Future book clubs

For this book club, I’m going to let people finish their reviews at their own pace and post a poll when there are enough reviews to give people options. However, I’m thinking this structure might not be the way we want to go for future book clubs. So, I’m going to write what I would like to see happen with the book club, throw out some ideas, ask some questions, and hopefully get a discussion going.

I would like this to be a book club for people who like to read first and foremost. This should be enjoyable and fun, and provide a community for people with like interests. I think striking the balance between being informal about the whole thing but still making it actually happen is what I’m struggling with.

I think this needs to be a less deadline oriented thing. There will still need to be some structure, of course, but this isn’t an art exchange or a mafia game where other people are relying on you to do your part so much as it is a community who wants to make a few plans to get together.

So, with those thoughts in mind, a few ideas for future book clubs:

For the book selection:

Idea 1: Everyone who is interested posts one suggestion for the book we will read and tell us why we should pick that book. We vote, we read the winner. Simple as that, and probably the fastest.

Idea 2: We start a sign up thread. Anyone who signs up gets a turn at picking the book everyone will read. Or, we can have whoever’s turn it is post a thread with a few choices, and hold a vote. We vote, we read the winner.

Idea 3: We have multiple reading circles going on at once, each at their own pace. So people would post their favorite sci fi books, for example, and decide via vote or discussion which they want to read first, and in other thread people could be doing the same thing with fantasy books.

These ideas can be shuffled/combined, whatever. I personally dig the idea of having several reading circles, but the way I read books is probably weird; I read three or four at once :\. I also like the idea of having a different person run discussion every time; it takes a little pressure off me and makes this more community and less mod dictatorship .

For the book discussion:

Idea 1: We run book discussions “moderator style”. One person asks questions and we all answer them to facilitate discussion. I’d be willing to do this every so often, but I would prefer if this idea were done in combination with the “turns” idea.

Idea 2: We all read the book and when we are finished we just let the discussion flow. This might be nice to give the whole thing a more laid back feel. My concern would be that we would end up with one or two people sitting by themselves in a thread :X.

Idea 3: We all read the book and then post our own reviews, then let discussion happen from there. This seems like a good compromise between structured and laid back. The obligation of writing a review may be a little much to ask, though.

Idea 4: We post a thread for each chapter or part of the book and discuss it in a more broken down way. This might work well with the multiple circles idea: We could have Blade Runner Tuesdays, Song of Ice and Fire Thursdays, ect ect. This might also be a good way to do longer books or series. It also might be nice to keep regular posting and discussion going on. Furthermore, it gives a generous amount of time for reading. Finally, new folks could easily catch up and jump in on discussion at any point. This idea could also tie into the “turns” idea; whoever’s turn it is to choose a book would be responsible for posting the thread each week or updating a single thread. Come to think of it having just one thread per book may be easier.

So, my questions for y’all:

What are you looking for in a book club?

Any ideas to facilitate your book club vision?

Are you willing to take an active role in leading book discussion?

What kind of pace would you like to see for a book club?

Also, feel free to comment on my ideas.