10 tips to make a great book club

(Updated 2/4/2022, 11/9/2022, 4/4/2024)

Books and books and books -- oh, yes!

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​You love to read, and you want to discuss books with other people who love to read.  You’ve decided to start a book club.  What’s the next step?
 
I started and conducted a book club that continued for over ten years.  Currently (2024), I’ve been participating in a book club for over five years.  
 
Try out these ten tips to make your book club great.

1.  WHO TO INVITE? 

​Fellow book lovers! 

They’ll need to be readers who have both the time to read and to discuss books.
 
Are you interested in creating a club that focuses on one genre of fiction (for example, mysteries) or several genres?  Do you want to include nonfiction selections?  You might find it easier to recruit members if the readers are open to a wider range of books.  On the other hand, some readers are keen to focus on their favorite genre. 
 
2.  HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES A BOOK CLUB NEED? 
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It takes only a few people.  Four or five regular attendees at each meeting might be just the right number for a discussion in your group.   Over time, the club can adjust that number to what works best for them.
 
Two of the biggest determinants of a club’s size are

• available meeting room space and
• opportunity for everyone to share their thoughts during discussions.

 
As the founder, take the role of coordinator to keep the group together.

3.  HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME MEMBERS? 
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Make it easy.  Members accept an invitation to be added to the book club’s mailing list, and then keep coming to club meetings.
 
​4.  WHERE CAN I FIND PEOPLE FOR MY BOOK CLUB? 
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You might already know a few book lovers who would enjoy participating.  And they might know a few people who know other people who…
 
One woman started her book club with responses from an announcement in her neighborhood’s on-line newsletter.
 
Another club began via a church newsletter.
 
If you are a patron of your local public library, ask the librarian if you can post an announcement on the library’s “hard copy” bulletin board or online website.

Choose a welcoming and comfortable location for the size of your group. ​

5.  WHERE TO MEET? 

It might be your living room or kitchen, a book store, a coffee shop, a restaurant, a park or your public library.
 
Wherever you meet, the location should be a welcoming and comfortable spot for the size of your group.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, some book clubs chose to meet via the online video conferencing platform "Zoom" rather than go into hiatus.
 
As the coordinator of the club, make sure the members receive date/time/place/book updates.  The courtesy of a reply to the coordinator is always important.
 
​6.  WHEN TO MEET? 
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It depends on what works for the members.
 
Morning, afternoon, or evening?  Once a month or less often?  Will you break for summer?  Skip December?   Do members need a pleasant hour that starts and ends on time?  Or do their schedules permit more time for an in-depth discussion?
 
Simplify scheduling.  For example, meet on the same day of the week on the second Thursday of the month from six p.m. to eight p.m. in a local restaurant.

​7.  WHAT TO READ? 
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Each book club determines what to read.

• Fiction or nonfiction?  
• Mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, romance? Biography, memoirs, history, politics?  
• Are 400-page novels out of the question or savored?  Are 200-page novels about right?

 
Invite guests to arrive at the first meeting of the book club ready to chat about the titles and authors of three of their favorite books plus one that wasn’t for them.  Compare notes to find similar patterns within their reading lives.
 
Do guests want to stay with their favorite genres, expand into new fields, or combine the two?  If guests see enough similar interests, then they’re probably ready to form a book club with you.

Is your book club reading a book by a local author?   Invite the author to your meeting to talk about the book.

7.  WHAT TO READ, Continued. 
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​After members identify the type of books for the book club, they can begin to select titles.

• Titles are often selected based on recommendations from members.  The choice might be made on a rotating basis by each member, or through an informal voice vote from the group.

 

• Some groups like to include a selection from the annual Big Read of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)  https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/nea-big-read.

 

• Your local public library and book store make recommendations, as well as your favorite book review podcasters.  

 

• If your club is reading a book written by a local author, invite the author to talk about the book at your club meeting.  

 

• Discussion with an author via an online video platform such as Zoom might be possible when the geographic distance is too far or social distancing is necessary.

 
Some book clubs prepare an annual reading list.  Other clubs decide from meeting to meeting.
 
Either way, keep an updated master list of the books your club reads and share it with your members.  

• At a minimum, indicate the book's title, author, and publication date, as well as the date the club discussed it.

​The club should select a discussion leader for each meeting.  That role is often taken by the member who recommended the book.

Check your local book store for author events presented in person or via virtual events.

8.  WHAT IF TIME CONSTRAINTS THREATEN YOUR CLUB?
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• Visit my May 10, 2021, blog post titled, “How to Find Time to Read” for suggestions. how-to-find-time-to-read.html

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• Discover if “I’m too busy” is a polite way of someone saying, “I don’t want to participate anymore.”  If it is, ask the member what could make the meetings better.  Is it the choice of books?  Frequency of meetings?  Time of day/evening?  Something else?

 

• Meet to read rather than discuss.  Mimic the overstretched club that met via a visual online platform to read silently for an hour each month.
  • Club members did not have to read the same book.
  • Members greeted one another and named the title and author of their current book.
  • After introductory greetings, a quiet time of silent reading began and continued until the group coordinator called an end to the meeting.

Little Free Library. Take a book, return a book. Wichita, Kansas, 2021.

​9.  SHARE THE WEALTH.  FIND GOOD HOMES FOR YOUR BOOKS.
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• Sort through your books.  Some books—even well-loved ones—are ready for the recycling bin.

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• Give book(s) to friend(s) and family interested in the titles.

• Donate books to a local public library.
  • Contact the library and ask if they are accepting certain types of books for their library collection.
    • Books that don’t meet the needs of the library’s collection, might work for the library’s annual book sale or ongoing “sale shelf.”

• Find or create a “Little Free Library” near you.
  • The world’s largest book-sharing movement has created a nonprofit organization with more than 100,000 little libraries worldwide. 

• Listen to how and why one lifelong bibliophile decided to give away almost every book she owned.  
  • Hear Nicole Fagan's story on "Episode 315:  A life-changing bag of books" on the podcast What Should I Read Next? hosted by Anne Bogel on January 18, 2022.  

10.  HAVE FUN. 
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A book club composed of congenial members who enjoy animated discussions of book ideas and characters is a gift.  Your group might want to...

• Dine at a local restaurant that features the cuisine described in the story.
• Share a recipe from the era of the narrative.
• Spark discussion with questions from a reading guide that some authors add at the end of their book or on their website.

As time goes by, not every selection will be a hit with each member.   Not every member will recall all the names of the books and authors they read.  Everyone will remember how much they enjoyed conversations with fellow book lovers.
 
Let the adventure begin!

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​Notes:  
1.  Photos by Lynne Schall:  

• Books and Books and Books -- oh, yes!  Wichita, Kansas, 2021.
• Watermark Books & Cafe.  Wichita, Kansas, 2017.
• Little Free Library.  Take a book, return a book.  Wichita, Kansas, 2021.