If there is one thing I love, it’s a good book. If there is a second thing I love, it’s getting to share my thoughts (and hear others thoughts!) on that good book. So what is a good way to combine those two loves? By starting a book club of course! It’s such a great and fun way to connect with fellow book lovers, and maybe even give a book you normally wouldn’t pick for yourself a chance! Book Clubs are a fantastic way to meet new friends, read new books, and hear perspectives from different types of people about the same book. When I first really got into reading as an adult I sought out local book clubs in my area and to my surprise, the closest one was about 40 minutes away! I’m not a huge fun of driving, so I knew I wasn’t going to be able to commit to that drive once every few weeks. So I had a crazy idea of just starting my own locally! I was super nervous, but it was easier than I thought, and it turns out that lot’s of people were looking for the same thing I was looking for! So I thought I would share the tips and tricks on How to start a successful book club that I learned along my journey and share them with you all! I hope they help, let’s check them out!

Here are my tips on how to start a successful book club:

1. Determine your vibe- The most important thing when deciding to start a book club, is to decide what the theme of your book club will be. Do you want it to be a romance novel and wine type of vibe? Or maybe a self improvement book followed by a meditation session? Or even a horror book of the month with a creepy themed dessert! Picking out what vibe you want to roll with is your first step! 

2. Timing is important- Your next step will be deciding how often you want to meet. Do you want to meet weekly to discuss certain chapters in depth? Or are you thinking more of maybe once every few weeks or month to discuss the book as a whole? You will want to nail down those details in the beginning stages for sure.

3. Location, location, location- Another important thing you need to think about is where your book club will meet! Are you ok with inviting members to your home? Or are you thinking more of maybe a public space. A cool coffee house, or maybe a local brewery? Another idea is to maybe switch it up and hold your meetings at different club members houses as well.

4. Invite Time- You will need to decided who you want to invite. Are you keeping this within your friend group? Or are you hoping to expand it to people you don’t know? How many people do you want in your group. There are benefits to keeping it small and intimate for everyone to have enough time to delve deep into their thoughts. There are also benefits to a larger club to get more perspectives as well though! There is no right or wrong answer, it’s completely up to what you want to accomplish. 

5. And the nominee is…- Another important tip for starting a book club is determining how the books will be chosen. Do you want full control over the books that will be read? Do your want input from the other members? Or maybe you want to cruise the best seller lists to find your next book. Pinning down how you want to find a book is important. 

6. How are they getting the books- There are so many ways people read their books so you have to keep that in mind when picking books for your meetings. You’ll want to make sure its easily findable, available both in print and on e-readers, and if you want to go the extra mile, try to make sure it’s available at your local library as well. 

7. Discussion time- After you have picked your theme, invited your members, picked your location, and everyone has their book, it’s time to figure out what the discussion will be. Will it be an open mic type of setting? Or do you want to make a form with open ended questions that everyone can answer and discuss when you meet? Deciding how you want the meeting to flow is important, so make sure you think about it before your first meeting! 

And there you have it! My tips on how to start a successful book club! Starting your own book club can be daunting, but once you get in the swing of things it’s SO worth it! So what are you waiting for? Get to work! 

Have you ever started a book club? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Looking for more fun tips? Check out these posts: 

• Tips for finding friends as a mom
• Tips for your first anime convention with kids
• 10 tips for tie-dye fun

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