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.

There are things that I know I’m good at. For example, I’m a great multi-tasker, I can plan an amazing event, and I can pack a suitcase like a pro.

And I know there are things that I just can’t do. Such as, simple arithmetic, running more than a mile, and last but not least cooking.

I confess: I can’t cook. I’m a single, 20-something who lives alone that gets way too much take-out and eats way too many frozen meals. What makes me even more sad? My dad and my sister are excellent cooks. My sister even went to culinary school. In terms of being a whiz in the kitchen, I rank worst in my family.

To rectify this situation, I went out to find myself a cooking class that could teach me how to be a better cook. A Groupon “coupon” led me to one of the Mix It Up classes at Bespoke Cuisine.

A little background on Bespoke Cuisine before I jump into my night. Bespoke is a catering company that also hosts interactive cooking parties at their loft-like kitchen in the West Loop. In addition to private cooking classes for larger groups, Bespoke also hosts Mix It Up classes which are held a few times a month with different themes for each class. Past classes include French food, Tuscan nights, and Asian grilling. Classes are usually followed by a family style meal in Bespoke’s dining room or a cocktail party if it is an appetizer class. Mix It Up classes are $80 per person.

Because things are always more fun with friends, I forced two of my friends to also purchase tickets for the class and we arrived after work this past August for the summer appetizers class (baby steps for this first time chef).

First off, I have to say anywhere that is BYOB makes me squeal so I was delighted to find that I could bring my own wine to imbibe with. For anyone who doesn’t like to drink, soft drinks are provided by Bespoke. My friends and I got there a little late, but we opened up our wine and sampled the cheese trays which were also provided for us by Bespoke before we started cooking.

The set up of the night was pretty simple. After our mingling hour and cheese platter sampler, the head chef divided us up into groups and we were then assigned a chef to work with and two appetizers to make. And I have to note that I don’t think one of the chefs was bad looking so I automatically felt like I was being taught by the Voltaggio brothers on Top Chef.

My group made watermelon cubes with aged balsamic and Boursin and sweet pepper tartlettes. My only complaint for the whole night was that my group seemed to have the very simple appetizers to make considering some of the other things on the menu involved grilling, blending, and actual baking. I would have liked to try my hand at grilling the steak for the steak skewers.

I loved that hands on teaching is what our class is all about and because of this each member of my group was given a chore to do. A few of mine included cutting peppers and prepping the tartlettes. I liked that we were able to prepare everything ourselves and that the chefs were just there to give tips (like how to cut a pepper without cutting off your fingers).

When the appetizers were complete, we were encouraged to serve the other members of the class with what we had prepared so there was more time for mingling. Mingling = a great opportunity to meet new girl friends and cute chefs.

My final verdict: BYOB, cute chefs, free recipes & a better knowledge of creating great food? This place is totally worth its price tag.