Things to Consider When Starting a Book Club

It sounds so easy. Pick a book, invite a few friends over and voila, you have started your very own book club. But it's not that simple.

Although starting a book club isn't hard, there are a few things you should take into consideration before you start reading.

When you're looking at the people to include in your book club, it's important to take their personalities into consideration. You don't want people that are just going to agree with everything you say, says Winnie Watts, who leads the St. Joseph Public Library's Downtown branch's book club, but you don't want someone who's always going to be arguing.

"Find people that are compatible with you ... people that you like to listen to what they have to say," she says. "If you're going to start one in your neighborhood, you don't want to start one with they neighbor you're going to argue with all the time."

It's also important to make sure that the people you invite in your book club can handle different opinions without getting defensive or angry.

"There was always one lady who had an opinion about everything and would cut people off and it was all about her, and a lot of members left," says Shirley Blakeney, who leads the St. Joseph Public Library's East Hills branch's book club. "You have to watch for that and nip it in the bud."

If you need some ideas on which books to choose, Ms. Watts suggests going to the library and asking for a list of the most popular books.

"A library is going to have a lot of copies," she says, "You aren't going to have to have your people going out to buy books," which could get expensive if the book is only available in hardback.

Once the book has been read and everyone is ready to discuss, there are two ways you can lead the group. The first is to have a structured discussion, with a list of questions and points you want to cover. Web sites such as www.readinggroupguides.com provide a list of questions and talking points for a variety of books.

Or you could decide to forgo any guides and just see where the discussion goes.

"Our group likes to come in and just hash out what they felt about the book," Ms. Watts says. "Some would like a more structured (discussion)... but every point gets hit on eventually."

No matter how you choose to lead your discussion, the important thing is to remember why you started your club in the first place: to share and discuss your love of books with others.

"It's just been such a growing thing for me, actually, and I think for everybody else," Ms. Watts says. "We've touched on a lot of books that I don't think everyone would have read."