I don’t know why it took me so long, but I joined two book clubs a few years ago, and they add so much joy to my life. Whenever we throw around the idea of moving someday, one of my first thoughts is that I couldn’t bear to leave my book clubs!
If you’ve always wanted to be part of a good book club, why not start one?Here are a few of my best book club tips.
Getting started:
- You don’t need to wait for someone to create and invite you to book club. It’s really not too hard to get one going. Just create your list of guests (I think 8-15 is a great number) and have an initial meeting, then an annual one, to plan the books you’ll read throughout the year.
- Try to incorporate different genres for varied conversation (fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, educational, memoir, romance, YA, etc.).
- Rotate hosting so different people host each month. We hold book club on the same day every month so we can always plan our schedules around it. I hate missing book club and literally work my life around it!
- Book chats can go on and on, so try to keep the meeting to about two hours to respect your host.
- If a physical book club isn’t something you can or want to do, consider an online book club, or just team up with a friend to read and chat about the books with.
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Cook from the book: It’s so fun to bring your book discussion to life with a menu that gives a nod to the book you read. I’ve never met a book that didn’t mention food in some way or lend to a certain culinary theme. Pinterest is a great way to find book-themed menus! Divy up food assignments so the food prep doesn’t fall entirely on you.
Dress up: You don’t have to go all-out and dress head-to-toe like a character (although I’m all for that too). Even adding a simple touch that represents a character takes book club tot he next level. For example, wearing an grandpa-ish cardigan for A Man Called Ove or a plaid shirt for Outlander.
Come up with discussion questions: I usually don’t love all of the online book club questions random people post for books, so I like to pick and choose book club questions from the author and add my own topics for discussion. Book club discussions tend to go more smoothly and get deeper when there is a moderator and a list of questions to get you thinking and talking. Another note on the discussion: Keep an open mind. Someone might really love or hate the same book, and that’s okay! Talk openly about what you did and didn’t like about the book, but respect each other’s opinions and preferences.
Décor: Again, this can be as simple or fancy as you want it to be, but adding some décor that matches the vibe of the book makes book club more fun!
Good luck!
xo,
Kim
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