I'm a member of a book club that has been running for over five years (I personally have been in it for about a year). Here are its secrets to longevity: 1. There are 4 main organizers. If someone gets tired of hosting meetings, they invite a participant who has become friends with the organizers and socializes with them outside the book club. 2. No one else chooses the books; only the organizers do. They are either classics (Turgenev, Woolf), contemporary popular literature that people are talking about ("Girl, Interrupted", "The Hole" by Hiroko Oyamada), or romantic fantasy (rare, but it happens). 3. For each meeting, a small fee (a few dollars) is charged. This money is used to rent a cozy venue (locations often change) or to gift a book to one of the participants, which will be the next read. 4. They hold thematic meetings (e.g., we read a book about wine and drink Prosecco, watch a film based on a Murakami story and discuss both the film and the story, they even once organized a private theater performance just for the book club). 5. They organize an annual book swap and an annual Secret Santa, and they celebrate the club's birthday with gifts.

I had a weekly book club that ran smoothly for two years. We mutually ended it because all of our work/personal lives started getting busier and our final book felt like a natural stopping point. Tbh I think what kept it going is that there were only 3 of us. The golden rule for book clubs is "smaller = better." The larger your book club, the more likely you will have undedicated members who don't keep up (which is a buzzkill every time it happens), the harder it is for everyone to agree on the next book, etc. If you're starting a book club, my advice is to be exclusive. Seek out real readers only and leave the flakes behind.

no_class

3 days ago

Yea, I imagine I'd be pissed if i had people not showing up or not keeping up. That's just disrespectful

1Reply

I did an online book club, which lasted about a year, over about ten books. We would have a vote on which book we would read, and I think this is what killed the group. We had people join who would put forward books, vote, and then not read the book. They were typically sci-fi. The core members who would actually read would be unenthusiastic and eventually drop off. I found I had to carry and drive conversation, which was a chore for me socially. I lost interest in the books myself, and as soon as I (the only one who reliably finished the books and led conversation) dropped off the book club, it just died. I'm sceptical that book clubs can even work, to be honest. So many times I've seen a group resolve to read whatever book, and the first few meetings are successful, and then life gets in the way and people lose interest. This comes with a disclaimer that my only real experience with book clubs has been online.

mort_a_venise

6 days ago

I think what you're saying is very true and reflects the risk/reward nature of clubs. Compared to other hobbies, reading can be a big dedication as well as a very personal dedication. Even if you're talking to others while you're going through chapters, most of the time you're going to be working by yourself on what can be a taxing process. Because of this, you do need some motivation to carry you through, either internally being interested in the book or externally being driven by the social interaction. In book clubs, it's often going to be the latter when you are negotiating amongst a group of people. If you don't have strong ties, it's going to feel like a slog. And even if you do go to the effort of reading a book you don't enjoy, if someone else doesn't you're going to feel a little betrayed about the time you spent. Consequently, you either do need a group that's specific enough that you won't dislike what's chosen, or to have a certain level of connection and trust in others for it to continue.

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My current book club, the only one I've ever been a part of, is on its 15th book now. We have 4 active members, all IRL friends. 3 of us are original members, 1 dropped out after the 7th book and a new one joined on the 11th book. We take turns picking books and then meet for drinks after everyone has read the book and discuss it for 1-2 hours usually. I can't say if we're doomed to fail eventually. Probably, nothing lasts forever, I guess. We've made it so far, over a year and a half. I suppose you have to be flexible to make it work; you have to pick books that won't be too boring or too much for other members, and you need to be open to new people joining.