Book Club Hosting Guide
By Courtney Holliday
Anyone can start or host a book club! Every book club is different, and that’s what makes them great. It’s why many people belong to multiple book clubs. Book clubs are a great way to build community, learn new things, have big conversations, and connect with people who have similar interests. Here are some fun ideas and possibilities for your hosting style.
Format
There are many ways to structure your book club in a way that works for everyone! One option is to go the classic route and pick one book for everyone to read before the next meeting. My personal favorite, as someone who is a mood reader and hates being told what to do, is to do away with picking a specific book and instead have everyone share their monthly wrap-up each meeting. Less structure works better for some groups! You could also just share your bops and flops if you don’t want to do a whole monthly wrap up.
If you want even more structure, you could have each member create a book report/presentation on why they love their favorite book of the month and/or why they dislike their least favorite book of the month. You can really go for it with powerpoint presentations, visual aids, whatever your brain comes up with! You can discuss guidelines and pointed questions for the discussion portion of book club, especially if you are all reading the same book. This helps keep things on task if that’s something you enjoy! You can also feel free to have a chaotic yap session (my preferred method).
How to Pick a Book
If you do plan to have the whole group read the same book, here are some ways to choose. Obviously, you can go around the circle and give everyone a designated week to pick. You can choose a book out of a TBR jar. You can put book names in a hat and each book title you pick up is a book you are NOT reading. That way, the last one left in the hat is the winner. Another option is for everyone to put in a book pick at the beginning of the year, put the names on a wheel (real or virtual), and spin for the winner for each month. You can go with a theme and choose a new release from every month, follow a TBR prompt or Storygraph challenge, or assign each month a category like classics, romance, historical fiction, etc.
Location
You don’t have to host book club at your house if you don’t want to! You can switch who is hosting, have a designated host, or all meet somewhere public. You may even be able to book time in a private room at your local library. You can meet at a cafe or restaurant. You can host book club outside at the park during nice weather. You can meet at different bookstores in your area each month (and most likely support them with purchases).
If you have a quarterly book club, you can always meet on a weekend away and add travel to the mix. You can even host a book club over the internet! Discord and Google Meet are great for these kinds of meetings, and they’re free.
Theme and Decor
If you want to go all-out, you can add themed elements to your book clubs! Make food/snacks that are from the book’s location or that are featured in the story. If it is a story set in the 1920s, you can all dress up Great Gatsby style.
Having a dress code to match an event is always fun! You can go to a different restaurant or location each meeting that offers further education on the themes of the book that you read, like a museum. You can add a game element that fits the theme. If someone is hosting, they can decorate the space to match the vibe of the book. Moody lighting and queuing up your TV with a castle ambience video brings a bit of fantasy to the function.
Go forth and put together the best book club for your group! Remember that there are no rules and you can really do whatever you want. Getting together to talk about books doesn’t have to follow a specific format or design. Just get together, yap about books, and have fun!