A book club meeting can take many forms: it can be a discussion around a book that everyone has read, an introduction to new books or authors or the chance to discuss a particular theme. Whatever format you choose, it should make your living room home to lively debates and memorable occasions.
Your property inspiration
What could be more conducive to a successful book club meeting than a floor-to-ceiling book like the ones in this stunning Lanseria farmhouse? If there’s one thing you can be sure of when your book club visits your home it’s that your bookshelves will be under scrutiny.
With this much shelf space to work with, you can choose between a myriad of ways to organise your books. You can dedicate one shelf to thrillers, another to biographies and another to self-help books and motivational tomes. Or, you can choose to alphabetise your library for ease of reference. The sky’s the limit - or rather, the ceiling’s the limit.
Top ideas for people starting a book club in their homes
We asked the current homeowner (a proud book club member) for some of their top tips for holding a successful book club. “Choose the perfect book and get inspired,” was the response. “Use social media to let the author know that you’ve read them and loved them.” Building on this, we’ve put together a list of great tips and tricks to make your book club interesting.
Don’t choose a book - choose a theme
Rather than compelling every member of your book club to read the same book, you can provide a theme for the month and have every member of the club choose their own book within that theme. For example, if the theme is Dystopian fiction, you may find that various members of your book club choose to read books like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood or Lois Lowry’s The Giver. With each of you having read something different around the same topic, the conversation will be rich and insightful.
Create reading challenges
Reading challenges are designed to take readers out of their comfort zones. For example, if some members of your book club prefer romance novels, they could read a thriller for one month. Alternatively, if you have a member who prefers mystery stories, they could read a fantasy novel (think Terry Pratchett or similar). At the next book club meeting, they could report back on how they enjoyed getting out of their comfort zone and what they learnt.
Rotate leadership responsibilities
Running a book club can start to feel like an extra chore if one person has to do all the work. Put a rotational system in place to determine who will host the next book club meeting (bearing in mind that some people’s homes may be more conducive to this than others). The role of facilitating the conversation at book club meetings should also be rotated. This way, you’ll get a fresh perspective every month.
Encourage everyone to participate
Make sure that everyone has a chance to share their thoughts. You can do this by moderating discussions, using a round-robin format or inviting members to submit discussion questions in advance. You can even put your questions in a box on the coffee table and pick them out at random to keep things interesting.
Your home should inspire you
…and it should also inspire your book club! If you’re looking for a home that has the space, grace and elegance to be an ideal book club venue, contact Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty today.
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