Books Can Be A Gateway Into A New World, A New Experience And Potentially A New You. They Can Transform How You Feel And Approach Life
When you become a mum, it can be challenging to find time to read. I was an avid reader before and I’ve struggled in the last 9 months to read. I can count about 4 books in total which is not a lot for myself.
One way to reignite the flame, create a connection with others in a similar situation and benefit from all the wellbeing factors of reading is to create a book club.
I’ve set some up in the past so have learned a few things from my mistakes.
Here are some tips so it doesn’t fizzle out as quickly as it started!
#TIP 1 – Don’t create a book club that’s too big
It can be tempting to invite everyone to the book club. I’ve been to some that had up to 20 people and it can feel overwhelming. You don’t get a chance to really discuss the book and I personally feel that it’s easy to drop out last minute as you think there’s always going to be people there.
Ideally you want no more than 12 people in the book club. Decide on a size and recognise that it will ebb and flow as not everyone will be able to make it each time.
#TIP 2 – Enable collaboration by your book members
If you lead and select all the book titles, it might not always appeal to everyone. The best book clubs make everyone feel part of it. Consider sending out some titles for people to vote on, or ask each person to nominate a book.
#TIP 3 – Think about a theme
If it is a mum’s book club, will it carry a certain theme?
You may wish to have a book club dedicated to a certain genre such as rom coms, non-fiction, etc…
You may theme it on topics such as childhood, love, mental health etc.
Or on type of novel such as emerging authors, black authors, female authors etc.
You may consider to just keep it eclectic choosing a variety of books (my personal favourite) as it is all about the book and less so about whether it has won a certain prize, or has been written by a certain author. It can help others discover all sorts of new reads. Although with busy mums the length is definitely one to consider!
#TIP 4 – Where will it take place?
Will you host it online? or will it be at a physical location – a home, a cafe, a pub?
I enjoyed attending one at a pub, it was close to home, and I could grab a drink and some food at the same time. It worked. Depending on the time, and the fact that it is for mums, you may wish to consider what would be most practical.
You could do every other meet up in a physical location so you do get that face-to-face time, with others being online.
#TIP 5 – Consider the frequency of meet ups
You can ask the group how often, however typically once a month is the minimum frequency, with every 6 weeks working for some groups. I found that 4 weeks worked well when I had more time but as a mum every 6 weeks would be best to find time to even read it.
#TIP 6 – Sourcing the books
It is good to know the cost of the books. It’s difficult to get a book selection and then the book cost £10. This might not be sustainable for some people to keep coming.
There are some great ways to keep it inexpensive – borrow from the library, buy second hand, buy for the Kindle, check pricing on websites such as Amazon and Bookshop.org – keeping the focus on the purpose of the book club of bringing people together.
#TIP 7 – Book questions v more casual review
Book questions are helpful if you need prompts to get the conversation going but are not for every book club. I’ve been to both, and both have their pros and cons.
I’m quite the lit geek so I do love book questions but it can feel too formal, so try out a few styles and see what works best!
What other tips would you add to this list?