Starting (or reinvigorating) a Book Club

My tips for bringing together bookish kids and encouraging them to make reading a social activity.

“We’re friends because we read the same books.”

I often get asked by educators how to start a book club at school and actually get kids to attend, so today I’m collating all my best tips into one spot. Below are some of the things that have worked well over my decade-and-a-bit of running student book clubs.

Of course, what worked for me won’t necessarily work for you, but hopefully there are some ideas here to get you thinking about how you could run a successful club. Whatever that looks like! I’ve had a great time meeting up with a handful of passionate kids every lunchtime, and also run clubs where 40+ students voluntarily came along to the library after school once a week to chat about books. This was in a very small school which meant I had over 10% of the whole cohort attending, something I’m really proud of. But, and I really mean it: it’s not always a numbers game. Sometimes having a small group of dedicated readers can be rewarding enough.

In saying that, I think there are some simple things you can do to entice a decent crowd. And I’m not just talking about bribes. (Though sometimes, a bit of sugar can help.)

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Work out the best time of day to run the club. For some groups, lunchtime is a winner. For others, after school works more smoothly. Personally, I’ve had better results with the latter. Yes, you are competing with various other after school activities on offer, as well as the lure of just heading home or filling up on slurpees at the 7-Eleven down the road, but I have found more flexibility with the post-school day time slot. At my current school, lunch is less than thirty minutes, which has never been quite enough time. But I’ve also worked in schools with strict bus timetables, or serious sporting schedules, or other reasons why lunchtime allowed for a better turnout. If that’s the case, I suggest letting the kids eat during the session, and getting a late pass for their next class if things run over by a few minutes.

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This is a repeat of what I wrote in a previous post, Starting a Creative Writing Club, but applies perfectly here too:

Make things as casual as possible. I believe the more opt-in your club is, the better it will be attended. No one should be forced to be there.

In saying that, I’ve had kids who have been pushed to attend (usually from parents or English teachers) and have eventually, reluctantly enjoyed it. My opinion is that the best thing to do is to tell these kids: just come along once (maybe twice!) and see what you think. If you hate it, you never have to come again. Agency is important. It’s an extra-curricular, after all.

I firmly believe that book club should be totally optional, and never a chore.

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Advertise widely! Make posters, get a notice in the school newsletter, talk at assembly (or get the kids to!), email parents to let them know. Anything to get the word out. Go nuts. Approach it in the same way the performing arts teacher would when promoting the school production. That is to say, be loud. Book club is no less important than any interschool sport competition. Shout proudly and make sure everyone knows you exist. Don’t let anyone’s excuse be, “I didn’t know there was a book club at school.”

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Sure, offer edible rewards for being part of the club, but beware of the slippery slope. If people are just coming along for the bickies every week, you may have overdone it. (But then again, they’re coming every week and listening and taking part, even with a mouth full of crumbs? Maybe it’s fine?)

The best thing I’ve done is offer an end of term reward for students who have attended the majority of meetings. Hot chocolates in winter, icy poles in warmer months, hot cross buns before the April holidays, or candy canes and summer fruit at the end of the year. (Allergy-friendly and inclusive, of course.) A little treat goes a long way, and the kids who have been committed to coming along deserve it every now and then.

A book club cake?

Of course, you always just happen get some ‘new’ members trickling in during the meetings that include food. I usually allow it, but they need to solemnly swear they’ll come along again. Most of the time, the guilt gets to them. I’ve actually sucked in some legitimate new recruits this way! Of course, some you never see again. My recommendation would be not to make food the focus, but if it hooks even a few newbies in, it can’t be a bad thing.

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Survey the kids to see what they want from the club, and fine-tune things as you go along. Make sure you reassess this every year or so, too. Change can be healthy, even if that means trying something new for a while, and abandoning it if it isn’t working.

I’ll refer again to my Starting a Creative Writing Club post because it’s relevant here:

Be led by the kids. In the first meeting, brainstorm some ideas of how the club should run.

I also think it’s good to evolve the club as you go along. I ran one that was really loose, and over time the kids decided we needed a more clear purpose each week, which we crafted together, and stuck to. It worked much better after we’d ‘lived in’ the club for a bit, played around with things, and figured out what would work for us. Don’t be afraid to change things up if they aren’t clicking.

Different groups will want different things: a more open format, or maybe something that is really structured. You’ll be able to find a happy medium if there are conflicting ideas, or modify things from week to week so everyone is happy. The main thing is that the kids have some control over the style of the meetings, and feel confident and comfortable to contribute in their own ways.

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My most dogmatic advice is to avoid running it like a traditional book club where everyone reads the same book. (Unless the kids really want that? But that has never been the case in my experience!) Instead, each week, go around the circle (or ask for volunteers with a hand up) and get students to discuss what they’re currently reading, or recently finished. Did they like it, what’s it about, and who would they recommend it to? Avoid lengthy plot outlines, and no spoilers, of course. It’s more interesting to get them to talk about their own thoughts on the book, rather than just regurgitate the blurb, and consider who else they think would like it, and why.

If it’s available, have the suggester grab the book from the library shelves so it’s ready for someone else to borrow. Inevitably, you get kids starting to read some of the same books, which is nice, but not essential. The main thing is that everyone gets a chance to share (if they want to) and get new recommendations from each other.