Book Club 101

Did you know I love books?? It's true, back in April 2011 I did a post on "What books should I read before I die?" called Books are the Bees which is a list of 1001 classic, must read books...go check it out.  As and when I finish a book I update the list, it probably needs updating...hmm add to the to do list!

Anyhoo because I love books my friend Bev and I have decided to set up a book club, with this in mind I decided I would suss out the best way to go about doing that.

Good 'ol Oprah has some great tips on how to set up a book club and starts with a few questions to ask yourself first.


Why are you starting a book club? What do you hope to get out of it?

Reading is an individual activity but when a book really touches you or inspires you, you want to share your findings and thoughts about the book.  A book club allows you to expand your mind and the genre you would normally stick with when reading, it will encourage the reader to think about what they are reading.

I'm hoping to read some fantastic, enlightening and thought provoking books.

What type of people will make up the club? Are you hoping that all of you will have something in common (beside your love of books), or are you looking to form a diverse group?

The people Bev and I have chosen for our book club are all mums who met at our childrens' school, we all love reading.

What types of books will your club primarily read? Fiction? Non-fiction? One particular genre, such as romance, bestsellers or biographies? Will you rotate through themes each month, like Asian literature, travel books or classics?

We have decided to let each member of the group pick a book on a monthly basis, it can be fiction or non- fiction.

Do you want to lead the club? If so, for how long, and how much time can you devote to organising meetings, refreshments and discussions? If not, will other members be willing to take on these responsibilities?

I don't think it is necessary to have a leader of our book club, we will organise the following meeting on the evening we meet to discuss the first book and so on.  Refreshments will be provided by each monthly host, including drinks.

What are the minimum and maximum number of members your club can accommodate? (This may be dependent upon where you're meeting—see below!)

We decided to have a maximum of 6 members, enough to get round a table!

When will your first meeting take place? How often will your club meet afterward? What about the summer months, and during the winter holidays? 

I'm hosting the first meeting. We are hoping to stick to a meeting each month. The first meeting will be to  discuss the the 'rules' of the book club and discuss meetings etc.

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I am super excited about our new book club, I love getting together with my friends over drinks and nibbles...and I can't wait to get reading! I'll keep you posted on our progress.