Sarah and I are big fans of Anne Bogel, her Modern Mrs. Darcy empire, and her “What Should I Read Next?” podcast. Anne is always a great source for book recommendations. I don’t like everything she likes but I can tell from her reviews whether I will like a book, and that’s an incredible service.
In this week’s episode of Best of Both Worlds, Anne joins us to talk reading and, specifically, book clubs. If you’re thinking of starting one, or are in one, check out her tips on how to take your book conversations to the next level. Our Best of Both Worlds Patreon community will be starting a book club this year, and we’re excited to put her tips into practice.
In the meantime, our Q&A section features a listener who wants to set goals…and also wants to get pregnant this year. How can she think about the interplay of those two factors?
Please give the episode a listen. As always, we appreciate a rating or review. You can also learn more about Anne, and her books (including my favorite, I’d Rather Be Reading, at ModernMrsDarcy.com).
Great episode! I have always wanted to be in a book club but never really known how to start one – I had a totally failed attempt to start a book club with colleagues but I think I picked the wrong colleagues and wrong book. I think I will give book club another go this year – I love the idea of a parenting book club. And I’m looking forward to the Patreon book club of course too.
@Rachel – I think it’s worth another shot. Often stuff doesn’t work because of the people, the timing, or the subject. So possibly just tweaking one of those will help!
This was a fun episode! 2 friends and I started a book club in the fall of 2014. We all invited a couple of people we knew. It has changed and morphed over the years as people have dropped/joined. I was worried the club might die in the last couple of years as attendance was really lagging in 2021, but we added some new members in 2022 and now that we are back in person (we zoomed during the pandemic which got old for everyone!) we are stronger than ever. I am the “boss” of the book club so I do all of the admin/coordination. We meet on the last Wednesday of every month except December. Having a formulaic meeting date is crucial as everyone works and most of us have kids. We nearly always meet in a restaurant for dinner, which the host chooses, so no one has to host a group (as busy working women, we appreciate not having another ‘to do’ and it gives us the opportunity to check out new/fun restaurants). One person hosted last summer because they have a pool but we ordered pizza. The host used to pick the book but starting 2-3 years ago, each person suggests 3 books, and then at our December meeting, we vote and then I set the book cadence based on library availability.
Initially, we wanted people to not all know each other super well/be best friends as then we felt it was less likely we’d talk about the book. But we’ve all become good friends over the years so there is plenty of non-book talk but we always make sure to have conversations about the books. No one would ever get kicked out of our club for the style of their discussion, though. 😉 I can’t imagine my life without these ladies, though. We also will sometimes take a month off from an assigned read and talk about what we are all reading.
I’m excited for the Patreon book club!!
@Lisa – I think having a “boss” of the book club is a good idea, and probably what makes it functional. Theoretically rotating would be nice, but some people are more into running things than others!