4 Tips For Starting A Fun Book Club

Ever since we found a way to put our words down on paper, there has been some form of books. You could think of the pyramid walls full of hieroglyphics as a kind of early graphic novel. Books for the masses didn’t come about until Gutenberg fired up his printing press and started cranking out bibles. Then everybody had the chance to read and discuss. The modern book club might have its members reading their tomes on a Kindle. That would still count. If you like reading and you’ve got a few friends who enjoy literary pursuits, then it is high time you formed a club. Here’s how to start a fun book club:

Keep the Roster Low

A good size book club will have a membership roster between 8 and 16 people. Not everyone will make every meeting, so you’re sure to get a good turn out with a group that size. You also want to be a little selective with your members. While it is true that not every book will be a hit with everyone, you want to make sure you have a baseline of similar tastes. Maybe start with having members list the top ten books that have stayed with them through life. Matching up a few of those novels among the roster means you’re all on the same page.

Rotate The Hosts

To make things interesting, you should rotate your book club hosts. There will always be a leader of sorts who will keep up with the email chains, but when it comes down to the monthly meetings (yes, once a month is perfect), you should mix it up in terms of where you’ll have the meeting and who will be running the show. If you take on the burden of hosting the club every month, then it is going to get old fast.

Pick The Perfect Book

You might love Stephen King while someone else prefers Tuesday With Morrie. The fun of a book club is sharing your “likes” with others and being open to new authors and writing styles. Expressing your passion for a writer is part of the fun. If you can introduce someone to that author who then turns out to be a big fan, then you’ve scored! Just as you should rotate the hosts, you should also rotate who picks the books. It might help to have a selection of three novels with a brief synopsis. (Reading the back of the dust jacket will do just fine.) Then let the club vote on their pick and off you go. Obviously, this selection should come at the end of every meeting so your “picker” for the month will have to be ready.

Don’t Forget The Nosh

As long as you’re getting together to talk about books, why not break out the wine and cheese? For the more culinary adventurous among you, there could be an opportunity to use thematic elements from the novel to plan your nosh menu. There is usually one great dinner scene in every story, right?

If you were starting a book club, then what is the first book you would want to share?

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