Long ago, when I lived in a much more remote area, I belonged to a book club that was started up by a friend of a friend. Joining that book club was one of the best things I’ve ever done. It was an excellent reason to hang out with friends and it forced me to find time to read. If this sounds like fun to you, then you might like the 7 tips to start a book club of your very own that I’ve listed below. It isn’t as difficult as you might think!
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Advertise Your Book Club around the Community
Put up flyers on public notice boards around your town. Post a flyer at the Senior Citizen Center, the library, near the checkout aisle at the grocery store, a popular café, or any of the local businesses that will allow you to put a sign up in their front window. Word of mouth also goes a long way, so don’t forget to tell people to spread the news.
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Come up with Discussion Questions
There are a few book club websites that have some basic discussion questions that are easy enough to print off and follow. After using these same questions for 3 or 4 books, you might be able to work together as a group and devise some fresh discussion questions.
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Decide as a Group How to Choose Books to Read
If you have a number of avid readers in your book club, they might be able to provide a list of books that would be perfect for having discussions on. You could obtain a list of top-selling books, come up with a list of classics that everyone is sure to enjoy, or stick to a specific genre, such as mystery or women’s fiction.
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Discuss Book Club Rules with Members
Every club needs a set of rules. In a book club, some basic rules might include; meetings must begin on time, take turns when speaking, don’t watch the movie and then try to discuss the contents of the book, inappropriate behavior is inacceptable, and so on. If you all can agree on the set of rules, the meetings will go much smoother.
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Choose a Location to Hold Meetings
Some libraries will allow you to hold a small meeting in a corner of the building. The book club I was in would always meet at the local coffee shop. It was a pleasant atmosphere and we had access to plenty of fabulous coffee and yummy treats! If there is a central location for everyone to meet at, then this might be the best option.
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Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Find out What Day Works Best to Meet
The larger the group, the harder it will be to work around everyone’s schedules. You might find that there is need for more than one meeting each week or every other week, in order to squeeze everyone in.
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Ask Friends to Join in
The quickest way to get your book club started is by asking friends if they are interested in joining you. If they are close friends, then you are guaranteed to have a good time, no matter who shows up. Asking friends to talk to other people they know can bump up your numbers very quickly.
I hope you get the chance to either join a book discussion group or use these 7 tips to start a book club of your own. There are plenty of people who want to be a part of a book club, but may not know how to go about starting one either. What do you think of book clubs in general?
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