In our more modern, connected, and everbusy age, however, traditional library book clubs have been undergoing a quiet revolution. Starting a bo ok club at work can be a great way to enrich your workplace experience, but it can be tricky to get past your first meeting. Set the date at least two weeks in advance in order to allow for people to have time to read the book. Whether your book club is a few close friends or a larger group, hosting a book club party still takes some amount of planning. Home resources running a book club quick guide to chatterbooks running a book club quick guide to chatterbooks. It is not written for the vast majority of people in the business world that need to call meetings quickly about one of the 20 hot projects they are working on. But there is more to starting a book club than you might think. Its especially helpful for those who travel or miss a meeting or two. Welcome back to the series how to start or join a book club. This is a network of bookgroups from across the uk, with information on setting up and running a group. Im still working on improving it, so if you run a book club id love to know what you do to make it fun. On the other hand, a productive meeting is exhilarating. How to start a successful book club in 6 simple steps.
Email the author, let them know your book club chose their book, let them know the day and time of your meeting and see if they can attend. Rotate members take turns, each choosing a book for a given month. Its hard enough for book lovers to finish everything on their reading list, much less find an hour to attend a club meeting. Oct 14, 2015 find more advice on starting your book club in nikkis guide. Book groups are a great way to share a love of good stories with others. Jan 26, 2017 the following is a summary of attendance and discussion from our first book club meeting. The librarians have also used skype to interview authors. Ive only had experience with mine, so ill share how ours is organized and why i believe weve had such endurance. Based in dun laoghaire, she sets up clubs all over the country from 6 to 60 people. This handbook tells you what you need to know about setting up and running a successful chatterbooks club. Choose a book that is long enough to encourage a good discussion, but short enough for people to finish on time. Its no mystery that many seniors love reading and have a passion for telling stories.
You can get monthly book recommendations and free teaching notes as part of our oxford education book club. Publishing houses like knopf doubleday and random house also have request forms online. This may seem obvious, but it is the most important step, so it is worth stating. Book talk and book club task cards including lists of questions for reading discussions, written responses, or book club meetings. Meeting more often might be difficult with todays busy lifestyles, and probably wont allow people to finish the book. Even if your members are used to being part of group discussions and are good at listening to each other, it can still be a good idea to have somebody lead the meeting, in part to make sure that everyones voices get heard but also to come prepared with thoughts on what topics would be good to discuss, so if the conversation starts to run dry in one. May 22, 2014 book club leaders at mentor ohio public library routinely show youtube videos to provide background on a specific book or author. For the first meeting, it makes sense for you to suggest the title and prepare a few discussion questions. A book club will motivate you to become a better listener, too. Sep 14, 2017 a book club will motivate you to become a better listener, too.
Decide where your book club will hold the meetings. It is easy to read, easy to comprehend and easy to follow. If you are in a book club and have some ideas to share, id love to hear from. Here are some neat ideas for your next meeting see more ideas about book club, starting a. Whatever can be done outside the meeting time should be. Nothing can drain the happiness from you faster than a long, unproductive meeting. Start the meeting on time, do not spend time recapping for latecomers, and, when you can, finish on time. There are babysitters to consider, traffic to contend with, and the alltooirritating task of looking halfway presentable. Jul 01, 2009 nothing can drain the happiness from you faster than a long, unproductive meeting. Here are some neat ideas for your next meeting see more ideas about book club, starting a book, book club books. Tips and suggestions for starting and running an awesome book club. So the going within book club is designed to do just that. It can be hard to make contact with book groups, as they are normally set up by word of. Tips and suggestions for starting and running an awesome.
Find more advice on starting your book club in nikkis guide. Running effective meetings how to be a meeting host by. Before everyone arrives, take a look at these ideas to help make sure everything runs smoothly. Below are some tasks that should be addressed by the club coordinator. Many book clubs start when a few friends get together and decide that theyd like to meet to discuss books on a regular basis. Websites like are free to join, easy to use, and allow all the members of your club to post on a communal site. Book club kit this kit is designed to assist in the establishment and running of book clubs. Once your club is up and running, you can use the message boards to create an online component to your club. This includes circulating reports for people to read beforehand, and assigning. One hour is usually the norm for busy middle to upperlevel managers. You are given checklists and templates to help you plan for a successful meeting and record the outcomes and it helps you identify the purpose of the meeting, the people who need to attend if an outcomedecision is to be reached, and how to keep the meeting running smoothly.
