How to Start a Book Club

(Page 2 of 2)

January/February 2002
By Heather Grimshaw 
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CHAPTER ONE: Getting Started

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Starting a citywide book club requires a significant amount of time and financial backing, and groups that have successfully launched clubs say that exposure is vital to success.

“Our reach is amazing,” says Sarah Anderson, marketing associate for The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, a group that partnered with Minnesota Public Radio and The Star Tribune to launch its citywide book club, Talking Volumes, in 2000. “Thanks to our partners, the club is accessible to people who might not otherwise join a book club.”

Each citywide book club operates differently, though most share the common goal of building a community of readers and agree on the following book selection criteria:

  • The book should be character-driven.
  • Readers might not otherwise select it.
  • The book provides opportunity for discussion.
  • The book appeals to a wide audience.
  • Authors are comfortable talking about their work with large groups.

Lynn Carey, who selects books every six weeks for The Contra Costa Times, says her selections have never been made into movies, are not on the Oprah list, and do not have reader’s guides. “It’s like cheating,” Carey explains. “I don’t want someone telling me what to think!”

Required Reading

The following titles have been chosen by various citywide book groups across the country.

  • Fire, by Sebastian Junger
  • The Sweet Hereafter, by Russell Banks
  • To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
  • The World Below, by Sue Miller
  • Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells
  • A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines
  • The Bonesetter’s Daughter, by Amy Tan
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