It's Never Too Late To Start A Book Club
Plus, Create Anyway book club guides are here!
I could file a lot of things under the headline: why did it take me so long? TSA pre-check. Straight-leg jeans. Joining a yoga studio.
Hands down, though, book club remains at the top of that list.
I’m stating the obvious, but book club is a perfect mashup of all of my favorite things: reading! eating! friendship! Not to mention hospitality and meaningful conversations.
Here’s what my actual book club had to say about the experience, one year in:
“I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from joining a book club other than achieving my goal of reading more books, which I certainly have. However, the greatest joy has come from being in the company of other woman who are all so interesting, intelligent, and delightful. Our conversations feed my soul and give me something to look forward to. It’s been one of the best things I’ve done in a long time!” - Elham
“5 stars. Our book club is like socializing with a purpose, with reading as the homework. My introvert dream! The women in our group are dynamic and open and create the most beautiful space for giving and receiving new thoughts and ideas with boldness, compassion, and kindness—and a lot of light and laughter woven through. It’s been a true highlight of my year.” - Alice1
“This book club is a wonderful light in my life right now. Getting together with wonderful (badass) women, talking about books, supporting each other, and laughing so hard till it hurts? Sign me up all day every day. 5/5 stars” - Ashley
In my experience, book club is one of those mysterious things that people can easily overcomplicate. We build it up in our minds as this fancy well-oiled machine with more rules and regulations than a homeowners association. Or we think the moment has passed—that if we’re not in a legit book club by the time we hit our late thirties or forties, surely it’s too late for us—so we sit on the couch consumed by FOMO.
I’m embarrassed to say that once upon a time, I was sort of one of those people. I heard other women talking about their book clubs and sighed a wistful sigh like must be nice. Contrary to my own beliefs and consistent “go first” mentality, I secretly always wanted to be in a book club, but, for whatever reason (busyness? exhaustion? fear of rejection?), never took it upon myself to start one.
That is, until one ordinary Tuesday when I got a text from my friend Elise.
How it started:
How it’s going:
Today, in an effort to de-mystify book club and turn down the pressure cooker you may have cranked up in your mind, I am pulling back the curtain on my own book club in hopes that you will be inspired to start your own. I don’t care if you’re 24 or 74 or younger or older or somewhere in between. BOOK CLUB IS FOR EVERYONE, and it’s never too late to start!
How our book club formed:
I cannot possibly articulate the simplicity of this enough: my friend Elise sent me a text. She asked. I said yes. Bada-bing, bada-boom, book club was formed. We moved the conversation to email, where we decided we would each invite three friends to join. I came up with a short list, Elise did the same, and that was that.
In hindsight, I actually think this is a wonderful strategy, especially for anyone who is feeling nervous or hesitant to be an official Book Club Organizer. From the very beginning, I never felt solely responsible for the impending success (or failure) of the book club. I felt 50% responsible, but 100% invested, which turned out to be the perfect math.
Our book club started as “Elise’s friends” and “Ashlee’s friends” but one year in, we are all just … friends. This, too, is a gift.
TIP: If you’re feeling nervous to start a book club on your own, consider the buddy system. Find a friend to co-host with you and share some of the ownership of getting it off the ground.
How our book club operates:
We meet every other month, on the last Thursday of the month. Elise created a spreadsheet with all of the dates, and we each sign up for a slot and take turns hosting. Whoever hosts picks the book, and has the option to host book club in their home or pick a restaurant. I love this format because it offers a lot of freedom and variety.
We don’t use formal book club discussion guides, although sometimes the host will come up with a few questions or talking points. Typically, we spend all of dinner talking about the book organically. What I really love about keeping the discussions open-ended is that our conversations often leave room for us to share our own personal stories and reflections. This is, of course, what good books do.
As Anne Lamott writes in Bird by Bird:
Because for some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you … my gratitude for good writing is unbounded; I’m grateful for it the way I’m grateful for the ocean. Aren’t you?
A good story unlocks vulnerability and empathy and curiosity in the mind of the reader. And THAT is the true magic of book club: making space to process all of those things—together—over a shared meal.
After dinner, we move into more general conversations, truly covering the gamut of career pivots, technology boundaries, fashion, sex, Taylor Swift lyrics, high school reunions and more. (And yes, we have been known to cover all of that in a single night.)
At the end of the evening, we bid each other farewell and text any relevant links (“book club show notes”) to the group thread. Eight weeks later, we do it all over again.
TIP: Don’t overcomplicate the logistics. We had a kick-off party at my house last December where we decided the who/what/when/how. We are eight moms who live in roughly six different cities across a radius of 30-ish miles. We have kids ranging from toddlers to teenagers, and all work in different fields/capacities. Meeting every other month on a Thursday night for three-ish hours is what works for us. You’ll need to find what works for you!2
And now, onto the Create Anyway guides!
(aka the shameless promotion part of this post)
At the risk of being presumptuous, if you’d like to kick off your 2024 book club with Create Anyway, I took it upon myself to dream up some book club guides for you.3
Whether you need to keep things ultra simple, or love any excuse to throw a party, or want to make Zoom calls more enchanting—I’ve got you covered. See previews and PDF download links below (note: the actual PDFs come with clickable links + a second page with discussion questions!).
Note: I’ve been told that Amazon recently placed another order of Create Anyway, but at the time of publishing this, it looks like they’re still out of stock and shipping through third parties. While I am thrilled copies are flying off the Amazon shelves, I know one-click buying with free shipping is easy for most folks and THIS IS A REAL BUMMER.
But! Create Anyway is $18.89 at Baker Book House and ships for free!
You can also snag a copy at Barnes & Noble or Target — but it’s $26.99 in both of those places so looks like Baker Book House is currently the best deal.
Not into a Create Anyway book club? Cool cool cool. I mean this with my whole heart: I want you to start a book club more than I want you to read my book. Here are my other top picks (aka: books I have read and loved and think would spark fabulous discussions): You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Let There Be Art, Everything Sad Is Untrue, No One Will Tell You This But Me, Demon Copperhead, How To Stay Married, Start With Hello
Tell me: are you in a book club? How does yours work? Any other gems or encouragement or words of wisdom to share? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear!
P.S. If you end up doing a book club for Create Anyway, will you PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE email me a picture? Maybe I’ll send you something fabulous in return. ❤️
What Alice didn’t write in her testimonial is that one night at book club she confessed wanting to get a nose ring, but was scared of what her parents would think. After a robust pep talk at book club, she got one that same week. Our circle of influence is real strong 😜
I will say, I think 6-8 people is a really good number. If a few people can’t come, our meetings still feel substantial. If everyone is there, it still feels intimate.
By all means, you don’t have to use any of these to host a Create Anyway book club. I just really love a good mood board.
Saving this post to dig into more! On January 1, I decided ENOUGH IS ENOUGH... I’ve been dreaming of starting an in-person book club for long enough. I sent one simple text to have one friend buy in and then posted on social media. I even sent a note to my son’s daycare owner and she shared it with daycare parents. In two days, I have 15 interested participants! So many have said, “I’ve been looking for this for so long but haven’t been able to find anything!” To keep it simple, I picked the 12 books for the year and we’ll meet the last Thursday of the month at a local brewery/coffee shop/restaurant. Here’s to hoping even one person shows up to chat books and connect! ❤️
These book club guides are AMAZING! 🤩 I invited myself into a book club recently, and I’m hosting this Monday night. This says a lot about my personality. 😅