Where can I find potential Members?

• LDS sisters from your ward or stake
• A neighborhood group or co-workers
• Open to all women in the community, town, etc., who share a love of books

Once this is decided, you need to get the word out - "advertise that you plan to socialize." Depending on the scope of your membership you could use word of mouth, telephone, emails, office memos, notices in ward and Relief Society bulletins and newsletters, announcements in Relief Society meetings - or - advertise in the local paper, post notices at the library, the local copy shops and book stores.

Organization
Set the time and the place for the first meeting (this can be adjusted to accommodate schedules later). Holding meetings at each other's homes is a popular idea, but if extra space is needed, contact your local library, hobby center, ward building coordinator (to see if your Chapel has an empty room), or community center. If your group is formed from co-workers, perhaps you could have your meeting during lunch hour at work. Just be sure, wherever you meet, to check ahead in case reservations are needed. Most clubs meet once a month. This will allow time for club members to read the selection for the month. This is also a time to plan ahead - work out a plan for special meetings, such as holiday get-together's. Ginny Stout, Oakridge Ward, Layton Utah North Stake, and Past President of Mountain View Literary Club explained," we have 11 'regular' meetings, but the December meeting is always a potluck supper or luncheon with an exchange of bookmarks, bookplates, or some other book related gift under $10.00." (want to make your own book plates? Click Here)

The first meeting should be a planning/organizing meeting only. But, remember to tell the prospective members to bring a "wish list" of two to ten books they'd like to read. (Need some suggestions? Click Here) Have a list of three"starter books" for the first regular meeting, and then vote on which one will be "the book-of-the-month." Officers should be selected... could be President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Discussion Leader - or any combination. These people should meet sometime during this first month and then, once or twice a year, thereafter to determine a schedule (what book-when, refreshments, next month's location etc.)

Some things to consider as a group:

1. Types of books to be read- mystery, biography, classics, Sci-Fi, non-fiction etc.

2. Book Costs- you may want to limit your books to paperbacks to keep costs down, as hardcover books can cost a lot.

3. Meeting cancellation protocol (weather, holiday, illness, etc.)

4. Responsibilities of members - reading the selection with much thought, should someone who hasn't read the selection be allowed to attend, participate?

5. Will there be food? Who is responsible? What kind of food and is there a price limit?

6. Along with election of officers, the group needs to decide who will lead the book discussions. One permanent leader (or two or three, alternating), or should the person who recommended the book lead the discussion?

7. Is there a limit to membership? Can guests come to meetings?

8. Will there be dues collected (for refreshments, special outings, or gifts)

A necessary item, to most book clubs, is the membership booklet. Styles vary, but if your group has access to a computer, compiling this booklet should not be too difficult.

Include in your book:

About Books
As a club, or as a leadership committee, a decision should be made about reading material. Decide ahead of time whether to limit the group to Latter-day Saint authors, only - or - consider books of good report by "outside" authors. Whatever decision is made, make sure the book-of-the-month is easily available and falls within price range. If purchasing books - and a large number (say 6 or 7) - will be purchased, ask your local bookstore if it offers group discounts. Remember that libraries often have more than one copy, allowing your members to borrow the book.

Fun To Do
Book club meeting doesn't always mean listening to and participating in a discussion. Vary your meetings by having a guest visit the group to demonstrate a skill, etc.

Ginny Stout relates, "our group had a great time reading one month's selection, The Lacemaker by Janine Montupet. The highlight of our meeting was a guest lacemaker, who provided us with a hands-on demonstration. A quilter, par excellence, came to another meeting, bringing some finished, lovely quilts, and shared patterns and stitches, as we were reviewing The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas."

