Hi there!

My own reading group got together when a few of us noticed that we tended to read the same books at the same time, and figured getting together once a month might be a fun way to get away from everything, using those hours to be with one another and talk about the books we were enjoying.

I'm often curious to see what brought other groups together-- were you all friends first, or did you meet at a bookstore or library and decide that getting together to talk about books that way?

Share your stories-- let everyone know how your reading group became the fun group it is today. I know I am waiting to hear about it!

--Anne

My group started as friends/coworkers who all read. About 5 years ago, we decided to start a bookclub. We've had some folks come and go since then and adding friends of friends to the club. We now have a wonderful group of 10 women but started out with 20 **inserts laughter here**. We weeded out the deadbeats that didn't read and only wanted to join "to go out to dinner." Some were not avid readers when we first started like I thought they were.

Our group now is awesome and wouldn't trade them for the world. It makes it really fun when we go on our yearly trips. It's a great way to bond, have fun, see sights, have some cocktails, great food and talk about great books!

I work at the circulation desk at our public library. A woman came up to the counter with several books on how to start a book club. I commented on how I would love to be a part of a book club and she asked me to help her get it started. Another woman came up to the counter and we were just talking and she expressed her interest and I asked her to join also. We have only six members, but we wanted to keep it small. We've been meeting for 3 years, once a month and have become great friends. I get all of our books for us at the library so we don't have to purchase them. We are sometimes behind in the current selections because we have to wait until the reserve list goes down. We meet at each other's houses or we go out to eat. We have taken one road trip and planned another but it was cancelled due to lack of funds.

Starting a book discussion group was an idea I had been thinking about for several years. I initially asked one or two friends and my daughter if they would be interested and we went from there. We're in our sixth year and have 13 "official" members. I have a question for Book Diva: How did you "weed out" people who really weren't avid readers? We have a few members who often don't attend the meetings and when they do, they haven't read the book. Also, how do I get members to give Book Club some priority? It seems that for some members, anything that might come up "pre-empts" book club. We have a set night (second Tuesday of the month), we know what books we're reading several months in advance and still there are members who say they couldn't get a copy of the book (a few wait until the last weekend and then speed read the book!)or they can't make it because something random came up or they've been busy and just need an evening to just chill out! It's very frustrating! Any ideas on how to "tighten up" this book club so that the members feel more committed?