Getting Started: How to Start a Book Club

“When you sell a man a book you don’t sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue — you sell him a whole new life. Love and friendship and humour and ships at sea by night — there‘s all heaven and earth in a book, a real book.” —Christopher Morley

Five Steps to Starting a Book Club

1. Step One: Decide what kind of Book Club you want to start.

   • Is the purpose of your Book Club to read or to socialize?
   • Do you want to read a specific genre, bestsellers, high literature, etc.?
   • Browse Reading Guides by Genre:
     • Bestsellers
     • Memoir
     • Fiction
     • Romance
     • Classics

2. Step Two: Based on the type of Book Club you have decided upon, choose a setting.

   • Do you want to meet in someone’s home, in a public space, in an online forum, through a blog or website, etc.? How often do you want to meet? Once a month is the standard, but if you plan on reading longer books you may want to meet every 6 weeks.
   • How to Host a Book Club Online.
     • Coordinating a time and a place to meet is one of the largest challenges for many book clubs. Hosting your Book Club online makes meeting easy and convenient for members wherever they may be.

     • Resources:

       • Book Club Community Sites:
         • Bookstr is a great space to both host and find an existing Book Club.
       • Online Forums easy-to-use discussion boards that can be accessed at anytime
         • Lefora
         • Facebook Group
         • Google Plus
       • Video Chat Meetings have your meetings face-to-face through the screen
         • Skype
         • Oovoo
         • Google Hangouts

3. Step Three: Invite Your Members.

   • The ideal size of a Book Club is between 8 and 16 members
   • A great way to gather a large diverse group is to invite 3-5 people and ask each of them to invite 3 or 4 friends.

4. Step Four: Set up a Pre-Book Book Club Meeting.

   • Gather everyone together to discuss the first book option, the permanent meeting location and time, how the Book Club will be run, and the goals for the Book Club.
   • Bring one or two options for meeting times and the first book. Take a vote if you would like to have everyone involved in the decision making process.

5. Step Five: Select your first book and send out a Meeting Schedule for the remainder of the year.

   • Happy Reading and Good Luck!
   • View a Book Club Planning Check List [Downloadable PDF with a check list]