Guide · 3 minute read

How to choose books for your book club

Choosing the next book is where a lot of book clubs come unstuck. One person always ends up deciding, or the group goes round in circles for half an hour. A simple, agreed way of picking fixes both.

What makes a good book club book?

A book you loved isn’t always a book worth discussing. The best book club picks usually have:

• Something to disagree about, like a morally grey character, a choice you’d argue over or an ending that divides people.
• A manageable length. Under 400 pages suits a monthly club, and anything longer may need two sessions.
• Easy availability in paperback, ebook, audiobook and at the library, so nobody is left waiting for a copy.
• Enough going on beyond the plot, such as themes, setting or the way it’s written, so there’s more to say than “I liked it”.

Books that everyone finds “nice” are often the hardest to talk about. A book half the group dislikes can make for the best evening of the year.

Five ways to pick the next book

1. Take turns

Each member picks a book in turn. It’s simple and fair, and everyone ends up reading things they’d never have chosen. The risk is a pick nobody else enjoys, so some clubs add a rule that the picker can’t choose something they’ve already read.

2. Take turns, with a shortlist and a vote

Whoever’s turn it is brings three books, pitches each one and the group votes. The picker still shapes the choice, but everyone gets a say. It’s our favourite method, and it turns choosing into a small event rather than an admin task.

3. Everyone nominates, then vote

Each member suggests one book and the group votes. This works well for small groups but can become a popularity contest, and the same kind of book tends to win every time.

4. Follow a theme

Pick a theme for the year or the season, such as books in translation, one book from each decade, or debuts. Themes stop the club drifting into the same genre and give people a starting point when it’s their turn.

5. Let a host choose

In bigger or more structured clubs, it can be easier for one organiser to choose, perhaps from suggestions. It’s quick, but it works best when the host rotates every so often.

Keep a list of what you’ve read

A running history of past reads, ratings and who picked what helps more than you’d expect. It stops the club repeating itself, reminds everyone whose turn it is, and settles arguments about whether you really did all hate that one book in March.

How Bookbunch handles it

Bookbunch builds in the shortlist-and-vote method. On presentation night, whoever’s turn it is brings three books in secret and presents them live on everyone’s screen. The bunch votes, and a tie goes to the wheel. Bigger bunches can switch to Host’s choice, and every bunch keeps its history of past reads, ratings and picks.

Once you’ve picked, our book club questions will help you get the discussion going.