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What follows here are a few tips for those of you who may be contemplating starting up your own book club. These are compiled both from my own personal experience, as well as from other friends who have let me in on the secrets of their clubs. And in case you missed my first post on the subject of book clubs, click here.

Select The Members.
There are a couple of theories here.

• Start with five or six women, and have each one invite one other friend to join her.
• You personally select exactly who you want to join your own club.
• You and one or two others choose the charter members of your club. (This is pretty much what my group did, though our true "leader" ultimately chose the most members of all, which was fine.)

I would also stress that it's important not to simply choose your friends here. Choose people who you know enjoy reading. Think about the people you see always toting a book to the soccer game / gymnastic meet / volleyball tournament, in the pick-up line at school, etc. Who starts up conversations about the entertaining books they've been enjoying?

Finally, I am neglecting to state the obvious here. Will you be a single sex group? Coed? Couples? In my group, we're all women, and we certainly prefer it that way! Of course, we started when most of our kids were younger, and many of us really sought a night out away from the kids! Now, even though they can mostly self-manage, our group will always be all women, all the time!

Choose a Regular Meeting Date, and Stick With It (first Monday, second Thursday, etc.).
How often you meet may dictate the type and/or length of books that you select, so this can be important. Keep in mind that some people read faster than others.

Meeting once a month works best for our club. Some members can't make it during the summer months due to being out of town, etc., so our numbers drop off a little during that time, but we strive regardless.

Some clubs meet only every other month. I find that it's easiest to just know that the second Thursday of every month will be book club. It never has an actual holiday fall on it, so that makes it a pretty solid commitment for our members.

What to Serve
We do wine, appetizers and dessert. Some of our members' offerings are fancier than others, and that is just fine with this group. If the food all comes from Costco, no problem. Sometimes, we even try to plan a few menu items that relate to the book. Overall, though, just feed us, make sure there is plenty of wine, and we'll be happy readers.

Which brings me to one of our little traditions. The very first meeting we had, Jane got showered with so much wine that I think the rest of us might have been a little green with envy! So, from there on out, we sort of just started bringing wine as a hostess gift to each meeting. That way, the hostess doesn't really have to worry about having wine on hand that evening. Yes, we are wine-o's. I will admit it without apologizing. That's the way we like it.

Go back:
Part One - Why Start a Book Club, Book Recommendations

Next:

Part Three - Book Selections, Timetable, Discussion Topics, Rules

Part Four - Extra Tips for Your Club