Book Clubs Tips & Ideas
Reading a book is just the beginning. With or without wine. From a recent survey I fielded, comments from Jen V. echo my sentiments about the power of book clubs.
TOP TITLES TO CONSIDER
How does your group select titles? According to my survey, it seems that the selection process follows a method which works best for each individual group.
Regardless of the method, consideration factors in choosing a book include:
- Prompts a great discussion
- Includes a reader discussion guide
- Offers other tips and ideas to enhance a meeting
- Availability through libraries (60% of book club members get their copy from a library)
- Popular title with other book clubs - looking to others for recommendations
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Each month, I include updates on what my four book clubs are reading, a spotlight review on a title recommended for book clubs, and more.
For the first half of 2025, here are the Top Books for a Great Book Club Discussion as mentioned in the survey from over 135 book clubs across the U.S. First time appearances for Broken Country, The God of the Woods, and How to Read a Book. Kristin Hannah’s THE WOMEN, the #1 best-selling fiction book in 2024, continues to dominate the list. Over on my BOOKMARKED: Best Picks for Book Club Discussions page you can also find a round-up of past favorites for more ideas.
SPOTLIGHT on Recommended Titles for Book Clubs
In addition to the popular picks from other groups, I have a few personal favorites. For something different, you may want to check out one of these. Books are linked to my review and more information on each book and ideas to enhance your meetings with questions, tie-ins, recipes, and more.
Historical Fiction
An Immigrant Story - The Irish Girl by Ashley E. Sweeney
Saving a Master - Saving Vincent by Joan Fernandez
Soar into History – Lady Flyer by Heather B. Moore
Hidden Family History - A Wolff in the Family by Francine Falk-Allen
Perfect Summer Pick - Martha's Vineyard Beach & Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly
Women’s History Month - Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood
A Toast to Dreams - Madame Pommery by Rebecca Rosenberg
Unwavering Commitment - True Grace by Karen E. Osborne
Contemporary Women’s Fiction
A Mother's Nightmare - Mother of the Accused by Leanne Treese
Coming of Age Quest – Switching Tracks by Lena Gibson
Second Chances - Lunch Tales: Suellen by Lucille Guarino
A Journey of Life & Dreams – Silver Lady by Susan Sage
The Journeys We Need - Tough Trail Home by Marie W. Watts
Current Issues – Not Yours to Keep by Zelly Ruskin
Memoir
Enduring Love – Descent into Dementialand by Sherry McNeese Hobbs
Celebrate Earth Month - Force of Nature by Joan M. Griffin
TIPS & IDEAS FOR SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS
Up the Ante with a Slice of Fun. From costumed meetings to movie-adaption nights to themed food and drink, there are many ways to bring a book to life found on Pinterest and recipes in The Book Club Cookbook. Many authors (like me) create book club kits which include recipes, behind the scenes tidbits and other insights and inspiration for their books. You can generally find them on their websites.
As you can see from my photos, my book club has a lot of fun pairing food choices with book selections and dressing up in costumes (our October hostess loves Halloween and always chooses great books for us to flaunt our creativity).
AUTHOR TALKS & DISCUSSION GUIDES
Many authors love interacting with their readers through book club meetings.
Author Talk – Janis Robinson Daly. One of my goals as an author is to meet with book clubs for in-depth discussions and behind the scenes chats about my writing inspiration and process. If your club is interested in reading one of my novels, please fill out my form so I can get in touch with you to schedule. I'd love to meet with you!
Questions for Book Club Discussions. While some books have reader discussion guides at the back of the book, other resources serve as an easy directory to contact authors, preview books, and questions to prompt discussions. Here are a few I've used:
- Adventures by the Book- Directly contact and request one of over 50 authors to join your group for a chat. Also offers many in-person and Zoom events with favorite authors.
- Book Club Chat - Interviews, lists, and discussion questions.
- Reading Group Guides - Over 5,000 guides available.
- SuperSummary - Book club questions and a plot summary for those of us who read a book months ago and need a quick refresher!
SHARING & CARING
- With roots in a local women’s civic group, at my group’s December meeting we collect items identified as in high demand for our local food pantry. Giving back to our community which brought us together is a simple gesture of thanks.
- From a Facebook post in a reading group, I love this idea: When a member of their group passed away, they all purchased a copy of one of her favorite books and donated them to their library in her name so that other book clubs could read her favorite book with enough copies on hand for an entire group to borrow.
- From another FB post and another lovely idea: Read a book for a cause and make a donation to a charity that fits with the books theme. A few suggestions include: The Midnight Library = Suicide Prevention, American Dirt = Immigration Relief, Before We Were Yours = Adoption Agencies, The Answer Is = Pancreatic Cancer Research, Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek = Mobile Libraries.
VIRTUAL MEETINGS
The Mechanics
- Check the Zoom website first and read through info put in place to tighten security measures since the explosion of usage has also increased questions around privacy, etc.
- Test ahead of time to make sure connections are working.
- Have each person make a list of their top opinions before the meeting and send them to the moderator. Circulate via email ahead of time to think about what you want to discuss
- Limit the time or make sure you’re set up for longer 40 minutes. The free Zoom version gives you 40 minutes. To extend your time, have everyone log off and then log back in with the same link; it generally works. Or book two back-to-back sessions.
- Choose one person to serve as moderator is key to maintain order and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak. A round-robin approach works to make sure everyone who wants to speak gets the opportunity. Have the host pull up the discussion questions on her screen so everyone can see those at the same time.
- Log in a few minutes early.
- Have all attendees mute themselves except for the moderator and raise their hand to comment or pose a question…they have to be recognized by the moderator before un-muting themselves.
- Computers work better than phones.
- Activate the grid view so you can see everyone at once.
- The best audio is if no one in the group uses earbuds and instead uses the computer’s mic.
Making It Fun
- Have each member read a favorite passage. Dress it up – does the character have a signature item? Wear it.
- Drop off or send a book themed goodie to each member ahead of your call, even if it’s a bookmark.
- Try a phrase or word scavenger hunt – where does it say… First one to answer correctly wins a small prize.
- For a brief moment of levity, encourage all participants to have a spatula handy. When they want to comment, raise the spatula instead of their hand for attention.
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