GETTING
YOUR GROUP STARTED
Book
clubs generally need between about 5- 15 people to be successful. More
often they start from a core group of 3-4 friends or acquaintances, who
ask around and find some others - friends of friends, coworkers, friends
of coworkers, etc. Even with a small starting group more people will pop
up from unexpected places once you get going and tell other people. If
you really need others outside of your wider circle of friends and
acquaintances, you could ask at your local library or bookstore, put
notices up on local community bulletin boards or put notices in local
publications i.e. community newsletters, school, clubs, church or work
notices etc.
MEETING
LOGISTICS
When?
Five weeks apart seems ideal,
as monthly seems to come around too quickly. Between 4 and 6 weeks is
best. Try and select a regular night or time that remains consistent and
suits everybody. Decide on an end time and try to stick to it.
Discussions tend to go on and on and on if you let them!
Where?
Most book clubs have rotating hosts. Each member takes a turn hosting
the meeting at her home. If there are around 10 or so in your book club
you only have it at your house about once a year. It pays to keep a
casual record of who was host each month, as you can easily forget whose
turn it is. Other options are to use cafes, restaurants, book stores or
libraries.
What's to Eat?
Do you want just light nibbles and wine or coffee or do you want to
go all the way and have a whole meal? Some groups have 'bring a plate'
shared meals, even matching the food to the theme of the book.
CHOOSING
A BOOK
Make
sure you all agree in principle with how broad or narrow your selection
criterion will be. Do you want to focus on a particular type of book or
genre, or cover a broad spectrum? You can choose from best-sellers,
classics, historical fiction, chick lit, non-fiction, biographies,
science fiction or a bit of everything? It can be a sensitive issue, if
somebody suggests a personal favorite and it gets criticized by
everybody. So be careful about sarcasm and devastating low blows about
other peoples taste!
The
cost of buying individual copies of books can be lessened by selecting
older books and if planned ahead the members can get them out of the
library, from a secondhand bookshop, or borrow them. Many publishers or
bookshops will offer a discount if you are buying a quantity of the same
book. You can also join a book loan scheme sometimes run in local areas
by community groups. Agreeing on the book to read is generally the
biggest problem.
A
GREAT DISCUSSION
It
is important that you decide early on what you want to get out of a book
club. Your core group needs to discuss and set some parameters of the
style or tone of the book club. Intensive literary discussions or light
chats work well for different groups.
Many
times the discussion just flows naturally from your enjoyment of the
book. Read our list of 10 discussion
topics or try one of these methods to initiate deeper discussions.
Choose
a conversation leader. This could be the host for the month, or
perhaps another rotating member. The leader needs to be aware of each
member's different styles of discussing - some people have no problem
giving their opinions and find it hard to hold themselves back while
others need to be encouraged! It is a good idea, early on in the life of
a book club, to discuss what each person thinks is their own style in a
discussion - the louder, more extroverted ones don't generally mind the
occasional reminder to hold back, if it is done in humor.
Discussion Questions/Reading guides You can often get discussion
questions off the internet for a particular book. Try the discussion
questions here or on publisher's websites. Don't fall into the trap of
using discussion questions that make you feel like you are in a literary
exam. They are only meant to be conversation starters and help focus
your group's thinking about a book.
Leader sets discussion topics. The leader (the host or the person
who chose the particular book) could choose some favorite passages in
the book to start the discussion and have some basic discussion
questions ready to get it going, A bit of research about the author or
background to the book helps. Emailing the others before hand with some
question starters is a good idea.
Individual preparation. As preparation each individual chooses a
favorite passage, a question about something they didn't understand, or
something about the book or author to add to the conversation. Take it
in turns to talk about each person's response to the book. Preparation
shouldn't become too much like homework though!
Generally
it is better to let the conversation flow naturally. Often the best
books for discussion are the ones that polarize opinions - half the
group loved the book and the other half hated it and neither can
understand why. If nobody feels particularly strongly about the book,
then have coffee early and discuss something else!
DO
SOMETHING
DIFFERENT
Have an
author night - choose one author and each member reads a different
book and reports back briefly. Compare main themes or issues.
Have your
book club somewhere different occasionally - i.e. a café, a
restaurant, a library, on a boat, go away for a weekend retreat, go to
an authors night at a bookstore..
Go to the
movies, see the movie version of a book you have read - often deeply
disappointing but makes for great conversation!
If you are all parents have a kids book night - Share and discuss your
kids favorites.
An annual
voting night. Vote for your best book/s of the year. Sometimes these
are our best nights. Nobody ever agrees!
Have a
Secret Santa book exchange. Each member draws the name of another to
select for. Selecting a book for another person is often an
interesting exercise.
Plan the movie. Decide which actors should play the roles, where it
should be set and who should direct etc.
Come up
with alternative endings. If the book has an ending that is a bit
controversial or dull try getting everybody to write their own
preferred ending.
ENJOY!
Above
all have fun and enjoy the company of fellow book lovers! Reading should
never be a chore.
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