brings a
  dish.

• Forget the Joneses—try not to make serving food a
  competition, a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses thing.
  Who needs the pressure? So establish that from the
  get-go. Chips & dip or artichoke flambe...it's okay.
7. What should we call ourselves?
Give your club an identity — Brookville Book Babes, Reading's Red Hat Readers, New London Literary Lions. Or simply the Lakewood Book Club — that works.

8. How do we keep in touch?
Send out monthly meeting reminders. If not everyone uses email, mail postcards. Distribute a complete list of phone numbers, home addresses, and e-mails.

9. Keeping memories
Keep a club journal—a 3-ring binder to keep track of the books you’ve read, plot summaries, discussion highlights, and members’ opinions. It's especially to bring new members up to speed.

10. Giving to Community
Collect dues for a scholarship or an annual literacy award at a local school. Purchase books for your local library, or become involved in a tutoring program.