Hosting a book club meeting

Treat it as a special meeting, and dont conduct regular book club business while the author is there save that for other times. Pretzels and rolos are a saltysweet match made in heaven. In fact, according to our research report, the inner lives of book clubs, 91% of private book clubs have food at their meetings, ranging from a snack 41% to a full hostesscooked meal % or potluck %. Most readers start a book club with a fair bit of optimism. Mar 18, 2020 if youve ever dreamed of starting a book club, but worried you didnt have the right space to do it in, weve got some great news for you. Coordinating a time and a place to meet is one of the largest challenges for many book clubs. How to host a fall book club gathering williamssonoma taste. Tips for running a successful, sustainable book club. How to start a book club that doesnt suck book riot. Mar 25, 2020 ben keene, the clubs cofounder, says that rebel will continue hosting these monthly virtual book discussions, as well as a daily video chat called rebel book pub, for the foreseeable future. If you are in a book club and have some ideas to share, id love to hear from. Consider adding new acquaintances or friends of friends to the group.

Hosting is not required by members, but all are welcome to host. Here are 5 tips for hosting a successful, dynamic book club meeting or any other gathering. A nonfiction book like just mercy doesnt readily lend itself to menu ideas for a gathering, since food isnt often discussed in the text. And keeping kindie tunes queued up and healthy finger foods at the ready is key. Host the ultimate book club party with images book club parties. Ideally, no one member will have to host every meeting of the club. Looking for a fun way to enjoy books and meet new people. Feb 3, 2016 7 tips for hosting a successful book club stay safe and healthy.

This is particularly important with small groups as it is very discouraging to find barely enough people turn up to form a conversation, or too many have not read the book making it difficult for those few who have to discuss it. Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Coordinate with your members to set up a prebook club meeting. You assume that everyone will read the book, that you will finish a recordhigh number. We can meet in our homes, a park, or other appropriate space. Zoom rooms is the original softwarebased conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. For the past two and a half years, the lez book club has been meeting in groups of 12 in pubs in london, providing a space for queer women to meet and share literature. Email book club members reminding them of the book selection, meeting date and time, attaching your home directions.

Jun 30, 2018 8 tips for hosting successful book club meeting when no one has read the book by admin june 30, 2018 march 24, 2020 host assumes that everyone will read the book and club will have fascinating discussions with the group of readers. Appoint a club memberwhoever selected the book or the person who is hosting. Hosting the meeting the real book club queen, leaving no. If eating dinner during the book discussion is a part of the meeting, make room at the table or pull out some trays. The first time i hosted a meeting i thought no sweat, ill just pop a lasagna in the oven, grab a. Oct 22, 2015 treat it as a special meeting, and dont conduct regular book club business while the author is there save that for other times. Or if you prefer, the group can decide up front which books to read and then create a schedule. Meeting and webinar best practices and resources zoom help. Hosting the meeting seems like hosting would be the easy part right.

By hosting your monthly book club on facebook, you have a builtin pool of potential members to choose from. Bookstr is a great space to both host and find an existing book club. Ben keene, the clubs cofounder, says that rebel will continue hosting these monthly virtual book discussions, as well as a daily video chat called rebel book pub, for the foreseeable future. My current book club group is much more casual, but perhaps too much so. Whether the group is large or small, encourage all book club members to read the book and attend the meetings regularly. So we reached out to a handful of authors to get their tips on how to host a successful book club virtually. Email your book club members to inform them of the following. Oct 27, 2019 when book club members take turns hosting or bringing food to a meeting, its easy for each person to feel that they must match, or improve upon, the previous offerings and, before you know it, bringing the snack has gone from being fun to being a cause of stress. Ive only had experience with mine, so ill share how ours is organized and why i believe weve had such endurance. If its in your home, you might want to keep it to eight or less. If youre the host, have a few questions in mind to stimulate conversation.

After the umpteenth book on the same subject or with the same feel, your members will long for a palate cleanser and may eventhe book club kiss of deathtake a break from reading the books. Hosting a book club is a fun and rewarding experience. Food is so closely tied with social gatherings, its no wonder that its often present at book club meetings. She prepared a combination of the warm comfort foods we love in the. If it needs to be a light supper since you mentioned early evening, how about a simple soup served in mugs.

