How to Organize a Book Club
While reading is a satisfying and enriching activity in itself, the experience can become far more enjoyable if you have someone to share and discuss it with – hence, the popularity of book clubs. Getting together a group of friends or like-minded people to form a book club is a great activity, and organising a book club need not be hard if you go about it in a methodical fashion.
Instructions
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The first step is to decide what the focus of your book club is – decide why you are setting it up, and what you hope to achieve from it (i.e. your purpose). Will it be a serious, discussion-oriented club, or one that simply meets for a light chat over coffee?
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Next, get members for your club – decide what sort of people you will admit into the club. If you happen to have a couple of friends who are all interested, you are all set. However, if you will be picking and choosing, determine your criteria. Are you looking for people with whom you have something in common, or a more diverse group? You will also need to decide how big you want your club to be – smaller groups are more conducive for heavy discussion, while the larger ones tend to be more party-like.
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Then, figure out what sort of books your club will be focusing on, and the method for choosing the book. Are you going for fiction, non-fiction, or a particular genre, like biographies, travel books, classics, etc? The methods for choosing the book are numerous – members can be asked to vote, or the leader/host of the book club can simply do the selecting. Some book clubs select their titles for a whole year beforehand, while others select on a monthly basis.
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Once these points are clear, it is time to move on to figuring out the logistics – timings, dates, and venues for meetings. The time and dates should be okayed by all the members, and most book clubs tend to hold monthly meetings, as this gives everybody ample time to finish the book. Decide who will be setting the date and time, and what method this individual will use to communicate the information to other group members – phone, text, email, etc. The venue can be anywhere – a local cafe, a bookstore, a library, someone’s sitting room, or even an online chat room for a virtual book club.
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Finally, decide the format for the book club discussions. Will the host serve as an official discussion leader, or will it be an informal exchange of ideas and opinions? Set timings for discussion, refreshment, and a certain amount of time for choosing the next book for the members to read. You can either choose a particular point for the discussion to focus on, or go for a free exchange of ideas – however, work on tactics that will keep the discussion relevant, and on track.
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After all this has been decided and organised, your book club is ready for lift off. Hold the first meeting, see how it goes, and make any changes if necessary. To keep it exciting, keep making appropriate changes to the format, or organise special events, like inviting an author to speak.
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