Do you feel like your book club has gone a bit stale? Are your members starting to drop like flies? Are you wondering why your once fun book club has turned into a chore? Here are 15 ways to freshen up your book club.
1. Match food and drink to the book you are discussing
Nothing goes better with a book discussion than nibbles and something great to drink and what better way to brighten your book club then by adding a food theme. For example, if your book club was reading a novel set in a quaint English village, you could discuss the book over cups of tea and scones with jam and cream at a café or someone’s home.
2. Read the book and then see the movie
Read a book that is just being released as a movie and then see the movie together, followed by book club. Nothing sparks a debate like a discussion about a book verses the movie adaption. It can create so many things to talk about such as the book version of a character verses the movie version–did they get the casting right? What bits of the book were done really well onscreen and what changes were made that were questionable? With so many movies these days being based on books, you can never run out of material. If you want to save some money you can always review an older book and watch the DVD instead of forking out for a cinema ticket.
3. If you were casting the movie …
Add some fun to your book club meeting by discussing who you would cast in a movie adaption of a book and why. You could even come to the meeting dressed as your favourite character!
4. Do some further reading
Whoever suggested the book might like to do some research about the author and bring this information to the next meeting. Discuss how what you know about the author’s life may have influenced their writing. Find some author interviews online or look and see if the publisher has some ‘Further reading’ material available on their website. Sometimes they may also have Q and A’s. Discuss how this extra information adds or detracts from your understanding of the book.
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