How to start a book club, in six steps

1. You need three people and a date

A book club does not begin with a name, a logo or a WhatsApp group. It begins with three people who have agreed to read the same book by the same evening. Ask two readers you already know: a friend, a neighbour, a colleague who always has a book in their bag. Three is enough for a real conversation, and it is small enough that nobody minds if the first evening is a bit awkward.

Then fix the date at once, before anybody has started reading. A club that is going to ‘find a date later’ never meets. About six weeks ahead is right for the first book.

A club without a date is a nice idea. A club with a date is a club.

2. Finding members: friends, neighbours, readers in your town

Once the first three are in, you can grow. Six to eight people is a good size: everyone can talk, and the evening still happens if two cancel. Places to look:

Friends of friends. Ask each member to bring one person. That doubles the club and keeps it among people who already trust each other.
Your street or neighbourhood group, or a notice at the library or the local bookshop. Ask first whether you may put one up.
Book Club Hub, The Reading Agency's free directory. Once your club is running you can add it there, say whether you are looking for members, and apply for free book sets offered to registered clubs in return for reviews.
Time to Read, where you start a club with a name, your city and up to three genres, and choose whether anyone can find it or people join by invitation only. Readers nearby see it by town, and joining is a single tap.

Decide early whether the club is open to strangers. Both are fine, but they make different clubs.

3. The first book: choose one everyone will finish

The first book sets the tone, so make it easy to say yes to. Around three hundred pages, out in paperback or available from the library, and with something in it to disagree about: a choice a character makes, an ending that can be read two ways. Avoid the eight-hundred-page novel you have always wanted to tackle; save it for when the club has found its feet.

After the first book, agree how the club will choose. Taking turns is simplest, a shortlist of three and a vote is fairest. More on this, with examples of the kinds of book that tend to work, in how to choose book club books.

4. How often you meet, and where

How often. Every four to six weeks. Monthly suits fast readers and short books; six weeks gives people with full-time jobs or small children a real chance of finishing. Keep the same rhythm, such as the first Thursday of the month, so nobody has to check.

Where. Three usual choices, each with its own feel:

At home, in turn. The most relaxed, and the host provides tea or wine. It can become a competition in baking, which is worth heading off early.
A café or pub. Neutral ground, nobody has to tidy up. Pick a quiet corner and a quiet evening, and ask the owner first.
The library. Many libraries have a room for groups, and many also lend reading group sets, about ten copies of the same title, so not everyone has to buy the book. Charges vary by council: some sets are free, others cost a few pounds.

5. Questions that get a conversation going

The first ten minutes decide the evening. Open with something everyone can answer, then go deeper. Four questions are enough for two hours:

Did you enjoy it? Give it a mark out of ten, and say why. A round like this means everyone has spoken once.
Which character would you most like to meet, and which would you avoid?
Was there a moment where you would have done something different?
Did the ending work for you? How would you have ended it?

Whoever chose the book can lead the evening and bring the questions. That shares the work. A longer list, for fiction and non-fiction, is in book club questions that work for any novel.

6. Let everyone read at their own pace, without spoilers in the group chat

One member finishes the book in a weekend; another is on page sixty three weeks later. That is fine until the first one posts in the group chat what they thought of the ending. Three agreements prevent it.

The group chat is for dates and addresses. The book is for the evening itself.
Coming without having finished is allowed. Say where you are, and the others will steer round the end until you have read it.
On the evening, keep the ending for the last half hour, so everyone can still join in before then.

This is also the part an app can take over. In Time to Read the host chooses the book and the date, and under ‘Where everyone is’ each member's progress shows as a bar. In the club's chat, a message from someone further into the book stays hidden until you tap it. If you would rather just look for an existing club first, see how to find a book club near you.

Frequently asked questions

How many people do you need for a book club?

Three is enough to start, and six to eight is the sweet spot: everyone gets a say and the evening still goes ahead if two people cannot make it. Above twelve, most people listen rather than talk, and it is worth splitting into two clubs.

How often should a book club meet?

Every four to six weeks suits most clubs. Monthly works if people read quickly or the books are short; every six weeks gives everyone with a busy job or young children a real chance of finishing.

Where can a book club meet?

At members' homes in turn, in a quiet corner of a café or pub, or at the library, which often has a room and may lend reading group sets of the book. Ask your library what it offers before you decide.

Do I have to lead the discussion?

Somebody does, but it does not have to be the same person. Many clubs let whoever chose the book lead the evening and bring three or four questions. That spreads the work and gives every meeting a slightly different feel.

Can you start a book club online?

Yes. The steps are the same: a few people, a book and a date, on a video call instead of in a room. Keep the group a bit smaller than in person, because talking over each other on a call is harder.