“Who is in?” A short Whats App message from a friend at the start of winter was all that was needed. 14 out of 14 are keen to join the proposed book club. Who would have thought our close knit circle of girlfriends all love to read? Or perhaps it is more the social catch up that is the pull factor? Whatever it is, the group is created and four months, two books and many bottles of wine and cups of tea later we can call ourselves a well-established (more social than serious) Book Club.
Do you think a book club can be good for you? Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Keep it small-ish. Too many participants can make it too busy and hard to manage. Too little members can lead to cancelling or postponing the evening due to the lack of numbers. Eight to ten people make for a good discussion without the chaos.
- A catch-up every six to eight weeks makes it possible for everyone to read the book without it becoming a drag or rat-race to finish a book.
- Decide in advance what ‘type of book readers’ you are so members wont be disappointed by too many or the lack of all the chic-lit.
- Plan your evening formula: e.g. the first hour is reserved for gossip and catch-up, followed by a casual group chat about the book, or the other way around. You can make it the host’s responsibility to highlight a certain moment in the book that stood out to her and build a group discussion around this.
- Rotate the host so everyone gets a turn to host and provide drinks/food.
- Plan your next date at the end of the evening so everyone can check then and there if they are available.
- Happy Reading!
- Ps. Our next book is the Handmaid’s Tale!
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