Last week, I met with my Twitter Book Club (via Groupme, thank you technology!) for my first book club meeting. We read Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones. (Great book, and the author answers Twitter mobs/questions.) Thought I loved the book, what I really loved was the instant camaraderie and positive chemistry with the participants in the GroupMe. I only knew one person from the group, but as black women we bonded over the book and the issues that it presented. Also, we’re just funny as heck.
So why am I writing this? Because I know many people have secret yearnings to belong to a book club. I’m here to tell you, you can do it! And give you a few things to consider before you start.
Book Selection
You have to decide how books will be selected on a regular basis. Do you send out a survey? Does a designated person get to pick each time? Are there any “no no” genres in books? How long will these books be?
Meetings
Also, how should you meet? If you know some people in the same town, a nice brunch is always a good option (plus, mimosas). If you are spread out, maybe an online gathering hole like GroupMe or Google Hangouts will work. You can also tweet chat using TweetChat is a great way to follow the conversation using a particular hashtag.
Most importantly, have fun! Book clubs are a great way to inject some reading in our lives long after the book report years have ended. And also, it just makes me feel like a real live grown up.
Have you ever been in or started an on- or offline book club? Share some tips in the comments.