How To Start A Book Club

Forming a book club is a great way to get started on a shared journey "into the pages" of literature. There are several ways to begin:

• Joining a pre-existing book club organized by a local, independent bookstore;


• Following a radio show, or television show that shares a book of the month;


• Engaging in a networking group or cultural organization that advertises a book club as part of their scheduled meet-ups;


• Gathering a group of friends and scheduling a time that you're all willing and able to commit to, and then, just get started.

I think the most intimate way to form a book club is to begin talking with people you find interesting, about your desire to start a book club, to see if they share your passion for literature. It's often more fun to reach out to a diverse group of friends rather than just sticking with an already established group or clique. The discussions tend to be much more stimulating when people you don't know very well bring different perspectives into the conversation. Once you've got a handful of friends who are excited about the prospect, begin throwing out dates and times to see what might work best for all.

A great way to begin is to send a postcard or evite out to the group indicating the initial date and time for your first meeting and ask everyone to bring a few books to suggest to begin creating your reading list.

I'll talk about how to choose books for your reading list in my next blog post.