Joining a reading group might sound appealing, but hosting a book club can seem a bit daunting. Follow these easy steps and begin to share your favourite books.
Book clubs have gained in popularity in recent times. The traditional format is gathering a group of people to read a specific book each week or month, but there are several other reading group options to consider.
Basic Requirements for a Running a Book Club
People - A book club needs people who love books and reading. At least one or two people in the group need to be able to get the conversation going regarding the books that have been read. A discussion consisting of ‘It was very good’ ‘Yes, I thought so too’ is not going to create a successful or interesting meeting. Start the group with a few friends who share an interest in books and encourage people to bring other friends with them.
Books – No matter what criteria are used to select them, the group will need to have access to books. Books can be restricted to a specific or limited number of genres or cover a wide range of genres or styles. If the latter is the case, it may be more productive to discuss which genres the group is not interested in (e.g. horror, poetry or Mills & Boon-style romances).
A Meeting Place – A home, coffee shop, park or local library. There are lots of options.
Planning – Discuss when, where and how often meetings will occur and whether it will be possible to bring children along.
Format – Will this be a serious group or just an opportunity to chat.
Traditional Book Club
This group meets on a regular basis to discuss a book that has been set for the entire group. Take turns selecting which book or choose from a bestseller list. Local libraries may not carry enough copies of a specific book for the entire group, so this style of book club can be more expensive as members may have to buy their own copy. Many publishers have book club resources such as sample discussion questions available through their websites for specific authors and publications.
General Discussion Book Club
Rather than setting a specific book, members can simply bring along whatever they have been reading. This is less expensive and means that members aren’t limited to reading specific books that may not interest them.
Share-a-Book Book Club
Invite members to bring along eight to ten books each to put into a communal reserve. Ensure that each member keeps track of which books belong to them. Books can be placed in a box with an exercise book to note which books each person is borrowing. If everyone is interested, each member can contribute $5 - $10 to put towards purchasing new books to add to the general collection.
Online Book Club
If trying to get to a book club is too difficult because of work or family commitments, there are a variety of book clubs available online. The ABC runs a program called The First Tuesday book club. It airs in the evening on the first Tuesday of each month and the ABC website provides details about books and discussion points.
There are many online book clubs as well and it is easy to set one up using forum websites such as forumer.com. An online search will provide details for online discussion groups for a variety of genres and topics such as science fiction, Australian readers or fans of romantic fiction.
Book clubs are a great social activity for all ages. They are a wonderful way of discovering new authors and motivating readers to explore new genres
