How to start a book club in your home
Books change our viewpoints, allow us to go back in time and go places we have never been before.
They transform our lives and give us an understanding of ourselves and those around us.
They make us laugh until our belly aches, bring out a tear or two and shape us.
Have you ever fallen in love with a character you wished you could set up a lunch date with? Felt that every emotion you were going through became more intense with each turn of a page? That’s because books fill voids that our friends and family might not understand.
They heal and soothe us and help us escape anything we might be going through. Those types of books are magical because even though the pages could become musty over time, the words stay with us for years to come.
And if you find a gem of a book, all you want to do is share it or discuss it with someone. And when you ask your friends, no one has read it or even heard of it. Well, that’s why book clubs are important, because you get to find others like you who love books and enjoy talking about them. And, if you want, you can even start your own book club. Here’s how.
Theme
You can choose one genre or have multiple themes throughout the year. It could be a mystery-themed book club or maybe it could be a mixture of thrillers, light summer reads, drama’s and biographies. You just need to make sure everyone is part of the decision so they’re all satisfied. Email everyone and ask what their preferences are.
The place
You could choose to have the book club at the library, a cafe or rotate people’s houses. The place you choose will have an impact on the amounts of people who can attend the club. For example, if you have a small lounge, the number of people who come will be small.
If you choose to have it in your home, in summer you could make some lemonade and sit out on your deck and discuss the books while surrounded by nature. And in winter you could create a warm, cosy setting with everyone sitting on your lounge suite around the fireplace.
Or you could meet online, you could set up a WhatsApp group where you chat about the book. The only downside is you won’t have face-to-face interaction with your friends to discuss the books.
Food and refreshments
What’s any meeting without food and drinks, right? The host can decide if they want to cook something or they can buy finger foods for everyone to nibble on after or during the discussion. If you have a meal, keep it light and clean (imagine having sticky wings while you read a book).
Dominating personalities
There are always those people who love to control a situation and have their points of view come across above everyone’s, break the rules, and cause arguments instead of discussions. You could have a one-on-one talk with this person to let them know they’re disrupting the club for everyone. And if they continue, they should be kicked out. A book club should be fun and entertaining, not awkward and uncomfortable.
Movie night
Most would agree the movie is never as good as the book because our imagination is always better. But it’s still fun to see a book you’ve been reading captured on screen as the actors bring the characters to life.
And in the next meeting, you could discuss how you felt about the depiction of the book. Did the director do a good job? Was the casting how you imagined it would be or did they miss the mark?
Diverse group
Try to make it a diverse group of people, so you can get interesting feedback and viewpoints. This will lead to brilliant, thought-provoking conversations.
Set ground rules
Will you have a leader as part of your discussions or not? How many times a month should you meet up? You should set a few guidelines that are verbally expressed or written out so everyone understands what they can and cannot do.
Meetings
Just make sure you don’t over-commit yourselves by setting unrealistic goals. For example, if you decide to meet up every week, it could lead to members not showing up, because of other commitments. People have busy lives, try to keep things simple and convenient for everyone.
They say a pen is mightier than the sword and it’s true. There are some books you can’t put down, there are some that leave us angry and there are others which have us grabbing for a tissue. Whatever it is, an author has the power to entice some emotion in us and change our lives forever.