So you want to start a book club in 2022? Or maybe you’re going to join a book club. A realm I once thought was exclusively for mothers of a particular social status (think the 2018 film or Oprah’s, famously) is now a trending activity among a much broader range of demographics.
But the stereotype I held about book club membership seems to be rooted in fact. I’m the kind of guy who finds joy in seemingly obscure Wikipedia pages, and the one for “Book discussion club” is right up my alley. The invention of the book club is attributed to women, and women continue to dominate the membership of book clubs.
Anecdotally, these stereotypes are changing. In the first months of 2022, several friends and personal acquaintences have shared pictures on social media of their book club meetings. These friends don’t know each other, and they live all over the country. Some of them went to college, and others did not. Some claim they love reading as a personality trait, while others do not. It appears that genres are all over the place, ranging from fantasy to poetry to anarchist theory. Some are meeting online, and others are meeting in person.
If you’ve read this far, I’m assuming that you’ve also noticed this trend and/or you’re interested in exploring the world of literary discussion. I’ve started the Oversharing Book Club with a few close friends and Patreon supporters, and I’m happy to share my ever-evolving process for how I choose participants, genres, specific books, and discussion formats.
1. What are your goals for joining/starting a book club?
Rather than asking “why,” I reflected upon the goals for the book club I wanted to start. The answers to “why” seemed obvious. I had a fat stack of unread books and I wanted to socialize. But was getting through that stack and connecting with new and old friends the only benchmarks for success?
I’m a serial project starter, and I felt like some specificity was going to increase the likelihood of success in my book club endeavors. Set specific goals that feel obtainable, but be flexible when inevitable life events derail your plans.
2. Be flexible.
I invited 7 friends to read the first book with me, and they all accepted the invitation. Most of them told me things like, “I’ve been meaning to read more,” and “I haven’t read routinely since college.” Everyone was excited. And in the planning process, I decided a book per month was reasonable and that we could reach a dozen books in the first year.
But 3 friends dropped out the morning before our meeting. And we’ve decided to take 6 weeks to read the first book, meaning we certainly aren’t going to be on pace for 12 books for the year.
3. Choose literature based on committee.
This might not work for every book club. Some book clubs are going to be highly specialized; they require a leader(s) who might be more versed in the genre and will have members who are there because they are not. Obviously, in that case, some guidance is going to serve these book clubs best.
But I’ve found that people are more likely to stay involved and do their “homework” before coming to “class” if they had a say in the selection process. If your goal when starting a book club was to read the books you impulsively bought at the used book store with no explicit plan of ever reading them because you figured that once you actually had the book you’d be inspired to read, but as days turned to months you realized that you weren’t able to set aside the time to read for yourself, and eventually you make a quick stop at the book store again after a Target run, and you say to your partner “Oh, babe, look, I’ve been wanting to read this for so long,” but you feel a twinge of guilt for the other books at home, knowing how much space they’re taking up at the apartment, but you buy another book anyway because “babe, its only $3, that’s like half a drink at Starbucks,” and your partner rolls their eyes because they know fully goddamn well that you’re not gonna read this book, just like you didn’t read the last book, and this has now happened a dozen times, and there are boxes and boxes of books in the hallway closet that don’t even get displayed anymore, but you can’t bring yourself to get rid of them, they’re perfectly good books, and you’ve been waiting literally years now for the time to read to magically appear - then a book club full of friends who don’t care about those books might not work out.
A lot of people have some version of that story. We’ve all got books we’ve been meaning to read. Propose themes or genres, and give members space to propose books that they’ve been meaning to read. You might just be surprised at what you can fall in love with.
4. Choose who will be in this book club, and how many people work best?
My advice to you here: don’t make the group too large.
This is particularly important for meetings that take place on video conferencing (Zoom, etc.). Just as it’s been in online learning for the last couple of years, a Zoom call is a tough place to get feedback from large numbers of participants.
Communication for in-person meetings might be less clunky, but consider what happens in larger meetings. We’ve all seen comedy sketches of classrooms and townhalls erupting into chaos and anarchy.
Start small, and add members as appropriate.
5. Where will this book club meet? How long are the meetings?
I decided to type out some considerations on the subject of book clubs because the articles I did find didn’t answer my questions to the degree that a little reflection did. When deciding on a meeting place, there’s a simple answer: meet in the most convenient space for your participants.
The size of the group and the time of the meetings is important. Meet at someone’s house, a public park, or a local coffeehouse. Try different things to see what harvests the best result. You don’t have to get it right the first time.
The Oversharing Book Club has participants separated by more than 1000 miles. Obviously, some kind of online forum is the most appropriate for us.
But who says you have to meet up at the same time to discuss the book. Is a group chat, email thread, or online forum a viable option? Be creative and flexible and patient. You’ll find what works for your group.
6. How do you ensure that book club discussions will go smoothly? How do you prepare members before discussion meetings?
There are plenty of places to find generic book club questions (like here, or here) but I’m not so far removed from college that I’ve forgotten how to take notes. Though I’ve never anointed myself a “leader,” I do feel some sense of responsibility to make sure people are entertained and engaged. (Aside: I’ve been mulling over the idea of how I present the book club can change based on the fact that this is a benefit on Patreon. How does commodification change my presentation of intellectualism, analysis, and entertainment? But maybe that’s a different conversation for a different post).
I highlight interesting or controversial passages. This article isn’t intended to serve as “tips for great book club discussion questions,” but I’ve got some go-to's. Identifying a character’s motivation, asking the group if they agree/disagree with an author’s argument, or connecting themes to real-world events are common ways I try to keep folks engaged.
For my groups, we make sure that the books we’re proposing to read are inexpensive and easy to find. Personally, I make sure there is an audiobook accessible somewhere.
And if you ask a question, don’t feel like you need to have an answer to it. That’s, ya know, the discussion part of it all. You’re here to engage with the minds of others.
Finally, and maybe most crucially, make the readings manageable for most members of your group. My group is full of full-time employed 30somethings trying to make it in a capitalist society. We're all busy, and shorter readings have produced better discussions. Just like when filling out your book club membership, start small, and add as it feels appropriate.
I hope you’ve found these helpful. If you’re a book club vet who wants to share some of your experiences, or you’re still curious about specific facets of book club life, contact me on the website or on social media.
Thanks for letting me Overshare.
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