I have membership in a 'who-dun-it" group. A couple of authors have provided us with a good evening's entertainment. Diane Mott Davidson writes a great culinary mystery series, complete with recipes. While reviewing The Cereal Murders we dined on several of the recipes in the book, made by our members. We actually had a dinner meeting that was catered by some of our member's teenagers attired in "Goldilocks Catering-Where Everything is Just Right" t-shirts. We had such fun with this, that we repeated the activity a couple of years later while reviewing another of Ms. Davidson's works, Killer Pancake. A study of herbs and the making of herb vinegar's and herbal bath potions were featured at the review of Susan Wittig Albert's Lavender Lies.

Make sure that book discussions do not become stale, boring, or negative! Have members come prepared with questions, or favorite quotations to read (with an explanation). Ask open-ended questions (not questions that can be answered with a "yes" or "no"). Try to stay away from, "did you like the book?" You could ask "tell us your feelings about the book." Get people thinking and talking, then perhaps read passages from the book out loud to really hear the "voice of the book."

Above all, make sure that everyone has an opportunity to share her/his feelings about the book/author. Speak up and also listen to what is said. Participate, because with participation comes enjoyment and camaraderie - such is the joy of being a "Confirmed Bookaholic!"

Book Clubs Theme Suggestions:
General Reading Gardening
Herbs Mystery
Scientific Technical
Adventure Romance
Mother/Daughter Book Club

Books for Book Clubs
The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a
Stimulating Book Discussion Group by Ellen Slezak

The Reading Group Handbook: Everything You Need To Know, from Choosing Members to Leading Discussions by Rachel W. Jacobsohn

The Go on Girl!: Book Club Guide for Reading Groups by Monique Greenwood

The Mother-Daughter Book Club: How 10 Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Read... by Shireen Dodson

What We're Reading

Chopping Spree - Diane Mott Davidson (Mystery)

Sticks and Scones - Diane Mott Davidson (Mystery)

Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee - Robert L. Millett and Lloyd D. Newell

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - William Shakespeare

Five Scriptures That Will Get You Through Almost Anything - John Bytheway

Quilts and Women of the Mormon Migration - Treasures of Transition - Mary Bywater Cross

Iron Rose - Lorie H. Nicholes (historical fiction)

The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley

Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley

Cadfael series - Ellis Peters (medieval mystery)

Holes - Louis Sacher

101 Famous Poems - Roy Jay Cook

Tell No One - Harlan Coben (mystery)

The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien

Warrior Kings - Robert Massie

Let's Roll - Lisa Beamer

A Long Way From Home: Growing Up in the American Heartland - Tom Brokaw

A Long Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott

Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts

This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Necessary Madness - Jenn Crowell

The Luckiest Girl - Judy Blume

How to Photograph Your Baby
- Nick Kelsh

The Baby Whisper - Tracy Hogg

Solving Your Child’s Sleep Problems - Ferber

Bringing Up Boys - Dr. James Dobson

I Don't Know How She Does It - Allison Pearson

Baby Signs, how to talk to your baby before your baby can talk - Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, and Doug Abrams

What You're Reading

A Painted House - John Grisham

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls - Mary Pipher

Jane Austin anything

Harry Potter books

Standing for Something - Hinckley Believing Christ-Robertson

Drawing Closer to God - Henry B. Eyring

"My favorite books are mysteries, Real Life Stories and the scriptures. My favorite author is Jack Weyland."
- Stacie S.-Woodland 2nd Ward, Davis California Stake, USA

"You Will See It When You Believe It - Wayne W. Dyer; Fit to be Tied - Bill Hybels, Lynne Hybels; Return of the King (Part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy) - J. R. R. Tolkien; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowlings; Rebekah - Orson Scott Card"
- Sid Cartwright, Liberty Ward, Boise Idaho East Stake, USA

"I just got the bio of Madelaine Albright, Secretary of State during the latter Clinton years, from the library tonight. Biographies have been a long-time favorite for me. I remember as a child reading about Charlotte Bronte and the Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning, Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale, and later Colin Powell and Dwight D. Eisenhower."
- Tamara McAbee Mandarin 1st Ward Jacksonville, Florida East Stake, USA