How our Book Club Works

I hosted book club this month. We tend to have around 7 or 8 people come each time. This month, we discussed The Phantom of the Opera, which made for excellent conversation.

The book club has been going for a few years. Here are some things we have found...

-The group works best if we are casual about food/treats. Nobody wants to host the group if they are expected to make a bunch of food.

-One person is responsible for all book club emails. They send email reminders twice/month.

-As a group, we choose 4 books at a time. We have found that when we choose more than 4, we tend to make changes. This frustrates people who buy books ahead.

-When we choose books, everyone brings a few ideas. If we have the books, we pass them around. Usually we decide what we want to read through discussing. When nobody wants to choose, we take a vote.

-Everyone is welcome to join the club, but only avid readers end up in it for the long haul.

-We meet once/month. On the night we choose books, we also choose hosts for each month.

-The host generally initiates the book discussion.

-We try to read a wide range of books. When we have read a couple heavy books in a row, we opt for a lighter one. We try to throw in nonfiction, fiction, YA, and historical fiction.

Here are some of the (deliciously clean) books we have particularly enjoyed as a book club:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

These is my Words by Nancy Turner (She'll call your book club! So will Donna Woolfolk Cross, author of Pope Joan...and wow, she's a riot!)

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I'd love to hear some of your top choices for book club books, as well.

Thanks!