How It All Began

Our book club has been going strong for 3 years now. I figured now is as good a time as ever to tell how we got started, share a few secrets of our success, and a few tips for those who may want to try and start their own reading group.

I have always loved reading, and I started to think that it would be fun to start a group that could read together and share their thoughts. I decided that 6 members would be the perfect number because if we met every other month, each person would get to choose one book per year. The trouble was deciding which 5 to ask. Over the course of about a month, I asked several women from church. I knew some better than others, and not all of the women knew each other very well. A couple turned it down because they weren't interested or were too busy with other commitments. Finally, 5 had accepted the invitation, and we were ready to begin.

First I sent out a questionnaire. There were questions like, "What is your birthday?" "What are your favorite books?" "What is your favorite literary genre?" We discussed a plan for meeting and decided that every two months was a good idea. The person who had chosen the book would host the meeting at their house and cook a nice dinner. At that meeting, the next person would announce the new book choice. I chose first since I had organized the group, and then we went in order of birthdays from there.

We had been meeting for about a year when we agreed that we loved our meetings and it seemed to take forever for the next meeting to come around. We would have to sit on the next book choice until a week or two before the next meeting. We unanimously decided to start meeting once a month instead. We worried at first that it might be too demanding, but we have never had trouble scheduling a date, and the frequency has been perfect. We have all been glad that we changed to monthly meetings.

The more we met, the stronger our friendships grew. As I said, not everyone knew each other very well at first. Before long we were convinced we needed a fun name for our book club. We came up with the title B.A.D. Girls. It captures the feeling of having fun evenings out, stepping out of our roles as wives/mothers/employees for a time of renewal. It also describes what our group is about: Books and Discussion. We even had t-shirts made.

The nice thing about our group is our flexibility. We have a procedure for meetings, but we like to shake things up sometimes. We've met at restaurants, had special Christmas parties, had a meeting that included our spouses, gone on outings to book stores, watched a movie based on a book we read, and had book exchanges.

Sometimes we each bring a book from our shelf that we don't mind parting with, then have a book exchange. About a year ago we added "birthday books." Each of us has our birthday in a different month. When we meet during a birthday month, we each bring the birthday girl a book. It's convenient and amazing that we each have a birthday month to our self.

A while back we started a blog to help us stay even more connected. Rachel takes notes at our meetings and posts summaries for us. Any of us can post about books we are reading or articles we have found online. It has been a great tool for sharing information.

We have read all kinds of books. We never know what the next person is going to pick. It forces us to read books that we may have not thought of before. I've heard of other book clubs that vote on which books to read- more of a group choice. But, since we all love reading so much, we enjoy this broadening of horizons. We also enjoy being surprised each month.

Sometimes I wonder why our group has remained so cohesive and excited about the club over the years. I think part of it has to be chalked up to luck. The right 6 people came together. Six who truly love reading and sharing together. There's no drama or tension within the group. We really like meeting together and each of us brings so much to the group. We like to create fun environments and experiences. That kind of thing can't be planned. But you should be careful who is invited to the group. This is the main dynamic that can make or break a reading club.

Here are a few of my top tips for a successful book club:

1. Not everyone has to be best friends at the beginning (or even know each other!), but invite people who get along easily with others. Make sure the people know what they are getting into and can commit to it.

2. Everyone should have an equal share in choosing and hosting, and be equally invested in the club.

3. A structure for meetings should be established, but variances and special occasions are valuable too.

4. Embrace chances for camaraderie: our club shares recipes together, has a blog, and special activities.

There are a lot of women out there who enjoy reading and would love to be a part of an awesome book club. It's not that hard to start one. All it takes is desire and a little initiative.
If it's something you are interested in then my advice would be to go for it!