Simple Pleasures: Get a Book Club Going

Being part of a book club can be a richly rewarding experience — each month you get to reconnect with friends, enjoy a low-key party and give your brain a little workout. Sharing the responsibilities for leading the discussions and hosting means no one has to take on too much, and all are welcome to participate — in fact, the wider the range in age and points of view, the livelier the group! Don’t think of yourself as the literary type? There are plenty of other ways to form your group, from an armchair travel club to a design book club or periodical society.

Settle on the logistics. Setting a regular day each month for the book club meetings can help group members plan ahead and ensure better attendance. As you are forming the club, discuss how long you think meetings should run, how often you plan to meet and how you will rotate meeting locations.

Set ground rules. Want people to leave cell phones alone during group time? Or for people to email the group before bringing in a new member? Talking about these things now can help avoid potential conflict down the road.



Decide what sort of books to read. Before coming up with a specific book list, think about what kind of books your group is interested in reading in general. Literary fiction? Biographies and memoirs? Chick lit? Or you could decide to work your way through a book list (there are tons out there) like the New York Times’ notable books or the BBC’s Big Read.

Choose a good book club book. This isn’t always the same as a good read. The books you choose should have something worth discussing — an ambiguous ending, characters who face tough decisions or issues we all face. Most genre fiction, like mysteries and romance novels, won’t provide enough fodder for discussion.



Decorate: 1,000 Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home - $23.79 Alternative book club ideas. Novels not really your cup of tea? How about an armchair travel club? You could read travel guides, travel memoirs and tales of adventure. Or (since this is Houzz, after all) perhaps a design book club is more up your alley? If you want to try more DIY projects, your group could choose a new craft book each month, test out a few crafts individually and share work at the meetings.



Book club themes for those pressed for time. If you and your group of friends do not realistically have the time to commit to reading a book every month, that doesn’t mean you need to miss out. Why not form a periodical club, where you read and discuss articles from your favorite magazines or journals? Poetry or short stories would both make great fodder for book club discussions too, without requiring much of a time commitment from members each month.



Tips for hosts. It makes sense to send out email reminders to encourage members to come, even if they haven’t finished (or, ahem, started) the book. As the host, you’ll likely be responsible for food and drinks, and of course you will need to set up your home. Have a seat in your living room and look around, imagining where each person in your book club will sit. It’s a good idea to offer a variety of seating options (squashy armchairs, hard chairs, floor cushions) so people can settle in where they feel most comfortable.

A bit before the group arrives, create a welcoming mood with soft lighting and fresh flowers in the gathering space, and fresh soaps, towels and candles in the bathroom. Set out drinks and snacks, and turn on the porch lights.



What to serve. Elaborate book-themed meals sound fun, but coming up with a themed menu each month may not be realistic. Consider the time of day of your meetings as a start — many groups do not meet during the dinner hour anyway, which makes things a little easier on the host. You really can’t go wrong with wine and a few easy nibbles for a postdinner meeting; you could end the evening with dessert and coffee or tea. Or, if mornings work best for your group, you could pick up bagels and lox, and take turns at the helm of the juicer for fresh-squeezed orange juice … and maybe a little champagne.



Swap in a film night. Instead of insisting on sticking with the schedule during busy times of the year, why not be flexible and do an occasional film night instead? It would be a fun change, and there are plenty of thought-provoking movies to choose from, so you can be sure you’ll have a lively discussion afterward.



Tell us: Are you a member of a book club? Want to be? Share your stories in the Comments.

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