• What does it take to make a successful book club?

• What's the best process for picking a book?
• Do you have a leader for the group, or should that responsibility rotate?
• How do you recruit new members? (or how do you limit new members?)
• Where should you meet?
• Will food be served?
• How often should you meet?

Share your expertise!

If you've been in a long-time book group that is vibrant and thriving, let others in on the secrets to your success. Click EasyEdit and type tips and advice to this page.

Plus, add suggestions on how to start a book club.

seantm: I started a book club after moving to a new city 2 and half years ago and it is still going strong. I have been the 'Leader' which just means organizer and moderator by default though others are now beginning to share this role -which is great. Based on my experiences I would say the keys to success here are as follows:

• Meet as consistently as possible; same date e.g., the last Wednesday PM of each month, same time, same place (preferably somewhere with refreshments -we meet at a restaurant and members often have dinner) this helps with continuity.
• Allow all members to contribute equally --this may take some moderating but it's important that all have an opportunity to share --not just the dominant extroverts in the group. In our BC we just start off the session by going in a circle and letting everyone say their piece then opening it up to a general discussion --or free for all.
• Read diverse works -- in our club members bring prospective titles and we vote on them each month -this has resulted in a wide range of choices from classics to unheard of little gems like FUP by Jim Dodge.
• Be flexible, warm and welcoming about changes in the group membership. People are sure to come and go, but you'll always have a core membership if people are attending because they truly enjoy it --not out of a sense of obligation because they "joined" a club. We don't actively seek people out but the meeting is listed in a local community event forum however, most people join via friends who are members.
• Have fun with it! Don't take yourselves too seriously --it's not for academia or media --it's for the love of the written word or as Nancy states it --book "lust".
  

Rosencrantz: Here's my advice...
In my experience, a successful book club is composed of a small group (mine currently has 5-8 regular members) of close friends. Everyone in my book club has known each other for years. Since the group is so small, we each take turns picking a book. We all have different tastes, but we all also have a great appreciation for good literature of any type and genre. We don't try to recruit new members, but we feel free to bring new people to our meetings if they express interest, and they are free to join us. We meet once a week on Sunday mornings when we are all least likely to be involved in something else (school, work, etc...) at a favorite coffee shop so we can enjoy coffee and pastries while discussing our books. This works great for us--though I am sure they can be as many types of book clubs as there are readers of books!