Everyone wants to find their squad—a group of like-minded people that just “gets” you! If you love books and love to read as much as we do at LitJoy, then you probably have toyed with the idea of how to start a book club.
Or maybe you’ve been in one or even started one before, but things just didn’t work out. Since many of us at LitJoy are currently part of a book club that has been going strong for seventeen years, we wanted to share with you some of the best-kept secrets of how to start a book club and keep it running for years to come.
Reading groups have been around for centuries. In fact, one of the first book clubs was started by a warrior among women named Anne Hutchinson in 1634. And it started on a ship bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony! Although the group was condemned, they continued once they arrived in Massachusetts.
This proves that ANYONE ANYWHERE can start a book club!
So how do you do that? Here are our tips for starting your own book club.
1.) CHOOSE THE KIND OF BOOK CLUB YOU WANT
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Do you only read fantasy and can’t imagine doing anything else? Then maybe you want to start a book club just focused on new or favorite fantasy reads. If romance is your thing and you’d love to discuss love stories, maybe you want to find a group of people that only want to read romance, too. Or maybe you like all genres and want to discuss any and all of them. It doesn’t matter what you decide. The important thing is to set an intention for the book club and make sure everyone attending knows about it. |
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Other things to consider besides the genres of your book club: Will this book club be only for women, only for men, or will any gender be invited? Is there an age group that you want this book club to keep to or do you want any age to attend? No matter what you decide, just make sure everyone knows.
2.) EVERY BOOK CLUB NEEDS A PRESIDENT
I know. I know. It can seem daunting, but we’ve found that having a leader helps the book club keep going for years to come. Book clubs have been started over the years by many notable leaders like Benjamin Franklin and Opera Winfrey.
Some of our favorite authors formed book clubs where they would discuss each other’s works including C.S. Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald (check out our special edition of The Great Gatsby!), J.R.R. Tolkien, Gertrude Stein, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce.
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Having somebody take the reigns doesn’t mean they are the dictator over the book club. Being the president isn't all about the role, it’s about the goal! And the goal is to enjoy books and reading. The president of our book club is NOT the one that makes all the decisions, but the president makes sure that the goals and rules of the book club are followed so that book enjoyment can be had by everyone in the club. |
If you do not want to take responsibility all the time, consider “knighting” someone to be the book club president for the year, and then, at the end of the year, the baton would pass to another book club member and everyone can share in the responsibility.
3.) FIND YOUR SQUAD
We all want to belong–it’s human nature. We’ve attended lots of book clubs over the years, but the reason we’ve stayed with our current book club is that we’ve found people with whom we can relate. We aren’t all the same age or at the same stage in life, but we all have a love for books.
But how do you find your people?
Start with reaching out to family, friends, and coworkers. Even if they aren’t readers, maybe they know people who are. If you’re new to an area, put up a flyer in a local bookstore or find a community group on Facebook or another social media platform and post that you are forming a book club. Many readers can be introverted and you might not know they read until you ask!
| Don’t be discouraged if you only find a few people. Our book club attendance has changed over time. At one point we only had 6-7 members and at other points, we’ve had 25 or more. We love big groups, but some of our favorite book club nights have been when we had lower attendance because the intimate atmosphere allows us to hear all book club members' reading experiences and how they felt about the book. |  |
4.) LET MEMBERS BE INVOLVED
Letting members be involved is the KEY to a long-lasting book club.
When people have a responsibility, they become involved. We’ve found that if only one person does all the work, then the other book club members don’t feel the responsibility to keep coming. We all want to discuss the book, but it’s easy to let life take over sometimes.
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By getting members involved in the responsibilities, it can lighten your workload, give members an extra push to come to book club, and create a community of readers that CARE about book club as much as you do! Consider how you can get club members involved. In our book club, we currently have a “host” and a “moderator,” as well as a sign-up for bringing food items. By doing this, usually 3/4 of the book club has a responsibility. |
The host volunteers their home for a book club meeting (or finds another venue like a local library). Our moderator leads the book club discussion with thoughts and thought-provoking questions, as well as comes up with the theme and menu for the night.
As a moderator, you don't have to read a list of book club questions or compare this book's writing style with the great authors (unless you want to). Ask members, "How does this book make you feel?" Share a favorite quote, argue about the point of view the author chose, and compare this book to another book by this author. Sometimes, it's nice to just use the book club discussion questions in the back of the book.
The host and moderator can work together to come up with ideas, including if there will be any special decor, or a dress code (we sometimes like to dress up for our book club in costumes featuring characters in the book, time periods, or colors that represent the book).
Because we do a meal each time we meet, we use an online signup tool (like Evite or Sign-up Genius) so that members can choose to bring different items on our menu. But you can keep things simpler with maybe an appetizer, dessert, or drink.
5.) NOT ALL MEMBERS WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE SAME MANNER
No one is forced to do any job. Some of our members would rather die than be in charge of the book club discussion. And that’s okay.
