Virtual Book Club!

 

Book clubs offer great benefits like learning new things, making new friends, and talking about something other than our current situations! These days, book clubs can take place digitally. You can follow typical book club “rules” or make up your own. Here’s what we suggest:

*First, reach out to your group to see who would be interested in joining your club. If you have more than 10, you may want to create sub-groups and split everyone evenly.

*Pick an appropriate book. You can find book reviews online or take recommendations from trusted women in your group. You’ll want to screen content to be sure all participants can enjoy the book. Also consider: topic, length, reading level,and price.

*Include diverse authors.

*Create a private page on social media (Facebook works great) for your group. Post discussion questions, meeting reminders and details.

*Set a regular schedule for discussion time.

*Have prepared discussion questions ready to go.

*Use a trusted communication platform like Zoom, Google Chat, Skype, or Google Hangout. We like Zoom because you can set a password to protect your meeting from outside random users. Do some research to decide which platform would work best for your group and if there is a cost involved.

Thinking outside the box: This “distance” book club could be done with those who are not tech-savy or those who do not have the capabilities of using computers. It would take some work, but you could put together packets with your discussion questions. These individuals could call in (put them on speaker phone) during your virtual meeting. Be sure to include them in the discussion, giving them time to join the conversation.

There are really endless benefits of joining a book club. They create friendships, foster critical thinking, encourage listening, create a sense of community, and so, so much more.

Happy Reading!