Confession: I’m a slow reader.
That’s why I never did book clubs or buddy reads. But, when I started my bookstore, I knew that hosting book clubs would be foundational in fostering a bookish community. Nevertheless, traditional formats (we all read the same book) would be virtually impossible for me to keep up. So, I had to get creative in my approaches.
One obsessive researching and brainstorming session later…
I figured out what I could do that would allow me to foster community, build my support network, and keep up with my personal reading goals. In this process, I have discovered not all book clubs need to look the same.
Contrary to common knowledge, there are quite a few ways to host successful book clubs that appeal to different kinds of readers and experiences. At my store, I host about 4 different kinds of book clubs that have all found great success and are very fun to do.
1. The Traditional Book Club
In this format, the group picks a book together, reads it in a specified duration, meets up again, then discusses the book.
This is a great format because it pushes us to try new books we may not otherwise pick up. It also provides a common base for the discussion and can lend itself to deeper conversations the book with multiple interpretations being offered on the same material.
Nevertheless, this format can also force you to trudge through a book you may not enjoy, or suffer sitting uncomfortably through the discussion if you did not finish. It puts pressure on your reading pace, and if the book doesn’t have enough “friction” to it, the discussion can quickly fizzle out with everyone just agreeing on the same thoughts.
2. Silent Book Club
In this format, the group comes together to introduce their books before breaking to read silently, eventually coming back together to update our reading progress for the final club duration.
This format is fun because you get to see real time reactions as people read—giggling, gasping, disbelief, etc. It naturally lends itself well to everyone reading their own book and sharing their progress and pace through it. But, it also works with everyone reading the same book silently—which makes the reactions more fun because your fellow readers get to anticipate and understand why you did it. Personally, I like the encrypted messages we share when doing it this way—“page 137, you’re gonna hate’em”, then you get to see the reaction when they get to that part.
I tend to call this one the introverted book club because the chatting ends before you can get overstimulated, then you can regroup during the reading time to be ready for the chatting at the end. But, along that same line, the socializing part usually isn’t enough to go deep into the books and share as many thoughts. Considering that, this format isn’t as satisfying as the others, but it is a popular option to encourage people to get out of the house and just bask in their favorite activity with others.
3. Readers Roundtable
This format is more guided and requires preparation. The group splits up into smaller groups and answers questions together before rotating to different groups and answering new questions.
This configuration is fun because there is movement, guidance, and you get a change of perspective each time you rotate. It totally works with everyone reading their own books and sharing recommendations, or even reading the same book and you get different interpretations each time you rotate.
However, for this to be successful, you really do have to have different questions ready at each station to keep the conversation going and less redundant as they move stations. And, it can also be jarring for some to have to end a good conversation in order to move to a different station that may or may not be any better. I recommend to use this more sparingly.
4. Bring Your Own Book Club (BYOB)
This format is my favorite because it is simple with everyone reading their own books and just sharing with the group their thoughts and progress around the circle.
This grouping is by far the most flexible and natural because it allows for connection and conversation that goes beyond focusing on one book. It lends itself beautifully to recommendations, common discovery, and curiosity as we find out others may or may not share our same reading and thinking preferences. Plus, it allows everyone to move at their own pace (one or multiple books discussed), speak as much or as little as they want, and still enjoy in the conversation even if they haven’t even read anything by that meeting time.
But, with natural conversation comes natural distraction. It is much easier to get sidetracked by other thoughts and side topics in this format as you make more overarching connections and patterns across literature to understand each book presented. You have to very much be prepared to redirect the conversation back onto books because it can lead into tense discussions and debates if left to its own devices!
Like I said before, I have had success running all these formats and get lots of positive feedback. If you’re looking for a different way to start a book club, or maybe you even just want to switch up your current book club, I’m hoping these options can help you out.
How is your favorite book club formatted? Why do you enjoy that the most?
Let us know in the comments below.
