Book clubs are a great way for reading junkies to expand their libraries and do so in a fun manner. Grabbing a couple of friends to start a book club is the perfect way to get together and grow your common love for books. But starting a book club can be more complicated than it seems.
Here’s what makes a great book club.
Define a Theme or Purpose
Before you start any further planning, you’ll want to define a theme or purpose for your book club. You and your friends should discuss what kind of books you’d like to read and what you hope to get out of the book club.
For example, your friends may have a common interest in religious readings. If so, you may want your book to act as a bible study. You and your friends can gather to read religious novels or share notes and passages from your study bibles. Or, if you all have a common interest in light summer reads or horror novels, your book club can shift focus to these themes.
Defining an overall theme or a monthly theme can make picking books as a group much simpler as well.
Define a Size
Having too many people in a book club can limit the amount of time you have to discuss the book. It can make it difficult to avoid cross-conversations, and some people might end up feeling left out. Cap your book club off at a size that everyone can reasonably host—and one that does not impede conversations.
On the other hand, adding new faces can help to widen the perspectives within the group. Don’t be afraid to add new people just to adhere to size preferences; you can always extend meeting times or split into smaller groups.
Spread the Responsibility
Book club burn-out is a possibility when members haven’t allocated responsibilities properly. Make sure you have a fair system in place for who will host, provide food and wine, and lead discussions each week to avoid anyone feeling overwhelmed by too much or too little responsibility.
Set Ground Rules
Aside from just reading the book, there are other rules that you’ll need to discuss to keep meetings enjoyable and lively. Set rules like agreeing to disagree and saving social chats for after the allotted discussion time has ended. Define other rules that ensure everyone gets a chance to speak and minimize interruptions as well.
Share Discussion Questions
A great way to keep your discussions rolling is to share discussion questions with the group before or at the beginning of the meeting. Discussion questions can keep everyone on the same page without wandering off-topic.
Defining a theme, managing your club size, sharing responsibilities, setting ground rules, and utilizing discussion questions are all examples of what makes a great book club.
