Art and Creativity

Book Club

Cost

Low

Effort level

Easy to moderate

About this idea

Looking for a fun way to enjoy books and meet new people? Start a book club!

To help you make sure your book club is on point, here is a short guide to help you make yours perfect.

1. FIGURE OUT WHO YOU’RE INVITING TO YOUR BOOK CLUB

The first thing you should do is figure out who will come to your book club.

This will be the most important choice you make, because it will affect everything else about the book club, from where and when you can meet to which book you read.

2. DEFINE THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BOOK CLUB

Do you want to learn something new? Do you want to bond with coworkers? Maybe you want to catch up with friends, meet new people, or even a mix of these.

This should include deciding on the tone and theme of your club. Find some of our favorite book club themes here. Feeling fresh? Find a pun-tastic book club name.

3. DECIDE IF YOU’RE MEETING ONLINE OR IN PERSON

If you want to learn something new or meet new people, consider starting a group on Facebook, Goodreads, or your preferred social media platform. Opening up the group to people in your community will bring in new faces. You can also create a group on Meet Up or put up fliers at local coffee shops and libraries. If you’re inviting people you know, text messages or even cute handmade invitations will work, too.

Then, think about who your guests are and where they might be most comfortable. If your group is there to meet new people, consider a public common area like a park, recreation center, or library.

4. FIGURE OUT WHEN YOUR BOOK CLUB WILL TAKE PLACE

Sometimes fitting a book club into friends’ schedules can feel like musical chairs. It seems like every date works except for one person. The easiest way to get around this is to plan in advance and keep to a schedule.

Choosing one day every month would work best. This gives everyone time to get the book and read it. If your guests have busier schedules, think about meeting every other month. When scheduling, remember to allow enough time for most people to read the book you chose.

5. CREATE A PROCESS TO NOMINATE BOOKS TO READ

If you’ve been thinking about starting a book club, you probably already have a book in mind. (Or twenty.)

But here’s a caveat: There is nothing worse than a book club dictator: you know, the kind of person who doesn’t take suggestions, who rules their book club with an iron fist. Don’t be that person. Figure out a way to make choices democratic.

What do you need to keep in mind for a book club pick? A few factors to consider when picking a book for your book club include:

Look back to who is attending. If a book choice might cause fights or make certain guests embarrassed, consider a different choice.

Don’t forget about restrictions publication date might put on your book club. If you choose a new release, the book might have a long waiting list at the library. This might put the other members of your book club who can’t afford a new hardback book in a tight spot. Be considerate and look up all checkout and purchase options before you settle on a book pick.

WHAT IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH THE SELECTION?

When you’re learning how to start a book club, you’ll find out fast that disagreements about books can get heated.

But as a leader of your book club, you need to take things in stride. For those who disagree, offer another option. If the purpose of your book club is to get people together, there’s no reason you all need to be reading the same book. Two mini book clubs meeting at the same time might make people happy.

6. GIVE YOUR BOOK CLUB DISCUSSIONS SOME STRUCTURE

How can you give everyone in your book club a voice? Be considerate of the reading preferences of others, and give everyone a chance to put their book choice in the ring.

It’s tempting to get everyone together and talk about it, but odds are some of your book club guests will be more introverted than others. Give everyone a chance to be heard by using an alternative method of voting. One of the best ways to do this is to use technology.

With websites like Survey Monkey, you can easily make a quick poll, and your book club guests can vote anonymously.

7. FIND A TRUSTED SITE FOR BOOK CLUB REVIEWS

Not sure what to read?

Some of our book club suggestions are The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas,  We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simi Liu, and Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez.

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