Book Club Advice

Its membership has turned over somewhat, but Barbara Lane's book club is still going strong after 32 years. What's the secret to its longevity? Excerpts:

Organizer of another book club.

First and foremost: You have to talk about the book....Once we sit down at the table, we talk about the book. And only the book...Once all agree we’ve exhausted the discussion and the book for the next meeting is chosen, we’re free to report on our own fascinating personal and professional lives and, more importantly, gossip.

The choice of book is another area where book clubs run into trouble...At the end of the evening’s book discussion, the host brings a pile of books (real books that can be passed around) to the table. He/she is supposed to read into the book a bit, 50 pages or so, to find out if it’s worthy of our attention.

a book club of more than 10 means fighting to get a word in.

There are intentionally no spouses.

Barbara Lane's advice is born out of hard-won experience that coincides with other small associations (not books) in which your humble blogger has participated. Long may her book club flourish.

Here are the 258 titles that her book club has read.