Guide · Updated 2026-11-12

How to start and run a book club

Everything a new book club needs to decide, from how many members to invite and how to choose titles, to borrowing library kits, meeting online, keeping discussion balanced, and including members who read in large print, audio or braille.

A book club needs very little to begin: a few people, a book and a time to meet. The groups that last usually settle a handful of practical questions early and then stick to them. This guide works through those questions in order.

Decide what kind of group you want

The American Library Association’s starter guide begins with the group’s character. Is it mainly social, mainly serious, or somewhere in between? Settle this first, because it shapes everything else. A group that wants close reading will choose different books, and run meetings differently, from one that mostly wants a monthly evening with friends who read.

Also decide whether you will read across genres or focus on one, such as mysteries, literary fiction or historical novels. A focused group is easier to choose books for. A mixed group keeps people reading outside their habits.

Size, schedule and place

• Size. The ALA suggests that 8 to 16 members works best. That is enough people for a real discussion when a few miss a meeting, and few enough that everyone can speak.
• Frequency. Monthly suits most groups, and some prefer every six weeks. Once you choose a schedule, keep to it. A regular day, such as the second Tuesday, is easier to remember than a date negotiated each month.
• Timing. Fit it to members’ work and childcare, whether that means weekday evenings or weekend afternoons.
• Place. The ALA lists homes, clubhouses, public libraries, churches, local Ys and restaurants. Many public libraries offer meeting rooms, and some run their own groups you could join instead.

How long a meeting runs

ALA’s I Love Libraries site suggests a meeting of about two to two and a half hours:

• 30 to 45 minutes of social time;
• 15 to 20 minutes of business, such as picking the next book or confirming dates;
• 60 to 90 minutes of discussion.

If your group is more social, shorten the business. If it is more serious, put the social time at the end so it doesn’t eat into the discussion.

Choosing books

Common methods are a group vote or a rotation in which members take turns choosing. I Love Libraries suggests picking two or three books at a time rather than fixing a whole year in advance. It also advises against choosing a member’s personal favourite, since it is hard to discuss a book someone is emotionally attached to.

Books that discuss well usually have at least one of the following:

• characters who change or make difficult choices;
• motives the group can argue about;
• a setting that matters to the story;
• an ending that people may read differently.

Length matters too. Check that the book can be read in your gap between meetings and is easy to get hold of, preferably in several formats (see below).

For ideas:

• Reading Group Choices publishes monthly recommendations aimed at book clubs. Discussion questions are collected in annual guides sold through its store.
• Librarians are a free resource, and many libraries publish book club lists.
• To keep track of candidates as a group, use our reading list tool to build and share a shortlist before the vote.
• If members are torn between two titles, the compare tool sets them side by side.

Library book club kits

Many public libraries lend book club kits: a bag holding several copies of one title, usually with discussion questions, borrowed on one card for longer than a normal loan. The rules vary between library systems. One example is NCW Libraries in Washington State, which describes its kits like this:

• 10 to 12 copies plus discussion questions, packed in a tote;
• some kits include a large-type copy;
• a six-week loan, with no renewals;
• you reserve a kit by searching the catalogue for “Book Club Kit” and placing a hold;
• the person who borrows the kit is responsible for returning every item, in person.

If your library offers kits, a few habits help:

• Reserve early. Popular titles have waiting lists, so plan two or three books ahead.
• Choose one member to handle the kit. That person borrows it, hands out the copies, collects them and returns the full set on time.
• Count the copies when you hand them out and when you collect them.
• Check for other formats. NCW Libraries notes that nearly all its kit titles are also available as ebooks and eaudiobooks through Libby and Hoopla. That helps members who need a different format or can’t attend the handout.

Meeting online or hybrid

An online group removes travel and lets members join from anywhere. A hybrid group, with some members in a room and others on a call, keeps people who move away or can’t travel. Online meetings work best with a few adjustments:

• Keep the meeting shorter than an in-person one, since screen fatigue sets in sooner.
• Ask one person to run the call and keep an eye on the chat, separately from the person leading discussion.
• Use a “raise hand” feature, or a fixed speaking order for the first round, so quieter members are not talked over.
• Send the questions in advance so members who can’t stay on video can still contribute in writing.

Leading the discussion

Each meeting needs one person to lead the discussion. You can rotate the role, or let the person who chose the book lead. I Love Libraries offers some advice for whoever leads:

• Prepare. Read the book in good time and gather questions. These might come from the publisher, author interviews or a reading guide. Our discussion prompts tool generates open questions you can adapt.
• Open simply. Begin with first impressions, or why the book was chosen.
• Keep it moving. Ask follow-up questions, and tick off prepared questions as they get covered naturally.
• Close well. Ask whether anything was missed and whether members would recommend the book, then hand over to the next selector.

Ground rules

Agree a few rules early, before they are needed:

• Not finished? Decide whether members who haven’t finished the book should still come, and whether spoilers are fair game. I Love Libraries suggests welcoming them, on the understanding that members who did finish can discuss the whole book.
• Talk about the book, not your taste. Encourage people to point to specific passages rather than simply saying they liked or disliked it.
• Dominant talkers. Some groups pass an object to show who has the floor. If one person persistently takes over, I Love Libraries suggests a friendly phone call rather than a public correction.
• Digressions. Allow some, then signal clearly when it’s time to return to the book.

Making the group accessible

A book club should not depend on everyone reading the same edition in the same way. When you choose a title, check what formats exist:

• Large print. Large-print editions exist for many popular titles, and some library kits include one.
• Audiobooks. Treat listening as reading. A member who listened has read the book.
• Ebooks. On an e-reader or app, members can enlarge the text, change the font or use text-to-speech.
• Braille and accessible audio. In the United States, the Library of Congress’s National Library Service (NLS) offers a free audiobook and braille library. It serves people with low vision, blindness, or a physical, perceptual or reading disability that makes standard print hard to use. Books can be downloaded through its BARD service or sent by post, and playback equipment and postage are free. Other countries have similar services through their national or public libraries.

Practical details matter as well:

• Choose a meeting place with step-free access and good lighting.
• Share questions in a format members can enlarge or have read aloud.
• Online, turn on captions where your platform offers them.
• Check how you will communicate with each member. The ALA suggests mailed reminders for members without email.

Keeping it going

Groups usually fade through drift rather than disagreement. Fix the next two dates before each meeting ends, keep a short rota of who chooses and who leads, and keep a club journal of books read, as the ALA suggests, so new members can catch up.