Trying to start your own book club can sometimes feel like you are herding cats.  It’s often difficult to get everyone’s cooperation and dedication, but if you do get it right, your new-found book lover’s club can be very rewarding! If you have never organised your own reading soirée but would like to attempt the cat herding, perhaps the following tips will help you with your journey into sharing books with others. 

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Start Your Own Book Club With These Following Steps:

Step 1: Choose the vibe for your tribe.

Decide on whether you want to stick to one genre or rotate genres. Your “vibe” will set the playing field on who would be interested to join your club, and who would prefer to read their thrillers cooped up in bed with a hot cup of tea while your group studies business books and perhaps more tedious works. 

Step 2: Raise the alarm!

Alert friends and family members and inform them that you intend on starting the world’s most awesome book club! Use social media to spread the word or put up a “seeking book club members” poster at your local library.

Step 3: Set a date, place and time. 

Try to keep to the same day of the week and same time for each of your group get-togethers. This is practical and will encourage members to stick to the meeting requirements. 

Step 4: Go over the ground rules.

Inform your potential member on what they should expect: how often will you meet and how long will the meetings be etc. 

Step 5: The first meeting.

For the first meeting, it makes sense for you to suggest the title and prepare a few discussion questions. Depending on the seriousness level of the group, you may want to do a bit of research on the author, time period, etc. Moving forward, every member should have a voice, with the group reserving veto power in case too many have already read the book or don’t consider it appropriate. Don’t want to deal with the committee selection process? Follow a best-seller list or recommendations from a website that focuses on your genre. P.S.: It’s a nice courtesy for the moderator of the next meeting to send everyone a reminder e-mail a few days beforehand. - https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/start-book-club-checklist

Last but not least – Keep in touch!

Use email, social media or a group newsletter to stay in touch with members and give reminders of following meetings, meeting requirements and expectations etc. Social media is an excellent way to communicate with fellow members (and chat about your books) in between meetings and can be used to keep up the hype. Newsletter are great reminders and can also be used to some up previous meetings and discussions.

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While organising a book club is not as easy as it sounds, it certainly is one of the most rewarding clubs to belong to! Reading a book and enjoying it with someone else who appreciates the art as much as you do is thrilling really, well, for a bookworm anyway! 

Add starting a book club to you bucket list! It’s an awesome way to make new friends and to hang out with like-minded people. Plus there’s usually good food (and wine) too!

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