Reading is an addiction of mine for years, although literature class in school was never my favorite, I held a deep passion for discussing books with others to discover new things that I had skimmed over while reading. For years, I kept thinking about hosting a book club however was not sure how to go about hosting one. None of my friends showed that much interest in books that I had mention, unless Vogue Magazine counts, but the thought still prevailed. Hence, below is a list that will assist any newcomer into creating a book club that fits the needs of the readers.
1. Gathering. Reading through different articles on reading clubs, I gained excitement however I feared that I would be the only person in my book club. Gathering friends sounds easy however my friends (although I love them all) were not of the “reading novel types.” Therefore, I suggest talking to friends, co-workers or neighbors to discuss forming a club. Yes, many of them will grin and say “why, that’s a lovely idea however I am not sure I have the time.” Do not get discouraged, tell them to just keep it in mind and pass the word on. Tell everyone that you come across that you can get along with for a few hours a month. Talk to teachers at the kids school, hair stylists, mailperson and so – you might be surprised. Although sneaky, I lured everyone in by telling them I had wine and appetizers to entertain us while we chat about the books that we have read. Food always works!
2. Determine Location. For the first meeting, I suggest meeting at your house, local library or small coffee house. Some libraries have free meeting rooms that are available for reading clubs; they are usually a little stuffy and not comfortable. In addition, if your idea is to lure everyone in by food, it is important you double check with the library to assure food is allowed in the booked room. For my book club, I chose to have a reading club in my house so that it was comfortable and no one had to go out of the way to find the library. Then, I had wine and baked homemade bread to make the smell of the house feel comfortable – which is the most important thing for a book club.
3. Determine reading interests. During the first meeting, it is important to converse about what type of book everyone enjoys to read – classical, nonfiction, chick lit and so on. For my book club, I suggested each potential member to bring a short list of books that would be interesting to read. Narrow everyone’s list down and decide on a reading list for the next six months or even a year. It is important to make a list of all the books that will be read in at least the next six months so that books can be ordered online or schedule a checkout from the library before the month comes up.
4. Set up a meeting schedule. Since this is a book club, there should be a set schedule for everyone to follow along. It is important to make the meetings at least one month apart, so those that are rather busy will have the time to read the book entirely. To spice things up, it might be fun to have themed meetings. By this I mean to make reservations at an Italian restaurant if reading an Italian book and et cetera. For my book club, we chose to have a meeting at each person’s house in the group. By doing this, the burden was lifted off myself and allows others to join in the entertaining fun. Then, we try different wines and foods during the meeting each month to coordinate with the book that has been read.
5. Schedule an outline. Creating a meeting schedule of how the communications will go throughout each meeting will assist in making a smooth flow of actions. After the outline has been created, pass it out at the next meeting or e-mail it to everyone. Please remember to include names and telephone numbers of each member, the books that will be read and the meeting locations for each club meeting.
6. Discuss the book. Since there will be excitement when meeting on the first book, we found that it was easier to go around clockwise and talk about the likes and dislikes first. Then, once everyone has discussed a general feeling towards the book, things will start to flow about the characters complexity, believability of the book, structure and et cetera.
7. Dig deep. Before each meeting, I like to check out the book reviews online or in the newspaper to see what has been discussed about the book of the month. This helps create an outline of each meeting, plus it helps focus a little for those books that did not contain the best structural content. In addition, I like to take notes while reading the book to assure that I can remember all the feelings and insights that I come across while reading. Something that I came across was http://www.oprah.com which contains many different book club quizzes and help discussion pages to take to a book club. Plus, some books have information on the internet or in the back of the book that contains book club insight and discussion outlines. Look for books with this information as it is a great assistance in a smooth flowing book club.
The last tip to give everyone that is considering creating a book club is to just enjoy the books. The main point of starting a book club is to read wonderful novels (or interest books) and discuss them with friends and family members. For my book club, we enjoy reading the novels alone and then getting together and having a “chat fest”. We divulge in three of our favorite things: books, talking and food! Remember that there is no set rule on what books to read, so if your friends enjoy reading chick lit, have a chick lit club. Reading clubs are about coming a few interests and having some fun – Enjoy!