Running a book club at your workplace can be an incredibly fulfilling and refreshing experience. A meeting helps every individual understand both the collective aim of the group and the way in which his own and everyone elses work can contribute to the groups success. If you are starting a book club yourself, you may need some ideas for creating a fun group that people will come back to time after time. Moving forward, every member should have a voice, with the group. As a rule of thumb, this meeting anticipates the club gathering for no more than one and onehalf hours, including the meal. Find prospective memebers of the club and contact them. Below is a typical outline for a dinner type meeting. The role of club coordinator in a book club as the book club evolves, the role of the group coordinator will change. Schedule a break when the meeting is expected to take over 2 hours. An important aspect of running effective meetings is insisting that everyone respects the time allotted.
My favorite way to troubleshoot this fatigue is to rotate through every member picking a. Consider starting a blog or an online forum to keep track of the club. Once a month we will meet to discuss one book and create the opportunity to learn from, support, and encourage each other. Our latest prize book is circe by madeline miller, which is now available in paperback and will be an eightepisode series on hbo max. Sometimes a casual chitchat can turn into a heated debate, so stay on your toes and arbitrate when needed. There are usually two types of general meeting the annual general meeting agm and the extraordinary general meeting egm.
Depending on the seriousness level of the group, you may want to do a bit of research on the author, time period, etc. Youll be talking about this meeting and all the things you learned straight from the source for a long time. A long time ago, when i was working in washington, d. How to start a successful book club everyday reading. The band wife raise your hand if youve ever joined a book club, dutifully read the book and showed up to find that 75% of the people hadnt actually read any of the book, there was an obligatory 5 minutes of book discussion and then everyone sat. Why you should start a book club with your coworkers. Email your book club members to inform them of the following. 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.
It is a good idea to plan on finishing the book a little earlier than you might otherwise so that you have time to think about it and prepare before your book club meets. Matt long the long run, chris lear with alan webb sub 4. The ideal size of a book club is between 8 and 16 members. How to run a meeting for your book club choosing a venue, food, keeping the conversation going, how to run a meeting keeping the conversation flowing and the atmosphere relaxed is the key.
Tips for running a successful, sustainable book club. Lack of time, scheduling conflicts, mobility issues, desire for anonymity, and other. After youve gathered information from the poll, set a time, date, and location for your first club meeting. Why you should start a book club with your coworkers cnbc. You choose the perfect book club book for your next meeting, and you cant find the book club questions. Coordinate with your members to set up a pre book club meeting. Use everything you know about an awesome grand conversation. The location of your book club meetingsa restaurant, library. Will you have a web based book club or will you meet facetoface.
Successful groups select good books, have interesting discussions, and foster community. Running a book club is not only a fun way to enjoy books and meet. Send out emails a week before the meeting to give people a written reminder. Looking for a fun way to enjoy books and meet new people. If youve been nodding your head in agreement and recognition, please join us. The experienced meetinggoer will recognize that, although there seem to be five quite different methods of analyzing a meeting, in practice there is a tendency for certain kinds of meetings to. Determine what is the minimum and the maximum number of members that your club can accommodate. The book is written towards students preparing for a semester end presentation, or project engineers that have one project meeting to prepare for over the coming month. 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. Members of the groups really enjoy talking oneonone with authors about their book, thus enhancing the book club experience, says barbara hauer, the. A closed book club is ideal if you want a small club, for example, for your class or for a particular group of students. Librarians reimagine book clubs with the help of technology. If you want to learn something new or meet new people, consider starting a group on facebook. With their busy schedules, not every member will have the time to read a lengthy book.
Our wicked awesome book club is not liable for any mishaps you may encounter by following our methodology. Remember to support your opinions with evidence from the text. Get interest going by reading the first few pages to the group. If time remains, the leader should pick a member to share hisher excerpt and to lead a discussion about why that part is important. Start a book club in your community association today. This week, well continue our discussion by talking about choosing your discussion dates and deciding on a venue.
