Starting a book club is a great way to make friends or connect more with the friends you already have while getting introduced to new books. But a book club has more benefits than just giving you new reading material. You can change meeting spots, explore places you’ve never been before, get creative with themes, and have an excuse to host fun get-togethers.
Even though it sounds fun, there’s a lot of planning that goes into starting a book club. There’s scheduling meetings, locations, and, most importantly, how to choose the books. If you’ve been wanting to start one and don’t know where to begin, the answer is here.
Find Your Members
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Some might say this is the second or third step, but it’s not a book club without members, right? Make a list of who you want in your book club and start a group text or email. Whatever communication works best for everyone. Invite your members to invite anyone they know who might be interested, but don’t let the group get too big.
It’s hard to have a conversation with a huge group of people or find a place to host everyone if you’re meeting in person, so find a number that works for you. If you want to keep your meetings virtual, a large group will work better. Most video chat programs have “raise your hand” buttons, and the host has the ability to mute participants while others are sharing their thoughts.
Choosing a Book
Once your group is locked in, you can poll them to find out if the club will be dedicated to reading one genre or following a theme. For example, will you only read books by women? Classic literature? Fantasy? If you don’t want to limit yourself to one theme or genre, decide who gets the first pick.
You can decide the first book since it’s your book club, or everyone can suggest a title for a vote. A fun way would be to put all the titles in a bowl, let everyone draw, and the last title chosen is the book you’ll read. If you prefer to set an order, that works well too. Goodreads or a simple internet search is a good place to find your next pick if you’re stuck.
Establishing Goals
Before you begin reading, ask yourself and your members if this book club has a goal. Do you want to read a certain number of books in a year? Do you want to read a book from every major genre? Do you have a list of authors you want to choose from? Whatever you settle on, make sure it’s clear and everyone is on board to meet your goals.
Scheduling Meetings
Figuring out when, how, and where you’re going to meet can be the trickiest part of starting a book club. If you’re able to meet in person, choose someone’s house or a favorite restaurant for each meeting. You can even get creative and pick a new location every time.
Choose a day and time every month or six weeks that work for the majority of your members. It’s important to have a fixed date so your members can add it to their calendars and plan their lives around it. The same applies for virtual meetings. It can be fun to mix up meetings with a theme, like everyone attending dressed as characters from the book or a potluck. Wherever and whenever you decide to meet, have fun with it!
Start Your Fun Book Club!
Now you have everything you need to start your book club. Make friends, try new food, socialize, and enjoy good books!
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