Book Clubs

Books monthly but friends for life.

Have you ever thought about starting a book club? Here's how my journey began.

I started a book club over twenty years ago when I was a newlywed.  Creating the club was my way of encouraging lasting friendships with other women who shared my love of reading.

As a group of unmarried, or recently married women, we had one additional thing in common, we all lived in Northern Virginia.  Prior to its creation, I had been in a group that met in the Dupont Circle area of D.C.

Did You Read the Book?

Trying to get into Dupont Circle at dinnertime rush hour was a nightmare, and looking for parking was also a persistent challenge.  When I finally secured parking and arrived at the host’s house, I was often frazzled from just getting there.

Not many months into this group, I noticed a common question from most of the members.  “Fernanda, what is the book about?  I just didn’t have time to read it this month.” After the drive and parking issues, that was the last straw for me and that book club.

The Early Days of My Book Club

When I invited women to join my book club, I made it clear that there were only two requirements to join.  First, they must live in Virginia, to alleviate the D.C. traffic issues, and secondly, please don’t come to a meeting if you have not read the book!

I was such a stickler back then about the reading requirement.  I bet my friends in the early years would say that I almost grilled them at the start of each session to make sure they were following my ‘orders’.  Yikes, ladies, I am sorry about that!

Evolving Rules and Traditions

Today, we generally read the entire book before coming, but not always, and that is fine with me.  After so many years as a group, our monthly meetings are more about friendship and camaraderie rather than finishing a book selection.

Over more than two decades we have celebrated many milestones.  Early on it was births, first steps and elementary school. 

Today, we share news about graduations, graduate school and, sadly, the loss of family members, beloved pets, or the challenges of our changing bodies.  We have been through a lot together.

Why a Book Club?

A book club is a place to make and keep friends.  While people will come and go in the group, returning is always an option.  One woman, who is in the military, has left and come back more than once. We are always glad to re-welcome Laura.

More time is now spent chatting and catching up, rather than discussing the books we read.  We all choose to stay in the group because it is a welcoming one, with women who care, and a place to speak freely.

If you belong to a book club then you know the benefits.  If you are thinking of joining one, but don’t want to start your own, consider your local library as a place to look for one.  While I don’t use it often, I believe the app Meetup has book club options offered throughout the U.S.

Starting Your Own Book Club

If you do choose to start your own club, think about what is most important to you.  Will there be a page length or restricted subjects or genres?  Will you meet during the day or at night? At a restaurant, or in someone’s home?  How do you plan to choose the books?  All of these questions will help to structure the group from the start.

Flexibility, I find, is the key to long-term success.  In addition to relaxing the rules on finishing the book, we have gone from themed home-made meals to meeting at La Madeleine, to meeting at a home and bringing whatever we can.  The only constant throughout is that everyone must live in Virginia, and I cannot see that changing any time soon.

Book Review on Adventures in Life

I do a limited number of book reviews on my website Adventures in Life and many of them are audiobooks because I drive a great deal.  Feel free to peruse my selections and feel free to add suggestions in the comments section if you have read a great book lately.

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See you next week.