Book, reading journal, bookmarks, and pencils meeting 1 leader. S its a nice courtesy for the moderator of the next meeting to send everyone a reminder email a few days beforehand. Libraries have long embraced the reading public and provided public forums for book discussion, long before talkshow host oprah winfrey renewed interest in book clubs in 1996. Aug 24, 2015 how to start a successful book club photo credit and tutorial for painting book covers.
The reasons that people give for joining a book club include reading a wide variety of books, making friends, having fun, meeting likeminded people and stimulating the brain cells. For the organizational meeting, be prepared with a suggestion for the first book. If your group does decide to meet this often, you might consider reading your books in sections and only discussing a few chapters at a time. It makes sense that you, as the organizer, suggest the first book and then moderate the discussion on that book at the next meeting. Running an effective book club meeting the structure of a meeting is very much the choice of the group. Hosting your book club online makes meeting easy and convenient for members. Your non club colleagues will definitely appreciate it. Set the date at least two weeks in advance in order to allow for people to have time to. Book club meeting agenda for meeting alycia zimmerman. Since reading is such a common hobby, starting a senior book club is an excellent opportunity for incorporating socialization and continued learning and engagement for your elderly loved one. When meeting inside the home, just remember, something could always come up last minute to pull jane away from her hosting duties, leaving your book club locationless.
Starting your own book club is an endeavor that we applaud. We have monthly authorled book discussions, and the biggest most fun summer book club party there is. How to start a book club that doesnt suck book riot. Linda garner, a teacher librarian and a school library journal slj school librarian of the year finalist, shares some great tips on running a virtual book club for middle schoolers. Its also your job to prevent people from talking over each other. Broaden your network depending on your organizations style, a book club can an. Get started 2 min sit in a circle, facetoface, where you can talk quietly and still hear each other. The goal is to interact and discuss among your members. Tips and suggestions for starting and running an awesome book. Broaden your network depending on your organizations style, a book club can an opportunity for employees at different levels or in. There are lots of book clubs out there now, and theres more than one way to run a successful one.
Create a reading list you need structure to make meetings work, but want to stop short of being the book club police. It is meant to be used for informational purposes only. While this format can certainly work for smaller groups, it presents some very obvious problems for larger, less exclusive groups. I have already told you how to join a book club and, if you choose to create a club of your own, how to find that special niche and how to recruit and manage members. Successful sports clubs are well run and well organised with meetings that are effective. Since reading is such a common hobby, starting a senior book club is an excellent opportunity for incorporating socialization and continued learning and. Running a book club quick guide to chatterbooks reading. Even so, someone needs to decide what books will be read, and in what order. The location of your book club meetings a restaurant, library, or your living roomwill influence the number of members in the club and vice versa.
Jan 25, 2017 its hard enough for book lovers to finish everything on their reading list, much less find an hour to attend a club meeting. How to start a successful book club photo credit and tutorial for painting book covers. Mar 22, 2015 this form is for sdkpa book club group leaders. 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. These tasks may be delegated to other club members. Ive been asked on twitter by a few different people how i runfund my high school book club, so i decided i should write a post about it. Book club meeting agenda sample bring to the meeting. Mary burnham is dubray books book club coordinator. Either way, starting and sustaining a book club can be a tricky game of planning for a large group and keeping the discussion flowing. Theres actually quite a lot to consider when it comes to your book club meeting. A great way to gather a large diverse group is to invite 35 people and ask each of them to invite 3 or 4 friends. When the meeting is scheduled on a quarterly, semiannual, or annual basis, it may run longer to accomplish the objectives.
The following is a summary of attendance and discussion from our first book club meeting. This is a space designed for you to continue down the path of selfdiscovery and selfimprovement among likeminded individuals. A general meeting is open to all members, unlike board or committee meetings. Alan webb and the quest for the fastest mile, and leslie heywood pretty good for a girl. How to set up a book club in your school, including ideas for key questions for your discussion.
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