How to Start a Book Club with Your Girlfriends

A book club is a great way to spend some quality time with your girlfriends, and also with yourself as you complete the "required reading" for the club. If you are interested in starting a book club, use these tips to make sure your book club becomes a success.

Choose "Members". The first step to starting a book club is to choose who you want to invite to be a part of it. Email is a great way to approach friends with your idea for a book club. Email allows your friends to ponder the possibilities of being a part of the book club without having to worry with hurting your feelings by saying no in person if they aren't interested. Don't just invite your friends that are known bookworms, open it up to everyone you enjoy spending time with. You might just find a closet reader, or even create a new one.

Choose Material. To simplify things, go ahead and make the first choice for a book to read. Throw out your book idea in the initial email inviting your friends to join the club. Once that initial book is chosen, you can get input from the group on subsequent choices. For the first book, choose something that isn't too long and that is appealing to many different personalities. Bestsellers are typically a great starting point for choosing a good first book club read.

Choose Location. Where do you want your book club to meet? Many people may enjoy the comforts of home, but if you are worried about having your house clean, keeping the kids occupied, or friends having to travel too far to meet, choose a neutral location instead. Coffee shops, restaurants, malls, and parks all make great places to hold your book club meetings.

Set the Mood. Talking about the books you have read in your book club may be the central focus of the meetings, but everyone will enjoy a little food and drink as well. If your book club is going to meet at your home consider serving some light snacks. You might even get really creative and supply snacks that go along with your reading choices. Once the book club is well established you might rotate snack duties, so that you don't get bogged down with always providing the food.

Honor Time Limits. In your initial book club invite email, make sure you mention how long each meeting will be. Will you meet for an hour, two hours? However long you decide to meet for, be sure to honor it. Everyone is busy and a book club meeting that goes an hour longer than promised is sure to become a burden. If the club is supposed to meet from 7:00-9:00 make sure you start wrapping things up at 8:45.

Maintain the Schedule. Once you decide on a schedule for you book club (every other Thursday, the first Monday of the month, etc) stick to it, even if there are some conflicts with members. If you try to change your book club meeting dates every time someone takes a vacation, has to work late, etc you'll just end up cancelling or rescheduling your meetings as often as you have them. If someone has to miss a meeting, so be it!

Book clubs are a great way to spend time with friends and also encourage leisure reading. Use these tips to get started with your very own book club.