Guide · 4 minute read

How to start a book club

Starting a book club is mostly a matter of asking a few people and picking a date. Keeping one going is the harder part. Here’s how to do both.

1. Decide what kind of book club you want

Before you invite anyone, have a rough idea of what you’re after. A few questions settle most of it:

• Who’s it for? Close friends, colleagues, neighbours, or people you’ve not met yet who love the same genre.
• What will you read? Anything goes, or a theme like literary fiction, fantasy, crime, classics or non-fiction.
• How serious is it? Some clubs dig into every chapter; others are an excuse to catch up and talk about a book along the way. Both are fine, but it helps if everyone expects the same thing.

2. Keep it small to start

Four to eight members is the sweet spot. It’s enough that a couple of people missing a month doesn’t stall things, and few enough that everyone gets a say. Past ten or so, conversation tends to split into side chats and quieter readers stop talking.

Invite a few more people than you need. Some will say yes and never quite make it, and that’s normal.

3. Pick a rhythm that people can keep up with

Most book clubs read one book a month. That works for a typical 300 to 400 page novel, but it can be a stretch for busy people or long books. If people keep turning up unfinished:

• move to every five or six weeks,
• pick shorter books now and then, or
• split a long book over two sessions.

Settle on a regular slot, such as the first Thursday of the month, so nobody has to negotiate a date every time.

4. Choose your first book carefully

The first book sets the tone. Go for something:

• easy to get hold of, in paperback, ebook and audiobook, and at the library;
• not too long, ideally under 400 pages;
• with something to talk about, like a divisive character, a moral dilemma or an ending people will argue over.

A book that splits opinion makes a much better first discussion than one everyone politely liked. Our guide to choosing book club books covers ways to pick fairly once you’re up and running.

5. Agree a few light rules

You don’t need a constitution, but agreeing a handful of things early saves awkwardness later:

• How the next book gets chosen, and whose turn it is.
• Whether you can come if you haven’t finished the book. (We’d say yes, always.)
• How you handle spoilers for people who are still reading.
• Whether audiobooks count. (Also yes.)

6. Have something ready for the first discussion

Conversation rarely needs much help once it gets going, but the first few minutes can be stiff. Bring three or four open questions, such as “Who did you side with?” or “What would you have done differently?”, and let it run from there. Our list of book club questions that work for any book is a good place to start.

7. Keep people reading between meetings

The month between meetings is where book clubs quietly fade. People fall behind, feel guilty about it and stop coming. A few things help:

• Share how far you’ve got, so being behind feels normal rather than embarrassing.
• Drop the odd thought or favourite line into a shared space while you read, instead of saving everything for the meeting.
• Keep a record of what you’ve read and what everyone thought. It’s lovely to look back on after a year.

This is what Bookbunch is built for. Everyone’s bookmark sits on one shared pace track, notes tagged with a chapter stay hidden until each reader gets there, and a daily question keeps the conversation ticking over between meets.

8. Expect it to change

Most book clubs that last a few years look quite different from how they started. Members come and go, the books change and the meeting day moves. That’s a sign it’s working, not that it’s falling apart. Check in every few months about what people are enjoying and adjust.