At the very first meeting, come up with a list of 20 books based on suggestions from each group member and distribute it to everyone. For the first meeting, it makes sense for you to suggest the title and prepare a few discussion questions. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Not everyone can finish every book, but nonreaders may still have valuable insights. Meeting and webinar best practices and resources zoom. Theres nothing like sipping on chardonnay, enjoying small bites, and discussing the summers hot read with friends, new and old. Please allow approximately 2 hours per meeting with a format that provides adequate time for socializing, club business, and book discussion, such as the following loosely recommended format. Jan 25, 2017 by hosting your monthly book club on facebook, you have a builtin pool of potential members to choose from. How to host a book club for where the crawdads sing by delia owens posted on february 19, 2019 february 20, 2020 by kirsten delia owens debut novel where the crawdads sing rocketed to success last year after reese witherspoon chose it as a book club pick for hello sunshine. The 20 best recipes for your book club taste of home.

Give extra promotion to this meeting you want to try and get as many of your members to attend as possible. First, decide on the basics like when and where the meeting will be, and what book your club will be reading. May 21, 2009 use the special requests to the maitre d section on opentable to let the restaurant know your party is a book club and make personal requests such as a round table or sitting closer than usual. To help you make sure your book club is on point, here is a short guide about how to start a book club to help you make yours perfect. For instance, for our fall book club meeting our hostess jaine chose a menu that reflects the changing seasons beautifully.

Here are some neat ideas for your next meeting see more ideas. Here are some neat ideas for your next meeting see more ideas about book club, starting a. Whether you contact them by phone, email or the web, let them know when and where the first meeting will be held. You might consider serving a menu based on what anthony ray hinton ate when he was released from death row. Zoom has a 40minute cap per meeting, but you can easily have another member resend the. Invite an outside facilitator english teacher or librarian, paid or unpaid. Depending on the seriousness level of the group, you may want to do a bit of research on the author, time period, etc. It will be an open house with refreshments and copies of the first book, midnight at the blackbird cafe by heather webber, available to borrow from the library. If you do not have the zoom app installed, go to and select host a meeting to start the installation. As host, theres a lot you can do to make the monthly meeting a success. Apr 15, 2019 if hosting book club and providing the food is a lot to manage, suggest making it a potluck or have everyone bring their favorite snack to go along with a theme. How to host a book club method 1 deciding on the basics. So we reached out to a handful of authors to get their tips on how to host a successful book clubvirtually.

First, we set the mood for our mini book club with food. Hosting your book club online makes meeting easy and convenient for members wherever they may be. One of the best pairings with our wine is a good book club. Book club ideas that will totally impress your friends riveted. Founded recently, the quarantine book club allows you to connect with authors via zoom to chat about their books. Aug 09, 2017 looking for a fun way to enjoy books and meet new people. The first time i hosted a meeting i thought no sweat, ill just pop a lasagna in the oven, grab a bottle of red wine, and well talk about the book for hours. Book clubs are a great way to meet people, to actually fit some leisure reading into your schedule, and to learn. With this in mind, heres some tips and tricks for forming your own literary circle. Divide hosting, food, and wine duties among the group each time you meet. Room around the plate for note taking and flipping pages is a must. A few times a year a nohost meeting may be held at an agreed upon location. Still, no one should feel obligated to host a meeting in their home. How to host a virtual book club social distancing parties.

The discussion remember those scenes in the lord of the flies when it was total chaos. Welcoming hospitality create and save prewritten directions to your house including your address and phone number on your computer. Meeting and webinar best practices and resources follow are you hosting an online event using zoom webinars or zoom meetings. One book club keeps it simple since we meet late in the afternoon. On your news feed, youll see a explore option in the lefthand sidebar. If youre looking for a fun, relaxed and often entertaining way to expand your social circles and your literary prowess, few methods can compare to the book club. Think of book club for the under two crew as hosting library story time at your place.

