For book lovers a book club is a must. For some, myself included, the love of books and coffee shops go hand-in-hand. For some book lovers the idea and challenge of starting their own book club at a coffee shop is a wonderful idea. The question is where does one begin in starting their own book club at a coffee shop? Here are some simple steps to follow to start that wonderful relationship with others with the same loves as you.
First things first, choose a coffee shop to serve as a location for your meetings. Try your local coffee shop. Most coffee shops have rooms or sections that you could meet at that would prove beneficial. Something else to consider is talking to the manager about discounts for the members of the book club while the meeting is taking place. If you did not want to meet at the same coffee shop every week, you can be the traveling book club. You could meet at a different coffee shop every meeting if there is enough coffee shops in your town to accommodate this.
Next you want to invite the members. It could be as simple as just inviting friends and co-workers or you could hang flyers at your local library and coffee shops to widen the possibilities. If you have a preference, like an all female or all male group, be sure to specify on the flyer. Do not forget to include you name and phone where they could reach you in case they wanted more information.
At your first meeting, it is a good idea to set some guidelines (or if you wanted to take this on yourself you could make the guidelines before the first meeting). You will decide how often you want to meet- weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly, and at what time. It would be easier to make this decision with all the members present to see when the best day and time for them would be. You will also want to decide how your books will be chosen. There are a few ways to choose your books. You can have ever member bring a book title that they enjoyed and then have the entire club vote. Another option is having each member in charge of a book. For example if you had six members in your group member one would be in charge of the first month, member two the second and so on and so forth. A good rule of thumb is choosing the books month in advance. This gives the members a chance to get the books online, from their book club, etc.
Next you will need to decide on discussions. Is this something that you want to be laidback, for more of a meeting with other people your age with similar interests to hang out with, or strict, more of an only discuss the book while at the meetings? There are professional leaders for book clubs. These people come in and keep the meeting very on track (for a fee). If you would like to use a professional book clubber, you can contact you library or college for more information. If you choose not to have a profession come in, you will need to provide your own general discussion questions. You can also delegate the discussion lead to whom ever chose the book for that meeting.
Here are also some books for further reading on how to start your own book club, to the best books to choose for your book club. The Readers’ Choice: 200 Book Club Favorites by Victoria Golden McMains. The Reading Book Handbook: How to Start Your Own Book Club by Rachel W. Jacobsohn. A Year of Reading: A Month-by-Month Guide to Classic Crowd Pleasers for You and Your Book Group by Elisabeth Ellinton
Starting your own book club in a coffee shop can be a challenge, but a rewarding challenge. These guidelines are just suggestions. If you come up with a unique idea for your book club, run with it and see what happens! It could prove even more rewarding. And remember happy reading!
