How to hold your 1st ever Book Club Meeting
What to do at your first ever Book Club meeting
In my previous post I shared with you how to start a book club and today I wanted go into a bit more detail around what happens next.
So you have taken the first step and have booked the first ever book club, but are not sure where to start off from then keep reading
I started with the below agenda:
Introduction - Not everyone in your group may know each other. It would be nice for every one to introduce them selfs, who they are, what they do and why they’d like to be part of the book club
Name of the Book Club - You should choose a name for your club. If you are out of ideas Google is a really good place. Have fun with it!
When will you meet - When every one is around have a discussion on how often and what day suites most. For example we meet once a month about 4-5 weeks away from every meeting. We set the next meeting date up when we are all together. But you can also say that book club is the 1st day of the month no matter what day it is or first Sunday of every month. But again it’s what suits everyone or most. And before every one goes into a “I can’t on that day” frenzy try and remember that book club is only once a month and that if the majority of the group is available then the date goes ahead.
Is this an OPEN or CLOSED group? - Discuss with your group if every one would like an OPEN type of club which means that there is no restrictions to members or if it’s a CLOSED group. If the group is closed then you only seek new members if existing members leave. I believe that a book club of about 10 people is perfect size as not every one attends every meeting and it’s just enough people for a great discussion. Any more then this and it’s hard to organise a catch up as you have a large group for a coffee and some people’s houses are also small. But this is just my opinion and this is again all up to you
Agree on Book Club reading rule - Some Book Clubs ask that you only attend if you have read the book. Ask you group if this is something they are passionate about. Our club is not so restrictive. We all attend weather we have read it or not. We agree not to discuss the ending unless everyone agrees they don’t care about finding it out. I feel it’s important not to put such pressure on your self and your fellow members as this club is supposed to be fun, easygoing and social.
Book Club Point Person - This is the person in charge or organising the next book club catchup. We rotate the Point Person every month so that every one gets a turn in picking the coffee they like or hosting the club at their place. The point person is responsible for making the bookings and advising every one the time and place.
Books to read - Once all the RULES are out of the way this is now the fun part of your first meeting. This is the time you now go together through all your responses to the questionnaire that was sent to every one in point 4. At the end of this discussion you will have a list of books every one likes. Once you agree you can now pick you first book to read. All the other books left over write them down and assign what month you’ll read them in. It’s good to get at least three books picked in advance so that who ever wants to purchase them can do so or that you can put them on hold in the library. I have found that on popular or new books there is up to 2 months wait to borrow it from the library.
Don’t forget the Instagram moment!!
We take a photo at every meeting and post it in our private Facebook group at the end. It’s a fun way to look back at all those moments and remember who came.
If you post a picture of your Book Club kick off on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram tag me in I would love to be part of the experience.
you can use @vanyasaysso or #vanyasaysso
Until next time enjoy the process, the books but most importantly spending time with your friends.