This isn’t your mother’s book club

Think of a book club and most of 20 and 30something’s thoughts will immediately gravitate towards their mothers or grandmothers sitting in a semi-circle in the living room reading the latest Oprah book (possibly while knitting and surrounded by lots of cats).

But book clubs don’t just have to cater to an older crowd anymore. Get a group of your friends and co-workers together and try the tips below to create a different kind of book club. These steps are guaranteed to get you some participants who might think a book club isn’t for them.

1. Unfortunately, just reading a good book and discussing it with friends isn’t always going to attract a lot of people to join your club. Consider adding another dimension to your meetings. Coupling it with another past-time is a great way to make your book club attractive to people so they want to join. For example, try the combo of a wine tasting book club or a cupcake book club – and then make it a requirement that everyone bring a bottle of wine or cupcakes to each meeting. Adding another dimension not only attracts more participants but can also add a bit of flavor to your meetings.

2. Instead of holding your book club meetings at the traditional places, consider hosting your rendezvous at a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try, a wine bar, or a bowling alley. Neutral locations make it more comfortable for new people who have just joined the group and don’t know anyone. They also make the outing a lot of fun!

3. Invite the author of the book to come to your meeting. While this might not work if you pick an author who is deceased or very mainstream, a lot of local authors would most definitely be willing to attend or even Skype in for the occasion. Plus, you might learn something about the book you never knew before.

4. If you have a lot of movie buffs in your group, consider picking your latest book selection with a new movie that is coming out in theaters. Have everyone read the book, go to the movies together, and then discuss the differences after. This is a sure fire way to spark debates and lively conversations.

5. Make your book club meeting into a theme party by urging all of the members to dress the part of the your latest book pick if it was set in a different time period. Or just simply make food and drinks mentioned in the novel you all read.

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