A book club is a place where a group of people (readers) meet to discuss what they read and their opinions on what they have read. Book clubs are a great place to socialize with like-minded people. It also gives you a kick to express your opinion in public. And you’ll notice that in a book club, your opinion is valued. If there aren’t too many book clubs in your locality, you can start one. But, how to start a book club? Well, it’s not rocket science. Following guidelines can help you start your book club.
#1 Decide the genre and level
First of all, think and decide what kind of book club you want to establish. For example, there are different genres of books and different levels of literature. Be specific in picking the genre, else in due course of time the theme will dilute and the members won’t be as regular.
Research says genre and interest-based book clubs are more encouraging to the readers.
#2 Choose a setting
Although, it is not mandatory for a book club to fix a spot for meetings. However, it is a good practice to decide a place to maintain continuity. Also, the members should not need to settle in a new location every time. Usually, cafeterias and home are the preferred places for book clubs. You can select a cozy setting free from distractions to start your club.
But, these days, online book clubs are also in trend. There are social media groups and websites that host book club meetings, which you can go through.
#3 Invite members
You can’t say no to the little bit of marketing you’ll need to set up your book club. If you’re a college student, posting about your club on social media groups, distributing pamphlets, radio announcements, and personally inviting people can help. If you’re a working professional or a homemaker, a little more effort would be required. You can distribute pamphlets in the neighborhood, connect with potential readers over WhatsApp groups, local facebook groups, to name some.
#4 Schedule an introductory meeting
Rather than assigning the books to read, you should first organise an introductory meeting to know each other. Like an ice-breaker. Don’t wait for a flooding amount of members, as soon as you reach a membership of 4, you should schedule your first meeting.
#5 Welcome new members
It is quite common that the first time attendee fails to show up on the next book-club meet due to personal reasons. That is why keep your gates open to new members who are interested to join in.
#6 Be regular
Be regular with your meetings. It is like a chain. Once you start delaying the schedule, it follows and eventually leads to dissolving the club. Be extremely sincere with your club. Organize small events like extempore, poetry meets, etc. to keep up the enthusiasm of the readers.
You might also like to read about how many books one should read in a month.
#HappyReading!