Want to start a book club? Here’s how
Finding fellow readers
Ask around your existing personal networks, including neighbours, friends, social media, or a community noticeboard.
Once you mention you want to start a club, you’ll be surprised how many people may want to come along.
Ask at your local bookshop and library for ideas – many run regular reading groups and can point you in the right direction for good books.
Identify what common interests you and your group have and use these to help draw like-minded people.
Once you start looking, you’ll find book clubs for men or women, seniors, sci-fi lovers, teenagers or cookery buffs.
The time, the place
Once you have a group, agree on how often you want to meet – typically clubs meet monthly, though the time-poor may want to make it bi-monthly.
For many clubs, meeting at home works best as you don’t have to get dressed up, and noisy public venues can make talking hard.
If members bring a plate of food or a bottle, it takes the pressure off the host.
But try rotating your meeting location as this will help to stimulate fresh thoughts.
Be inspired
Tailor your venue according to the book’s subject matter. The Light Between the Oceans by M.L. Stedman was discussed over fish’n’chips by one club, while The Red Tent by Anita Diamant was chewed over at a Middle Eastern restaurant.
Here’s how to get your book club off to a flying start.
Size matters
According to Christine Callen, a book club veteran of 15 years, you need a minimum number of people per meeting to make it interesting. “Seven is the magic number – fewer and there’s not enough for healthy debate,” she says. “You can have ten people in the club – not everyone will be able to make it every time – seven provides enough opinions.”
Choosing the books
If you’re the club instigator, it’s easier if you pick the first book.
Seek out book reviews in good magazines and newspapers and at bookshops.
The flavour of the books you choose will be largely dictated by the personalities attending – you might like to have a wide range of genres from sci-fi to romance to travel epics.
Or stick to one genre, such as history books.
Decide on a strategy and a time frame – say five to 12 books across the year – then review how everything appeals to the majority.
Take turns to come up with a list of four or five titles, then circulate the list via email shortly after your last discussion.
Members can then vote on their preferred next book and meeting time.
The member scheduled to host the next meeting coordinates the responses to decide the title and date most voted for.
Starting discussion
Callen recommends beginning by asking all members to briefly give their opinion on the book.
“Everyone arrives and has a drink to loosen up,” she explains.
“Then we take it in turns to go around the room and each give the book a mark out of ten, saying in a few sentences what we liked or disliked about it. This gives everyone a chance to speak early in the night and stops one person dominating the conversation from the start.”
Written by Jenny Byrne. This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.