Others would prefer not to meet in their home or do any kind of theme or decor for the night. And that’s fine, too.
| Some members LOVE to cook and bring fancy dishes to book club while others like to sign up for something they can just pick up at the store. We have one member who is an artist and creates a lovely piece of artwork that shows the books we read that year and gives a card to each member at the end of the year. |  |
Some members never sign up for anything, but provide great insight during the discussion. Everyone has something to offer. Book club should always be a comfortable place for everyone. Members should be able to select how they want to be involved and your book club will thrive!
Some other ideas for getting members involved:
- Have someone be in charge of sending an evite or invitation each month (even just a text reminder is a great idea)
- If a home becomes unavailable last minute, ask for volunteers who have a place that could be used at a moment’s notice
- Ask someone to reach out to authors and see if you can have them do a video chat during book club, sign bookmarks for the group, or answer questions the group sends ahead of time
- Think of the talents of members! We had one book club member play the violin when it fit the theme of the book. Another time, we had a member do a stand-up comedy act when we read an autobiography of a comedian. Be creative!
6.) CHOOSE YOUR BOOKS WISELY
Finding books to discuss can be a delicate business because people join book clubs for many different reasons. Some join to be accountable for reading or to challenge themselves. Others want to connect with people through books. And others just want to gush about the love story (whether it's Pride and Prejudice or Shades of Grey).
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Everyone is unique and the different personalities that make up a book club often make the personality of the book club and that can influence the book selection process. It can feel like a lot of pressure! There’s no one perfect way to choose your books, but we’ve found, after much trial and error, that choosing books well in advance helps solve problems and keep things moving forward. |
We like to choose books for the whole year the October or November before that year begins. Make sure that you do it in a way that makes sense for your group. We let members make book suggestions by creating a list (we currently use Goodreads to make a list that members can add books to or vote for ones already on the list).
Because our book club likes to do many genres, after everyone has had a chance to add to the list, the president then separates the books into the genres we want to read for the year. Some of the genres we try to read each year include non-fiction, fantasy, middle grade, young adult, biography, women’s fiction, science fiction, mystery, and classics (have you seen our LitJoy Classics?).
At this point, we let members choose a book (or two if we are doing two months of the same genre). This can be done on a paper list at a book club night or any other way that makes sense for your group (we use our Facebook group and create polls for voting). Once the votes are in, the president chooses the books with the most votes and then announces them to the group.
We even have a book club member make a bookmark with the cover of each book on it and who is the host and moderator for that month. That way members can refer to it throughout the year! And don't forget, if you need reading ideas, LitJoy has a quarterly book box subscription called To Bee Read and several special edition books that would make perfect book club picks for the year.
7.) BOOK CLUB ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE BOOKS
We just came for the food! Well, we came for the books, but food is a huge part of our book club. Getting together and sharing food is a tradition that has been used throughout history to build relationships, tell stories, cause laughter, and celebrate blessings.
Your book club can meet and share drinks, hors d'oeuvres, a plate of desserts, or a full-blown meal (like we do). Food can bring you closer and allow you time to chat and savor the finer things in life (like gossiping about the latest show or our favorite dry shampoo).
One of the main functions of book club is to read a book and then discuss it with a diverse group of people. But it can be so much more! It can be a night away from the hustle and bustle (or monotony) of life.
It should be a time out enjoying yourself with friends and coming home refreshed and uplifted. We often spend the first hour of book club eating and catching up with friends. Book club is only half about the books–the other half is about creating relationships and learning from one another.
8.) LET YOUR BOOK CLUB CHANGE OVER TIME
Book clubs can go through phases.
We tried meeting at a restaurant for a while (it didn’t work as well as we hoped it would).
For several years, we had a HUGE party for each book club meeting where we dressed in costumes, the home was decorated to represent the book, and the food looked like we took it from the pages of a book. We LOVED these book club nights. But it was a lot of work to do it every month. A few times a year, we still do this, but it is up to the host and moderator to decide how much they want to put into the night.
| We also used to do a book club retreat every year where we would do a crazy slumber party in November, discuss the monthly book, and choose our books for the next year. We don’t do that every year now, but we still do a fun Christmas book club where we do a gift exchange after the book discussion. |  |
Let your book club transition.
During COVID, we met via Zoom because we couldn't have face-to-face meetings. Even though it was hard not to meet in person, we had some amazing discussions that kept up the flow of conversation. The most important thing is that you have a regular meeting and reading schedule.
We almost always meet on the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm. Find a night that works for your group and stick to it. Don’t worry if everyone can’t come every time. Life happens, people get sick, and family members have events.
And members will come and go. We have a core group of people that have been coming to book club for seventeen years, but we have adopted and lost many others. The hardest part is not to take it personally.
Many of us have invited good friends we have in other walks of life. They’d come to one or two book club nights and not come back. That doesn’t mean that book club isn’t the best thing on the planet (because we know it is). Sometimes it just means that your group of book lovers isn’t their “squad” and that’s okay!
The most important part of starting a book club is to have fun! It is a place where reading books is celebrated and friendships are created. It is a place to share your love of literature. And if anyone understands that, it’s us here at LitJoy.
Looking for some book ideas for starting your new book club? Check out some of LitJoy's Special Edition Books!
