After a photoshop nightmare of an opening montage, in which we learn these four friends have been finding time in between marriages and divorces, law. Does your book club need a little help in creating conversation. Ok, everyone, pull up a chair and grab your beverage of choice. The four rules for a good book club electric literature. Ive also learned some important dos and donts for running a childrens book club, which id like to share with you. While its tempting to stick with your cliche, a book club is a great way to extend your circle and get to know new people. Other groups choose their next book at the end of each meeting, or go for a middle ground and pick three months ahead. If youve been thinking about starting a book club, you probably already have a book in mind. Every month, reese picks one book she loves with a woman at the center of the story and shares it with her book club. Getting book club discussions started are often the hardest part of the book club meeting.
If all fails, sometimes theyve just got to gofor the good of the club. Now that you know how to start a book club, youd probably like to know why you should. Form an employee book club see success stories in which a group of employees voluntarily read the same book. For context, my book club is comprised of a dozen welleducated women from around the us, who all live in the bay area currently. Some types of meeting are better suited to a notsostrict enforcement of roberts rules of order. These ground rules cultivate the basic ingredients needed for a successful meeting. None of us had any experience with literary societies, so we made our own rules. Of course, you will also discuss the latest book you are reading, but if that is all you do your meetings will soon become boring.
Many book clubs turn more into a social hour than an intelligent conversation on books. There are two common ways this type of club can function. Documentation is then prepared for the club members to adopt at a special meeting of the membership in accordance with the procedure set out in the club s rulebook. The venue you choose will have some impact on the atmosphere of the club meeting. During book club meetings there is a fair amount of socializing and having a good time. Atmosphere is closely related to the structure of the clubs meeting. The meeting place the location of your book club meetingsa restaurant, library, or your living roomwill influence the number of members in the club and vice versa.
Ideally, no one member will have to host every meeting of the club. Explore book clubs find out whats happening in book clubs meetup groups around the world and start meeting up with the ones near you. Starting a summer book club for kids and free printable. Rules to make your book club run smoothly thoughtco.
Go ahead and set a regular meeting time and date for your book club with your core group. Aim to discuss the book for about half an hour to start with and see how it goes. However, it pays to have a few basic ground rules that can be used for most of your meetings. The seven golden rules of setting up a book club stylist. House rules to ensure that all members enjoy the experience of being in the book club. Nonetheless, most readers dream of having a lively, intellectually enriching book club if they dont already have one, of course. This may sound like a nobrainer, but there are some people who may join a book club for socialization purposes rather than reading. I hate that a certain friend feels excluded if they havent had time to read. Some clubs hold book discussions first and invite social members to join. Most book clubs socialize first and then get down to book club discussion. A steady diet of one thing can be dull, dull, dull.
Joining a book club can seem impossible, if you dont know where to look. The people in attendance at the monthly meeting vote on the next book, and anyone can suggest titles for the shortlist. Grades 12, 35 every year, i facilitate an afterschool literacy class for teachers who are interested in studying a specific topic in depth. Dear literary lady, i want to ask questions at my book club so that everyone can participate, even if theyre waaay behind on the reading. Why not consider setting aside 30 minutes for social conversation, and then 60 or 90 minutes for book discussion. Reading a book someone just loves can lead to hurt feelingslike inviting people into your living room to critique your. As the story goes, robert had to lead a church meeting in 1863 and he felt inadequately prepared for such a responsibility. When youre starting a book club it helps to set some ground rules to help ensure that all of your attendees feel welcome and want to return.
We recommend you elect one club member to check out a book club in a bag kit on behalf of your group. How to start a book club that doesnt suck book riot. If the person continues to dominate, a friendly conversation never email might work. They depend on the entire groups ability to play by the rules and honor the mission of their club. Some people also love a blended book club, with meetings online one month and. When the group is organized, write in the bylaws that youll follow roberts rules of order in conducting meetings. Book club basics getting started leader norms san rafael. Its one, im happy to report, the ladies of the film book club are willing to follow. Roberts rules of order is a book that was first published in 1876, by us army brigadier general henry martyn robert that provides a suggested structure of how to run meetings effectively. As well, if one person doesnt have a house that can comfortably accomodate the entire group, they can be exempt from hosting duties. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.
