How to Start a Book Club

Just as there is more than one way to skin a cat, there are different ways to set up a book-reading group. Many groups are small, made up of six to eight friends and acquaintances within a community who get together to read and talk about books simply because they like to read. They might meet once a month at each other's houses and decide on books to read by consensus--someone will suggest a title, and if it sounds good to everyone, that will be the pick. Or they may take turns making the selection and everyone agrees to go along. Publishers have long been aware of the popularity of book clubs, and have for some time printed up reading-group guides, available for free in bookstores, consisting of an interview with the author and sample discussion questions that can help get the ball rolling on meeting nights. A few even bind these guides into the back of the paperback edition of the book.

Today there are even more types of clubs, including on-line book clubs and television book clubs, and all of those clubs are great. The Pulpwood Queens do things a little differently. Ever since the day my sister Karen put the beauty shop/bookstore bee in my bonnet, I knew I wanted authors involved in some way. In my years of working in books on all sides of the bookselling tables, I have learned how to go about getting authors to actually come to the meetings, and that has made the experience so much more exciting for my Queens. Maybe some of you out there would like to start a Pulpwood Queens group or join an existing chapter in one of many towns and cities across the country. And if you want to join the largest "meeting and discussing" book club in the cosmos, the Pulpwood Queens, contact me at [email protected].

Or maybe some of you want to start your own book club, in which case I say "Hallelujah." There are plenty of good books to go around. A publisher once printed some promotional T-shirts for the annual booksellers convention that read so many books, so little time. So true!

Read a Q&A With Kathy L. Patrick, Pulpwood Queens Book Club Founder

Here is a Pulpwood Queen's considered advice on what works and what doesn't:

1. Don't limit membership. Call all your friends and ask them to join. They don't have to be readers. Some of my most enthusiastic members weren't big readers before they joined the group. They came because it seemed like fun, and isn't that the way reading is supposed to be? Unlike those who prefer smaller, more homogeneous groups, I say the more the merrier. My larger chapters seem to ebb and flow as members move away and others join the fun. I think discussions are livelier with a diverse group, and besides, if my members don't know each other well before they join, they tend to become friends quickly. You can learn a lot about someone after you have been talking about a book for a couple of hours. It is absolutely mandatory for all members to read the book. I know we all have busy lives. There will always be times when you just can't get the book finished in time. But I feel that, to truly experience a book-club meeting (especially when the author is in attendance either in person or by phone), reading the book is common courtesy. I don't make coming to the meetings mandatory, and my Pulpwood Queens appreciate the flexibility. They don't have to worry that they will let the group down by missing a meeting. Even though not every member comes to every meeting, each chapter has a solid hardcore group. Now, you may be saying to yourself: Well, that's fine, but what if too many people show up? Honey, all I can say is I once fit over 200 people in my house for an author event. We were packed in like sardines, but everybody had a ball!
   
   
2. Choose a leader, someone who is committed to running the meetings and keeping the discussion on track. Ideally, she will be an upbeat, enthusiastic "people person" who can lead the group without being either uppity or condescending or lording it over the group in any way. Each Pulpwood chapter has a Head Queen. I love being Head Queen and so does each of my Head Queens and Head Timber Guys (men who run chapters of my book clubs). Being an avid reader and not at all shy about voicing my opinions, I feel I have received the calling in the way that others receive the calling to become ministers, teachers, or doctors.
   
   
3. Choose your location. You can take turns meeting in each other's homes, or one or two members with the most room and fewest potential distractions, like noisy, nosey, "Hey, can I come, too, Momma?" kids, might rotate hosting duties. Many local bookstores are happy to play host to reading groups, as are libraries. Be creative. Some Pulpwood Queens chapters meet in bed-and-breakfasts or college coffeehouses. I even have one chapter that meets in the Texas Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Music City Texas!
   
   
4. Choose a day, date, and time to meet and try to make it consistent from month to month. My Pulpwood Queens meet on the first Tuesday of every month. Once in a while, we will move the meeting due to a holiday or a guest author's schedule. Most of the time we try to keep some sort of consistency. That way nobody can say they never can remember when the book club meets.
   
   
5. Prepare discussion questions before the meeting. This is the leader's responsibility, but there is no reason for anyone to feel intimidated by this task. I provide the questions for the Pulpwood Queens Book Club chapters on our Web site, but you can also e-mail a book's publisher or the author, and they are usually happy to send you questions. There are also a number of Internet sources and sites that suggest general questions. Each of us responds slightly differently to the characters and events in a novel, as we all bring our own experiences into how we interpret the meaning of a book. Just remember that there are no bad questions and no wrong answers. I often find that the part of a book that moved me the most didn't move other club members as much, and vice versa. And that is just how it should be--like life. I believe that our personal experience of a book, the way we relate to or identify with each character, is what reading is all about. It's what stays with us long after we have forgotten plot details or minor characters. Of course, I'm sometimes amazed at comments I never saw coming. I once had a member object to a book because she said the main character, a Methodist minister's wife, "would never act that way." She got quite excited about it, and I had to remind her that the book was written by a former Methodist minister's wife. So again, there are no wrong answers, but discussions can get lively. Sometimes I like it when there is disagreement over a book, because then the conversation goes on even longer.

Six Questions Guaranteed to Get a Discussion Going

1. At what point did you really become involved in the story?
2. What character did you relate to most?
3. What do you think is the author's underlying theme?
4. Did you feel that the book was believable?
5. If this were going to be a film, whom would you cast as the main characters?
6. If you could change one thing in this book, what would it be?

This is an excerpt from The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life by Kathy L. Patrick. Copyright © 2008 by Kathy L. Patrick. Reprinted with permission by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group Inc. All rights reserved.