In every stage of my life, I’ve always been a reader. In the past few years with little kids who spend their evenings watching silly cartoons on TV on what seems to be a loop, I’m usually reading with a little lamp behind me while they sit in my lap, knocking my book around every few minutes or so.
After I finish reading a good one — or one that wasn’t that good — I post it in my Facebook story with my very unofficial star rating, usually around the time I am tucking my kids to bed.
Through the magic of social media, halfway across the globe, my cousin would be waking up with her little one while her family was stationed in Japan. We’d message back and forth on books and were both curious about the very popular “Where the Crawdads Sing” and did it live up to the hype? And that is how our “Cousin Book Club” started.
While my husband’s family lives on both sides of the road or the other, my family is very dispersed and meet up for Thanksgiving every year and maybe on another odd occasion if we’re lucky so we decided a book club would be a fun way to get all of us together.
The thing about a book club is it’s a great way to bond with friends and family. You don’t have to worry about making conversation– you already have a topic and meaningful discussion easily flows!
Even virtually, it’s a fun way to connect and fun to see the warm breeze blow into my Californian cousin’s hair when she logs on, while my youngest cousin in Florida might be coming in rumpled from a softball game, while my new New York cousin-in-law noticeably went a little houseplant-crazy during the pandemic. Everyone’s takes on the same book always adds a layer of enjoyment reading it and I always walk away with a deeper understanding of it’s pages.
For our virtual meetings, we chose to use the Facebook messenger and also do our video calling there because unlike some of the free versions of Zoom or other platforms, there is no time limit and it was also free when one of us was overseas.
Virtual meetings could work for you if your members are local but babysitters are hard to find or schedules are hard to sync.
If you’ve thought about starting your own book club, there are lots of resources out there to make it stress free.
Your group could shadow a celebrity’s group, like Oprah or Reese Witherspoon and mimic their book choices and questions. Many books these days also have book club guides and resources right in the back of the book. For my “Cousin Book Club,” we alternate who leads the meeting and we all take turns choosing the book and coming up with discussion questions.
I really enjoy the variety of books and genres, many of which I never would have picked on my own!
In person book clubs do let your group dive in even more. One thing I do wish my virtual club had was a chance for snacks! I would have loved to have seafood and grits to correlate with our inaugural book. But at the same time, don’t set the bar too high on yourself.
Have everyone bring wine or a dish or rotate and take turns playing hostess. Another thing you can do with an in person book club is meet up and watch the movies that are coming out based on books after your book discussion or play a group game afterwards.
Not sure who to invite to your group? Put some feelers out with a mom or church group you are already in, or any friends you already enjoy having a long lunch with. Have your friends bring a friend!
Your next book club could be waiting anywhere for you. One time, I walked into the hockey rink and there was a mom reading “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” and we had a fun impromptu chat with her and then even more readers came out of the woodwork, asking, “Which husband are you on?” My aunt joined her book group over 20 years ago, before she even had my “California cousin” at her community’s clubhouse, and she is still meeting with those ladies!
After you get your group together, talk about how much you’d like to meet.
My group decided bi-monthly was enough for us to not have to rush to read the book. Any longer and we’d probably forget what we’d read! Other groups meet monthly because they are more avidly reading.
Not looking to start your own club or looking to find new friends? Join one that’s already established.
The obvious choice for a book club is your local library.
The branches on the shore have a variety of clubs for all and many provide niches aimed at building community. Talbot County’s Easton branch has the “Hummingbird Book Club” aimed at kids 6-12, a general book club and a club focused on equity, diversity and inclusion and reads books that highlight that theme. Caroline County’s Federalsburg branch has the “Federalsburg Bookies.”
Queen Anne’s County has an online book club called the “Next Chapter Book Club” where adults with disabilities and their caregivers meet and read aloud. Their Centreville Branch has a Veteran’s book club led by an Army veteran. Kent Island has a group called, “Must Love Books” where the group focuses on romance novels.
Give your local branch a call to check on meeting times and to double check if they’d like you to pre-register.
Book clubs are also becoming in vogue with local businesses. In Easton, Aurora Vines and Vibes is the full book club experience.
They meet up at the cute and trendy restaurant on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. and books are chosen by the group members for the next go-around. And have you had their food?!
After working on a screen all day, I crave time to read as well as a time to chat with friends. Book Club has been a good combination of both for me.
If that sounds like you, find some time to surround yourself with good books and good friends!