2 Organization

Choosing your book

A butler opens the door to a young woman.

Our book club was organized specifically because I wanted to reread Jane Austen and I wanted to have a group of people who would read and discuss it with me. However, book clubs can also be organized purely for the sake of structured gathering, with the actual reading material being more of an afterthought. In this case, the reading list can be structured in a variety of ways.

  • You could select a series of books that you want to read through.
  • You could cultivate a list of books together.
  • You could take turns selecting the book.
  • You could select a published book list to read through. Book list resources include thegreatestbooks.org, favobooks.com, Goodreads. Many leaders, celebrities, and activists also have published their own reading lists.

You could branch out and incorporate other forms of media (movies, podcasts, academic journal articles, YouTube videos). The other forms of media could stand alone or could be related to a book you read. For example, in our book club, after reading a book, we watch all the film adaptations of the book and take time to analyze the effectiveness of each adaptation.


Routines and rituals

One way to build a community is by instituting traditions. When everyone in the community knows what to expect, they are less likely to experience feelings of uncertainty or loneliness. They feel a sense of belonging and are more confident in their ability to prepare for and actively participate in the community. In our book club meetings, we have several routines which help us to all feel included and make it simple to plan each meeting. Many of these routines were inspired by Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.

  • We take turns hosting book club, and the host is responsible for providing herbal tea and a small treat.
  • At the beginning of each meeting, the host tells a story related to the week’s theme (see chapter 3 for more information). A second member then provides a small piece of biographical information about Jane Austen, and the third member provides a brief summary of the week’s reading.
  • Then we discuss our thoughts about the reading.
  • We each share a favorite quote from the week’s reading and why we chose that quote. This process is part of a sacred practice called Flora Legia (see chapter 3 for more information).
  • We complete a literary analysis practice using an excerpt from the reading.
  • We take turns “blessing” a character (see chapter 3 for more information).
  • We end by planning for next week’s meeting.

Of course, this list is not all-inclusive. There are many other rituals that could enhance your book club routine:

  • Visit different local cafes or parks for each meeting.
  • As members arrive, the host can play music that reminds them of the week’s reading.
  • The host could serve food that relates to the book, or all members could bring a dish.
  • Create trivia questions or brief quizzes about the reading, the author, the era in which the book was written, or other relevant topics.
  • Take personality quizzes related to the book (e.g. “Which Jane Austen Character Are You?”).
  • Create surveys or do a live poll to elicit members’ opinions about what happened in the reading.
  • Each member chooses a character with whom they identify the most in that week’s reading and explains why.
  • Invite an expert on the book subject to visit your book club, or watch a video with background information about the author, era of the book, historical events mentioned in the story, the genre, or other related topics.
  • End by making predictions about what will happen in next week’s reading.

Keeping records

A gentleman comes through the door as a lady sits at an adjacent writing desk, holding a quill.Our book club keeps a record of each meeting, including the date we met, who hosted, the chapters we read, who summarized the reading, and who provided the biographical information that week. We also keep a list of all the Flora Legia from each book. This list will be provided at the end of this book.

We use a Google Doc to store all of our book club records. Because of the collaborative functions in Google Drive, each member has editing access to the club document and can make changes as needed.

Depending on the structure and needs of your book club, you may need to use other record-keeping systems or apps. Below are some additional online resources that could be helpful for your book club:

Book club sites and apps:

Calendar and scheduling websites:

License

The Jane Austen Book Club Copyright © by Katie Staudte. All Rights Reserved.

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