Starting Your Own Book Club

A book club can be a really fun thing to do with friends or family and it’s a great way to ensure that you’re able to keep up with all the books you want to read as well as a fun way to stay connected with family and friends. Book clubs are great for all different types of people and can be really helpful in finding new and interesting books as well as a good opportunity to hang out with friends and discuss your thoughts on different aspects of what you’re reading. Book clubs can be very formal or informal and can focus around whatever type of books or authors you choose. Typically most book clubs will meet once a month or so because many people don’t have enough time to finish a book in a week and any more than a month can make it hard for people to get together again. A lot of book clubs find that it’s easiest to pick a weekend of the month (like the first or the last) and just meet again and again on that same weekend of each month to avoid a lot of confusion. If that doesn’t work you can always set dates at the beginning of each meeting for when the next meeting will happen and then call to remind people a couple days in advance.

It’s also important to have a meeting place picked out in advance. You can meet at the same persons house each and every time or you can rotate houses, taking turns at hosting the event. Some clubs decide to meet in libraries, book stores, or even restaurants but sometimes it can get expensive to be eating out every time you go and tis can be difficult if you have an especially large group. It’s also easier to just provide a few snacks and some drinks then it is to go to a big restaurant and find a big table as well as get everyone ordered and settled. Having your meet up in a private home also allows for longer discussion and it can be easier to navigate things like parking and who is bringing what if you’re already familiar with the place that you’ll be meeting. It’s important that you have enough room for everyone to sit comfortably and that you don’t have to shout to hear each other. A quiet space is best for discussion about books - somewhere that doesn’t have a lot of interruptions and so forth.

When it comes to choosing the kinds of books you’ll want to use in your discussions it’s important that you select something that everyone will be happy with. Some book clubs are focused around different genres or themes, times of year, or even specific periods of history or authors. Jane Austen is a common choice for book clubs as well as Shakespeare. Simply selecting a classic novel each time around is also a popular choice. Some people will prefer lighter fiction and may follow a specific national book club (like Oprahs book club) and others will simply take a title off of the bestseller list or bring in reviews and compare with others to see what looks like a good choice.

Overall book clubs are really fun and can be a great thing to start up in your neighborhood. Have fun reading new books and don’t forget the snacks!