Ask one employee to lead the discussion about the weeks assigned chapter or two. If youre looking for a fun, relaxed and often entertaining way to expand your social circles and your literary prowess, few methods can compare to the book club. You dont need to develop new ground rules each time you have a meeting, surely. The perfect book club is made up of three key things. What questions could everyone answer and discuss, no matter where they are in th. Also, delegate the roles of who brings what in advance. Between the planning, the cooking, and the cleaning, after a while it gets old. Stick to your regular meeting schedule as much as possible and impress upon all members the importance of making the reading group meetings. The host for that month a rotating position spends the money to buy books for the club to enjoy. Learn about some basic bookclub ground rules including. Heres how to be the best book club member you know huffpost. At the start, we tried to be calm and objective, but that soon fell away, and the purpose of the speaker was to goad the listeners into wanting to read the book themselves. How to create rules for a book club organizing a discussion club set book selection rules.
If your group needs to consider an issue that calls for a more freewheeling discussion than close attendance to roberts rules allows or youre part of a committee or small board with fewer than a dozen members, some aspects. I have been in 3 book clubs in my life, one for the last 18 years we are still going strong. Liven up your book club meetings by playing a quick game or two when your members first arrive. In a discussion book club, the whole group reads the same book between each meeting, usually one per month. Our book is maybe you should talk to someone heres the initial invitation, and im excited to discuss it with you. Starting a book club is more complicated than you might think.
After 18 months of fabulous meetings, i can in all confidence declare the book club a resounding success, and im having even more fun than i anticipated. How to conduct a meeting using roberts rules of order. By setting the time before advertising the book club, you avoid playing favorites when working around schedules and you are upfront about what commitment is. Whether your book club meets weekly or monthly or somewhere in between, we have the best tips and tricks for when its your turn to host, including themed meetings, recipes, and more. A book discussion group is a forum where readers can come together and talk about books and the reading experience there are adult groups, studentled groups, motherdaughter groups, fatherson groups, and parentchild groups, to name just a few.
Having great book discussion questions is essential to leading a successful book club, and now that i run an online moms book club i use this lesson to avoid awkward silences yes they can happen online and create a lively, engaging book club meeting each month. There are a lot of different social media platforms out there, but facebook is among. To ensure that all members enjoy the experience of being in the book club, it is sometimes helpful to discuss some guidelines relating to meeting. Find out whats happening in womens book club meetup groups around the world and start meeting up with the ones near you. As friends and fellow book club members make a deal from the start that you rotate locations for every meeting. Like any gathering of people, book clubs can be tough to sustain. A community propelled by meaningful connections with stories, authors and fellow members, reeses book club sparks thought, joy, and conversationonline and in real life. Local book clubs embrace meeting virtually entertainment. After 40 years, a local book club turns to virtual meetings during the pandemic thursday, april 23, 2020 9. Try interspersing fictioncurrent and classicwith nonfiction.
For instance, meet the second tuesday of the month at 6. Youve gathered your closest friends and chosen your favorite books now its your turn to host the next book club meeting. After 40 years, a local book club turns to virtual. Go one step beyond the usual wine, cheese and crackers with a menu that matches the theme of your book club s latest selection. She was all too keen on handing out her pick for their following meeting. Once the members have adopted the documentation it is submitted to the fca for registration by the rules department. If the bylaws dont set the order of conducting a meeting, the gathering can vote to change them. Important questions to ask at your first book discussion.
Make a designated facebook group for all members to join. Alternatively, each member donates a certain amount of money each meeting. Decide what will be best for your group and try it for 34 months, and if it doesnt work try something different. Combine the book reading with a regularly scheduled discussion meeting to double the impact of the book. If there are no bylaws, you can adopt roberts rules of order on a voice vote. If its in your home, you might want to keep it to eight or less. Some of the rules may seem like common sense but making sure everyone is on the same page helps avoid unnecessary conflict.