Want to start a local book club? Follow these simple steps!
Reading is a favorite pastime adopted by many people, young and old. It does not matter the genre of the novel; reading is useful in every sphere of life. For instance, a light-hearted romance novel gives great vibes and somehow puts the reader in a jolly mood. A self-help book opens a window for the reader to appreciate and reflect on his or her lifestyle so he or she can make some healthy changes.
As people grow older, their attention span and reading time are affected drastically. However, one must continue the habit of reading. For some people, reading is not just a hobby but an escape from the real world. Reading comes on the back of many benefits ranging from knowledge to community building.
What are reading communities?
Over the last few years, reading communities have gained popularity because such groups elevate the experience of reading.
These communities are nothing but a group of people who meet regularly to spend their reading time together. In this way, all the people involved get a chance to stay accountable for their habits. The reading groups, also known as book clubs, share book recommendations, book reviews and much more.
Some benefits of a book club:
Meeting new people
Regular social interaction
An escape or break from daily life
Maintaining the habit of reading
Increased confidence in public speaking
Book reviews and book recommendations
Critical thinking
Analyzing literature
Better mental health
Steps on how to start a local book club:
As we know, reading in groups has profound benefits that help us shape our personalities. Reading clubs also help senior citizens kill time to avoid feeling lonely. If you’re looking to start a local book club, here is stepwise guidance to help you out.
An introductory message
First and foremost, set up an introductory message of about 50 to 100 words. Begin your paragraph by writing your name, age and building/society name. In a few words, describe why you wish to start a local book club. Have a call to action, meaning, add your phone number so that people can connect with you.
Here is a sample introductory message:
Hi all! My name is Jay Rai. I’m 55 years old and residing in Wing F of our Shri Krishna Society. I like to read books in my free time. Reading is not only a knowledgeable activity but also a good way to connect with other people over common interests. Thus, I’d like to start a book club with my dear neighbours and friends in this society. If you or anyone you know would be interested, please feel free to connect with me on my phone number – 91XXX XXX43. Jai Shri Krishna!
Gathering people
Once your introduction is ready, share your message on WhatsApp with your neighbours, friends, society groups, community groups, etc. When you meet people during your morning/evening walks, tell them about your book club. Ask people to further invite their friends and neighbours to join the book club. Encourage everyone to spread the word about your book club. Soon, people would start connecting with you. Maintain a list of names on a piece of paper or the memo pad of your phone. However, do not be disheartened if only a few people are interested. More people will join once the book club begins. No advertisement is as powerful as word of mouth.
Create a WhatsApp group
Once you have at least one person interested to start reading together, create a WhatsApp group. Give a unique name to the group. Some examples of a creative name can be:
Shri Krishna Reading Group
Shri Krishna Reading Club
Shri Krishna Reads
Meet and Read
BYOB – Bring Your Own Book
Decide a place and time
Once you have virtually gathered the members of your book club, plan the details of the book club including a place and time. You can host the reading group in the park of your society, the community hall of the society and more such free-of-cost places in the vicinity. Once the venue is decided, think of a suitable frequency of meeting your group. You can organize the club daily or 1-2 times a week. Also, fix a time that would be convenient for most of the members. However, keep it flexible and subject to change to accommodate maximum people. Compile all the details in a paragraph to share on the WhatsApp group. Additionally, update it as the group description.
Here is a sample description:
Hi all! I’m Jay, the organizer of the Shri Krishna Book Club. We will meet every Sunday from 7:30 am to 8:30 am in the cat park of our society. We will reserve the last 30 minutes for discussions, if any. You will find us on the benches near the big tree! Bring along any book that you’d like to read. Do invite your family and neighbours too. Excited to see you!
Rules of the book club
Being the organizer of the book club, you can lay down the rules that you would like your group members to follow. The rules can be simple, such as maintaining silence during the designated reading time. You can also encourage people to discuss their recently completed book with everyone during the discussion time of the reading meets. Book review meetings will allow people to discover new books, be motivated to read more books and build better communication skills and confidence. Discussing books may also help people ponder over a fresh perspective.
Book reading activities
Once the reading group is well-established, you can add more activities to do alongside reading. For example, apart from reading and discussing books, you can help organize local library visits for the group. You can insist senior citizens bring along their grandchildren to one of the weekly meetings. For a more memorable experience, you can have weekly rituals such as taking a group photo at the end of the meeting. The group can organize book-themed pot-luck parties wherein each member has to dress up or bring a dish related to or inspired by the book they’re currently reading or just finished reading. You can also look for local authors and consider hosting them for book-signing events. On the other hand, the group too can visit nearby places, especially during book-signing events. On birthdays and/or wedding anniversaries of a member, the rest of the group members can chip in to gift a book to add to the member’s happy day.
The power of social media
You can post regular updates about your book club online on social networking platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram. You can do so via your account or start a public page by the name of the book club. To set up the page, you can seek help from the other members of the group or any of the grandkids around. You can post group pictures every week along with the names of the books each member is reading. You can also post book reviews and other discussions taking place in the weekly meetings. Doing so will engage other people, acting as a strong motivation for people across cities to start a book club in their respective housing societies. Regular updates can also catch the interest of upcoming authors for the book-signing events.
Lastly and most importantly, do not forget to have fun! The advantages of a book club stretch far and wider than just reading and networking.
FAQs
1. Do I need to decide which book should be read by the members of the club?
No. It’s not necessary to do so. You can keep the choice of books open so that more people feel comfortable to join.
2. What is the minimum and maximum capacity of a book club?
The minimum and maximum number of people in a book club depends on you and the place accommodating the reading group. The minimum number can be just two, i.e., you and one more person. The maximum number can go up to hundreds. In that case, the local park may not be a suitable venue to host the reading meets. You can connect with local libraries to check on the same.
3. How often should the members meet?
It depends on your choice and the availability of the members of the book club. You can host the meetings daily or weekly.
