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Starting a book club? Just follow our 10 basic steps to good books, good talks, and good eats.
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1. What kind of book club?
First, decide on a club orientation: somewhere between highly social...and seriously academic. If you make this decision at the outset, you'll know who to invite and what books to read.
2. What kind of books?
Think about the books you enjoy—in terms of genre and level of difficulty. First, consider a mix of genres.
- Fiction—general, current or classic, historical, mystery, sci-fi, western, romance.
- Nonfiction—memoir, biography, history, current events, science, travel, cooking.
- Others—poetry and drama.
Next, vary your reading by moving between more challenging works...and those on the lighter side. (See How to Select Your 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—start with 3 friends, all devoted readers; ask each to invite 1 to 3 others. It's not important for everyone to know one another; in fact, it's fun if you don't. After you meet a couple of times, you can grow the club at your own pace. (Or not.)
- Caution—be sure to find people with similar reading styles. If you think Dostoevsky is a light beach read, don't ask someone who thinks Marley and Me is a slog. Even if that person's a close friend, believe me: It—won't—work.
4. Meeting—how often and when?
The most important thing is to pick a schedule...and stick with it.
- How Often—once a month works best for most clubs—although some read longer books and stretch their meetings out to every 6 weeks. A lot of clubs shut down for the summer.
- When—Most clubs meet during the week: mid-morning, lunchtime, dinner, or early evening. For others weekends work best. Still, all clubs end up working around jobs, childcare, travel, even difficulty driving at night.
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? Decide if you want to eat at home or out in restaurants? If at home, do you want full meals, or something lighter—wine & cheese, or dessert & coffee?
- 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. Other clubs like to share the cooking—everyone brings a dish.
- Book Club Recipes—LitLovers has nearly 300 recipes from around the world. A lot of clubs find it fun to eat food to match the book: if you're reading one on India, take a look at our Indian menus...or ones from France...or the American South.
- Forget the Joneses—don't make serving food a competition. Who needs the pressure? So establish a no-compete rule: chips & dip or artichoke flambe, it's all good.
8. How do we keep in touch?
Send out monthly meeting reminders. For those who don't use email, send postcards or set up a phone tree. Distribute a complete list of phone numbers, as well as home, email, and Twitter addresses.
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.
(Book club tips by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online of off, with attribution. Thanks!)
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