Bookends: The story behind running a successful book club
There are things that make a book club run smoothly and these include important issues like the right number of members and, of course, wine.
Ever thought of starting up your own book club? It can be a daunting prospect, but take it from someone who knows the secret to a successful club – it’s all about the chairs. More about that later.
It’s almost a cliché these days to be in a book club, at least for middle-aged or older women. Such is their ubiquity that Hollywood made a movie about one in 2018 called, rather uninspiringly, Book Club, followed by a 2023 sequel. There was also a 2015 little-known documentary with the same title about a group of American women who bonded through a book club they formed 70 years earlier.
Some of us recall the quirky Glasgow-set TV series called The Book Group (2002-2003) in which a disparate group of lost souls is brought together by an American newcomer to the city. And, of course, there was The Jane Austen Book Club – both book and film – in which people’s love of the works of the revered English author was the unifying catalyst.
What all of these and real-life book groups have in common is that the people who come together to discuss a book are often those who wouldn’t, in the course of normal life, become friends. I’ve found this out in my own book club, which I started.
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I’d briefly been a member of another group, despite my initial reticence to join. The last thing I wanted was to have homework but, to my surprise, I actually read all the books and enjoyed the process.
That group fizzled out at about the same time my daughter was finishing kindy. I realised I’d met a lot of nice mums (hardly any dads, sorry) and as our children were dispersing to different schools, it made me a little sad to think I might not see them again.
I had a crazy idea – I’d start my own book club. It was really out of character because I’m not the most enthusiastic group organiser. I have a desperate fear that no-one will turn up or there’ll be awkwardness, hence I rarely host parties.
I typed up a flyer asking if anyone would be interested and put in suggestions about how it would work. Six weeks was a good distance between books – not too close so that you felt pressure to read the book quickly – and Thursday nights seemed a good option.
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we all treasure not only the company, the wine (of course!) and the book discussions, but the friendships
Everyone would take turns in hosting – providing wine and cheese as well as tea/coffee and some dessert-style goodie. The host also got to choose that book. I figured I might get three or four interested parties and that it would probably dwindle to nothing within a few months.
Well, dear reader, I was bowled over when seven people enthusiastically replied. Not only that but here we are 18 years later and still going strong. No-one has left; most people turn up unless they’re genuinely unable to; and we all treasure not only the company, the wine (of course!) and the book discussions, but the friendships. So, what’s that about the chairs, you ask? Yes, I’m coming to that.
It’s not that we live in each other’s pockets. We often only see each other at book club, although there are occasional social trips to a play or the like. We also headed off to the Barossa Valley on our 12th anniversary – quite an achievement, considering my modest expectations when I first typed out that flyer. And when we sat down to our annual Christmas lunch last year, one of the members made a toast to the friendships that she treasured as being part of the group. We all heartily agreed.
So, here’s hoping there’s at least another 18 years of book club ahead. Who knows what will happen in that time? We’ve already weathered several positive and negative life events, as well as numerous exciting holidays and achievements of ourselves and the children who brought us together. Some of those former kindy kids have now graduated uni. Eek!
As for the perfect size for a book group? Take it from me – eight is the magic number. It means everyone gets to host once a year if the meetings are six weeks apart, plus there’s time for a Christmas outing and a holiday break over the New Year before picking up again.
As for those chairs … we did try nine members once, but it didn’t work. There just weren’t enough chairs! Sorry to that ninth person who turned up first time a year after we’d been meeting and our group had already become a cohesive whole. You didn’t return and I think you might’ve seen that we already had the perfect number. It’s not you; it’s us. That 1970s TV series Eight is Enough had a good point. We’re a closed shop and won’t be taking any applications for newbies, thanks.
So, think about the number of chairs you have if you’re starting a book club. It can be a deal-breaker.