Do you love to read? Have you ever finished a book, and just wanted to have someone to talk about it with? You could start your very own book club. This is not only a great way to meet new people, but it is a way to find someone to get down and dirty with the book that you have just devoured.
The first step to setting up a book club is to gauge local interest. This could be done through a community Facebook page, or even the community section on Craigslist. I personally posted on the town “Heads up” Facebook page. Many people were curious as to what we would be reading, so I created a reading list for the entire year. One month we have a fiction book, and the next month is a nonfiction book, and then rotated back to a fiction book for the following month.
Next, you must secure a venue. There are coffee shops, restaurants, or even your local library. For the library in my town, we had to register online as a group, and then we could begin putting a reservation on the meeting room. The website for the library allowed me to book four months ahead. So I then made a flyer that showed the books and dates for the year.
Last night was our first book club meeting, and the first book that I chose was the Alchemist. I selected this book because it was one that I had found at a “Free Library”, and yet it remained on the shelf unread. As I read the book, I highlighted parts that were interesting to me, and wrote notes in the margins that could serve as discussion points. I knew that I could look up some premade questions online, but wanted to see where it would go. We ended up discussing not only the meanings and symbolism and lessons behind many parts of the books, but looked up maps of where the main character traveled as well.
When you start a new book club the numbers may be small, but I encourage you to keep at it, and it will grow over time. There are people in your community with the same love of books, and the same sense to belong. It is only a matter of finding them, and then just enjoying the process of reading the book, and the time of discussing it together.
Our book list for the year:
January – The Five Love Languages for Teens
February – the Alchemist
March – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
April – The Book Thief
May – The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
June – A River Runs Through It
July – Emotional Intelligence
August – The Notebook
September – Awaken the Giant Within
October – Emma or Persuasion by Jane Austen
November – Think and Grow Rich
December – Dickens Christmas books