how to: the book club you want to be a part of

Okay, okay, okay. Listen up: let’s talk book clubs. I’ll be the first to admit that joining a book club does not sound like the most riveting past time. But let me tell you, if wine and cheese is involved, I am pretty much down for it all. And honestly, a book club doesn’t have to be a snooze fest. Stay with me here. Here’s a how-to guide to organize a, dare I say it, “Cool Book Club” (cringe).

1.       The Crew

Besides the wine and cheese, the people of your book club are integral to its enjoyability. You would be pleasantly surprised how interested those around you are in participating. It’s also a great way for you to connect your different friend groups (or family!). Even more, as we all get older and our schedules become busier, having a designated reason to get together is a fantastic way to stay in touch with all your people. 

Create a list of those that you would like to have join the book club and then hold your breath, check your pride, and ask them if they are interested. Surprisingly, everyone I invited to join all happily and excitedly agreed. 

Pro tip: Don't invite too many people. My book club only consists of ten people, which allows for different people to host meetings without feeling overwhelmed or a space feeling cramped, whilst still allowing for meaningful discussion of the book.

2.       The Good Stuff: Wine and Cheese

I will proudly boast that the focus of any book club should be the wine and cheese. (Most book club go-ers would disagree, but I am who I am). The key to a successful event, no matter the occasion, is good food and drink. 

Pro tip: Kick off the first meeting with a bottle of Prosecco to inaugurate the launch of your oh-so-cool book club. 

3.     Rules

I'm no stickler, but like most things, your book club must have rules. Without rules, things can quickly go array. For my book club, I created three concrete rules: no work talk (some of the book club members are co workers), no politics (omitting political topics that may come up in the book), and the book must be available at the local library. The latter is important: not all of those that are part of the book club will actually want to read the book suggested, which brings me to my final guideline...

4.      Book Club Logistics

The most difficult part of creating a book club is determining and administrating the logistics. For this reasoning, your first meeting should be discussing the logistics. Introduce everyone, discuss the rules, POP the bottle of Prosecco, and alas, discuss the logistics. Here are a list of mine:

• The host must pick two book options. All members will blindly vote. The winning vote, you guessed it, is the book of the month. This is why library availability is an important rule; those that did not vote for the majority book chosen may not want to purchase the book.
• Pick the dates of the next book club meetings at least four months in advance. People are busy and it would be such a shame to miss a book club meeting. 
• Choose which member will be hosting the respective meetings. Then, pick two individuals to "accompany-host", meaning that they will help in supplying food and drink. This lessens the burden on the host.
• In addition to picking two book options, the host must come of with a list of questions of the month's book for the group to discuss. I cannot stress this enough: if questions aren't prepared and proposed to the group, the book club will quickly become Wine Wednesday.

I cannot say for certain after reading this post if you think I live a terribly dull life or if you're willing to start a book club yourself. But what I will say, and say it with me: reading is good for you. But I also heard that a glass of wine a day is good for you too. So I thought: why not combine the two.