Sometimes it feels like life is too hectic to slow down and make connections with your friends and neighbors. A book club can be the perfect excuse to develop a routine where you explore new ideas and subjects and spend quality time with interesting people in your life. With a little organization, you can create a group that bonds over love of literature, good food and good times. And as a great starting point, we've listed 2022's Most Read Books of the Year below.
- It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Verity by Colleen Hoover
- The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
- Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
Now, the first thing to do when assembling a book club is to gauge interest, since you want people who will be committed to meeting at regular intervals, whether virtually or in person. You can organize your club around a theme – romance novels, a favorite magazine or podcast, etc. Or you can vary the topic, creating a rotation where different participants select the book. As for the book ideas, you can always get tips from the book club master, Oprah, or other celebs like Reese Witherspoon or Jenna Bush Hager. Poke around your favorite local bookstore to find new titles that seem interesting or unusual. Then, most importantly, carve out some time to read the assigned book. Dedicating time to reading can re-charge your battery and carry you off to another world.
When it comes to organizing your gathering, good food and drinks are essential to creating a fun atmosphere. Many groups like to have a designated amount of time to socialize so that the night doesn’t go by without actually discussing the book! Prepare some thought-provoking questions that help you dig deep into the themes of the reading. It helps to reflect on your own personal experiences as they relate to what is going on in the book. Having a variety of perspectives for the discussion helps foster lively debate – it’s no fun when everyone has the same point of view.
Finally, learn to be flexible. It takes some time for a group to feel cohesive, so allow for some changes to the structure and organization as the months go by. You’ll find the rhythm and flow that works for your group of people and may even bring in more members if everyone has a positive experience. Find joy in the pages of the books and in the friendship that comes from your book club. Happy reading!