All genres are covered, ranging from young adult with zan romanoffs look to nonfiction with ariel waldmans whats it like in space. Book club parties are a good way to get friends together and have great discussion over appetizers, drinks, or brunch. Jun 01, 2019 hosting a book club is a fun and rewarding experience. All of the food items were super fast to make or buy. Avoid veering off topic by meeting at the restaurants bar for a drink beforehand. This empowering novel is a sweet read for a book club, and is made even sweeter with a platter of honey corn bread. How to host a book club for where the crawdads sing by. Regardless if the host is always the same or different every time you get together, its important for the group to. Youve gathered your closest friends and chosen your favorite books now its your turn to host the next book club meeting. Club members are often willingand usually eagerto host a meeting of the club at their house. The demopolis public library will host the first after hours book club meeting on thursday, jan. Some clubs have one member who enjoys leading all discussions.

Its a great way to meet new people and keep the conversations fresh with different perspectives. Important questions to ask at your first book discussion. Hosting your book club online makes meeting easy and convenient. But there is more to starting a book club than you might think. Surviving on potatoes on another planet sounds tough, but making this otherworldly app for your book club is easy as can be. Where the crawdads sing takes place in the marshlands of north carolina, so its only appropriate that our menu is inspired by carolina cuisine. How to host a book club for where the crawdads sing by delia. Jun 28, 2018 12 tips for hosting a successful book club meeting when no one read the book.

Demopolis public library hosting first meeting of new book. Use the special requests to the maitre d section on opentable to let the restaurant know your party is a book club and make personal requests such as a round table or sitting closer than usual. Whether your book club is a few close friends or a larger group, hosting a book club party still takes some amount of planning. Here are some neat ideas for your next meeting see more ideas about book club, starting a book, book club books. If you do have the app installed, see below open your zoom app on your desktop and click sign in. There is never any one way to experience or interpret a book. Use our ideas to help you organize your book club activities, hold good discussions, and settle tough issues. Invite members to the first meeting at least two weeks before the date youve selected. Scroll on to find genius ideas thatll make sure your book club party is a story for the ages. My favorite way to troubleshoot this fatigue is to rotate through every member picking a book he or she wants to read. Tips for hosting a book club how to host a book club. Hosting an author at your book club the deliberate reader.

Surviving on potatoes on another planet sounds tough, but making this. That way we can reserve book club meetings on our calenders and schedule other things around them. In fact, differing opinions make the best discussions. If youve ever dreamed of starting a book club, but worried you didnt have the right space to do it in, weve got some great news for you. Dec 14, 2017 in one of my past book clubs, we literally only read books that included discussion questions at the end of the book because we wanted to be certain wed have a meaningful discussion. Book club meeting tips when no one has read the book of. Keeping hosting and food easy is important so that everyone is happy to host, and no one drops out because book club is too much work or they feel pressured to offer an elaborate spread of food. There are lots of book clubs out there now, and theres more than one way to run a successful one. The faster serving goes, the more time for the star of the nightthe book. If several members are unable to attend, the host may choose to reschedule the meeting. Literary book decor, a surprising theme, cocktails of course, and even a book swap or a donation bin celebrate the true spirit of the month. Pick a place to meet technology makes it so easy to connect with other, often farflung readers and have the sort of fruitful discussions that book clubs make possible, says childrens book author and illustrator.

Big board books and a common theme, like construction, sleep or shapes, make for big love with this crowd. Try to create a simple menu and a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. My favorite way to troubleshoot this fatigue is to rotate through every member picking a. Moving forward, every member should have a voice, with the group. A book club meeting isnt complete without a lively discussion, but how can you make sure members are encouraged to contribute to the conversation. Your first group meeting will likely be a planning meeting, designed to address these and other such club formation issues. Every book club member should have a chance to pick a book, and the parties should rotate between hosts. Weve got great ideas for organizing a book club meeting tips on how to lead a book discussion and good book club etiquette. Consider adding new acquaintances or friends of friends. Demopolis public library hosting first meeting of new book club. Jul 14, 2017 pretzels and rolos are a saltysweet match made in heaven. Talk to your local library about hosting the book club there, or go to a park or community center.