How to Start a Book Club
Join Other Readers and Start or Join a Book Group
Tips to join a reading group or start your own club, including organizing a group and reading guides.
If you enjoy reading and discussing books, a book club might be for you. The types of book clubs vary as much as the types of books available, and there’s bound to be one of each to suit your tastes.
If you’re considering starting a book club, you should first find out what’s available in your area; a group may already exist that you could join. Check with your local library, university, church or other organization – a little research might just save you a lot of work. You can also find many book clubs doing a web search with your city name and the words “book club.”
How much is too much?
If you do decide to start your own group, your first task will be to recruit members. Think about how many members you wish to have and where your meetings will take place. A restaurant or coffee house might be a good venue for a small group, but too small for more than five or six members. If you want to meet in public (which is recommended, especially if you do not know all members), find out the rules of the venue you wish to meet at as well – some restaurants have separate meeting rooms that may be more conducive to discussion than a noisy dining room or crowded coffee house.
There are a number of ways to recruit members. Try posting fliers in and around your community to attract local readers. Spread the word by talking to friends and neighbors – they or someone they know just might be interested. And check with your local library, bookstore and other organizations to recruit a diverse discussion group.
Other considerations for a successful club
In addition to deciding where, when and how often to meet, you’ll need to agree on some other details. Consider the following: What types of books will you read? Who chooses the book? How much discussion will you have? Will one individual lead the discussion? If so, who will be the leader? Will a different person lead each meeting? How about guest speakers?
A handy tool for any meeting will be a reading group guide. This is a document designed to help your book club by providing specific discussion topics and questions for a book. Visit this Book Club Resource for a selection of free guides.
Organizing and planning your own book club can be daunting, but with a little preparation it’s well worth the effort.
