Simply win readers and friends

July 8, 2024

Looking for a way to meet your annual reading goal? Join a book club.

Joining a book club can encourage you to get involved and help you go beyond your usual reading habits. According to survey results provided to USA TODAY by the Bookclubs app, 75% of its nearly one million members said they joined a group to discover new books.

“We are lonelier and more divided than ever before and I think this ancient practice of reading and discussing books together helps uncover common interests… and helps us get to know each other on a deeper level,” says Anna Ford, co-founder and executive director of Bookclubs.

How to start a book club

Ford is currently in six active book clubs and leads four of them. She has learned that you get out of a book club what you put into it.

“It’s not just about organization and logistics,” she says. “It’s really about being an attentive, respectful and engaged member, always reading the books and bringing thoughts, ideas and openness to the meeting.”

But you don’t have to be an experienced leader to start a book club. Liz Montesano founded the Open Book Club in New York City because she wanted to build a community around reading.

Here are her tips to get you started:

1. Ask friends to join in

Montesano started her club with a post on TikTok inviting book lovers to meet her on a Wednesday night.

“I just forced myself to figure out all the details as I went along and just started by saying, ‘I’m going to read this and now I’m going to talk about it. And if people want to come, they’re more than welcome,'” she says.

Start by asking friends, family and coworkers to join you. Ask them to bring a friend. Spread the word on social media or by word of mouth. Mention your book club in conversations. But if you want to keep it intimate, don’t be afraid to start small, Montesano says: “A group of two people is still a book club.”

2. Know your goal

Once you have a good group together, define your purpose as a club. Do you want to make new friends? Learn about a new subject? Bring people with different beliefs together? Strengthen an existing circle of friends or professionals?

3. Set the ground rules

As you build membership, make sure everyone has the same expectations. Is your club an open invitation? Or do you want to create a small, intimate atmosphere?

Although the Open Book Club is open to the public, Montesano typically limits events to 30 people. Any more than that, she says, would make it “hard to open up and be vulnerable.”

4. Get organized: Choose a book and a date for the meeting

There’s no one size fits all solution—every book club is different. You can take turns choosing books, or you can conduct a group poll. Book clubs have found that clubs that conduct polls on book selection get higher participation, says Ford.

Deciding when to meet is often the biggest obstacle, says Ford. That’s why she founded Bookclubs – to take that burden off members. The platform includes polls, calendar planning, digital shelves, reading reminders and embedded video software.

5. Host your first meeting

If you’re meeting in person, host your book club in a location with plenty of seating so people can get comfortable and discuss.

Montesano hosts her meeting at a coworking space in New York. She lets members donate money for food and wine, “so it feels like you’re hanging out with friends and eating together.” She always has plenty of water on hand for all the conversations.

You can choose to have a free discussion or prepare questions as a starting point.

Since Montesano’s club is larger, he divides his members into small groups and rotates them after 30 minutes to discuss with someone new.

Good questions can spark a lively discussion. Successful questions have prompted members to come up with fan theories or characters, Montesano says. Sometimes she looks at reviews and asks members whether or not they agree with what critics are saying about the book.

6. Plan your next meeting

After the meeting is over, it’s the perfect time to harness that energy and plan the next one.

“Minimizing the time between the end of the meeting and planning the next meeting is another key to success,” says Ford.

How often should a book club meet?

Every club is different, and you may need to find your way around before you find the best routine for your club. Clubs that meet at a certain “rhythm and frequency,” such as monthly, are more likely to stay together, data from book clubs shows.

Because Montesano’s Open Book Club is both a social event and a place to discuss books, it hosts meetings two to three times a month. But your club might decide that once a month or once every two months is more workable.

It’s important to estimate how quickly your members can read the book selection and be realistic.

What is a good book club book?

Any genre is a good choice for a book club, says Ford. It just depends on what your members like to read. The most popular genre for book clubs is fiction, followed by crime and thrillers.

Here are the top 10 most popular book club books on Bookclubs:

“Chemistry Lessons” by Bonnie Garmus
“The Crawdads Song” by Delia Owens
“The Seven Men of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
“The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig
“The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides
“Verity” by Colleen Hoover
“The Vanishing Half” by Britt Bennett
“Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt
“Educated” by Tara Westover
“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin

Montesano says she tends to choose books that members can identify with. That might mean the main character is the same age or lives in the same state as you.

“It offers so much material… as an ice-breaker question: ‘Have you been to any of the places mentioned in the book?’ or ‘Do you think the book would have been different if it were set in a different city?'”

You should choose a book that will spark conversation. A universally popular book isn’t necessarily a good choice for a book club, Montesano says. Dislike and disagreement are reasons for a good book club debate. Check out USA TODAY’s list of the best book clubs to spark a lively discussion.

Are you curious to know more? We have the right thing for you.

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