Book Club's

I am not a big reading person, I have not read one single HSC book. But when I read this article in the magazine Frankie (which by the way is a great magazine and would suggest it highly) it really inspired me to get reading and start up a book club. I'm not exactly sure who would be willing to do this with me but the article had some suggestions I would like to share. Benjamin Law, the author, explains the joy of group reading:

• Keep it tight: no less than 5 members, no more than 10
• Talk to your local bookshop: smaller independent shops will often have staff members who specialise in clubs, so its worth making an appointment to see what they can offer you. Some can even host your club at their cafe or hold mini presentations of new releases that might suit you for next months title. Some shops also offer discounts if your members buy a minimum number of books. The key is to ask
• Same bat time, Same bat channel: find a day that suits everyone then stick with it.
• Call the shots: there needs to be an organiser, and this person should encourage everyone to use your mailing list to exchange book reviews and make suggestions, but call the shots and determine the reading list month by month 
• Be diverse: over 12 months there is plenty of time to read different genres, fiction and non-fiction, Australian and Overseas. The options are endless, don't just stick to the hopeless romantics books
• Cast for conflict: choose books for people to fight over, and ones you wouldn't necessarily read otherwise 
• Everyone has to speak, then its free-for-all: ask everyone for a brief assessment of the book, make sure everyone has their go
• Get drunk: this is book club, it is casual, good book clubs involve food and wine. 

Personally, this article inspired me to start up my own book club, which is really out of character for a 17 year old! If it inspires me to read more it should inspire others, try it and see how it goes ..... there's it no harm in failing!

Love and luck

xxxx