If you are in a book club...who chooses the books?

[ForeverReading]

I really want to make new friends locally and love reading. I've tried a reading group but they do it in a way that doesn't work with me.
So I'm thinking of setting up a group myself.

-Would you suggest each member selects a book?
-Members put two titles in hat and we draw 6 for 6 months?
-Ask members to choose one genre only? (ie I don't get on with sci fi or fantasy.)

What happens if members choose books you'd never want to read in a million years?

I'm an English grad and have a creative background. I'm not an intellectual snob but I am not interested in reading chick lit.

We let the person who hosts chose, they normally offer three or four options, then we say what we’d prefer.
I understand what you’re saying about not wanting to read a genre, I have similar feelings. However, I’ve read things I would never have chosen and really enjoyed them. I’ve also read the first chapter of a lot of crap.

Our book group is small now, but we take it in turns to choose. Sometimes the person whose turn it is might offer a few choices, but they ultimately have the final say.
It's worth having a discussion about the type of bookclub you envisage. For me, the point was to read things I might not choose myself, and to have a variety. I don't think anyone in my group would choose chicklit for a bookclub book, but we might discuss/share more lightweight books as a separate thing from the actual book. It works for us but everyone is fairly flexible.

We take it in turns to choose book and venue (we go out for dinner, not to each others houses).

I don't always go, sometimes I go but don't read the book. It's more of a friendship group, we tend to discuss the book for a short while then put the world to rights.

We have a rota of houses, and the host chooses, but has a selection of 4-6 books, and it's narrowed down from that. As above, it's got me reading things I wouldn't have otherwise, with a couple of great ones, and quite a few duds. But if it's not doing it for me, I just stop reading it. Life's too short.

Discussion of the book isn't for very long, as above, it's more about getting together (although it's quite an eclectic group, some of us don't generally see each other outside book club).

I briefly belonged to a club where we chose a genre (eg travel, or children's literature), we would all choose whatever we wanted that broadly fitted the genre, then fed back at the next meeting, swapped books if wanted etc. It was quite a nice way of being able to choose your own book, but still be within a theme.

Interesting ideas. The book club I've tried chooses 3 books at the end of each meeting. This means (depending on numbers each time) that no one may have read the book you chose, so no discussion on it other than your own monologue.

Some book clubs are really formal, I know, where they choose their books for the year, notify the local library and they get enough copies in for everyone to borrow.

They often try to choose books that are 'meaty' and have questions in the back for book clubs to prompt discussion.

That's the 'far end' I think of formality but I want something in between that and the one I went to.

I won't be hosting it- my house isn't big enough- and I prefer neutral ground anyway, like a quiet pub or a cafe.

I thought maybe an inaugural meeting where everyone suggested a book and we got together a list for the first 6 months.

Would that be reasonable?

Do you have people in mind to invite?

We just take it in turns to host and the next host chooses the book. The only rule is to avoid books that are only out in hardback. I think it is quite restrictive to say no sci fi or what ever - it is only one book a month and for me the whole point is to read books I might not read otherwise.
Another book club I was in had a complicated system whereby we took it in turns to choose and the chooser circulated a list of about six books; everyone voted for their top 3 in order and votes were added up. It tended to mean the books we read were the ones that were everyone's second or third choice rather than some people's first choice and they all tended to be typical middle.of the road "book group books" - the kind that sometimes come with questions in the back!

I'm part of a bookclub who have had 50 books, members take it in turns with no restrictions. There have been a couple of duds (last book was one of those stupid inspirational books about a street dog) but mostly I've broadened my reading horizons.

Going from your own words, I run one of those ' meaty ' book groups ! There are at least 10 of us. We choose the books that we will read for the following year.
You say that you have been in book groups but don't enjoy it if it's a book in a genre you like. Tbh that's the point of being in a book group. It widens your horizon by getting you to read authors,genres that normally you would not pick for yourself. It's good to hear the feedback on people's opinions be them positive or negative. Also different people get
different things out of the same title, for example who I feel was a character I could most identity with, may not be the same for you.
Different strokes for different folks as it were !

@VictoriaBun
You say that you have been in book groups but don't enjoy it if it's a book in a genre you like.

No, I didn't say that. I said that the way it's run is they choose 3 books each month. The consequences are you can end up choosing the book you like and no one else has read it by the next meeting.

I have reached the age where I know what I don't like with books. I've been immersed in reading (professionally) for 40 years. I couldn't veto a book obviously, but if someone chose one I hated I'd just not finish it. My own view is that sci fi and fantasy are specialist genres and IME people who love those don't usually read anything else.

I am a librarian by profession, and have ran / participated many book groups.
There will be a book group out there that will suit your needs it's just a case of giving a few a go and be prepared to read the occasional title that doesn't hit the spot for you .

In ours if you host you pick the book. We only talk about it for about 15 mins though and spend the rest of the time talking about lots of other stuff.

I can see how your one would be frustrating.

In the book group I go to, each person takes it in turn to host, and chooses a book for that month; there are six of us, so two choices a year. We each have quite different tastes, and I've read a lot of good things I probably wouldn't have found by myself. I've also read a few duds, but it's been a useful exercise making myself articulate what it was about them I didn't like.

In fact, it's usually the books that someone doesn't like that provoke the most interesting discussions. Too many times we just say, 'Yes, I really liked it, it was funny/interesting/moving... oh yes, I thought so too, blah blah....' and the discussion peters out after ten minutes. When that happens I sometimes try to get it going again by discussing the cover/how you'd have edited it differently/whether it would work as a film, etc. but I suppose we largely get together as a social group rather than a focussed literary salon.

We take it in turns by alphabetical order. We have 12 members and we've been going for as many years.

If someone has already read the book,then they just have a month off.

The whole point of book club is to read books outside your comfort zone,so all the better if it's one you wouldn't read in a million years.

Ten of us in our group, take it in turns to host every 6 weeks or so. The host chooses three options and we vote for the one we're going to read. We all have very different tastes so wouldn't work if we had rules about particular genres etc.

Most of us read all three at some stage, it's a great way to learn about different books, but the discussion next time is about the one most voted for.

I have read lots of books outside my usual comfort zone, loved some, not all. Always love the chat and the wine, it's a great way to meet new people. Our group is very relaxed and that suits us.

I'm an English grad and have a creative background. I'm not an intellectual snob but I am not interested in reading chick lit.

I think if this is one of your criteria, then you need to spell it out from the start and make sure all members are aware and in agreement. My sis is in a book group, they all have at least a degree if not post grad qualifications in literature. There are only 5 members and they have a clear understanding that the books chosen must be “literary”. In fact, they used to be part of a bigger group which schismed in a rather dramatic fashion when some of them objected to a run of lighter books ;-)) The words “I don’t have enough free time in my life to spend it reading this shit!” may have been uttered ;-)

In my (much more lightweight) BG we take turns hosting, the host makes a list of 4-5 books to choose from and we all vote (anonymously) which is good fun. The choices can be very random though!

Every now and again we read a chick lit book ,or a very easy read ,usually before Xmas or the summer.

I think if you have such strong ideas OP then you need to take charge and present the club in the way you want it run which includes the way in which you choose your books.

My book club started with a meeting in a neutral place, we discussed the sorts of books we liked (& didn’t) and got a short list together. I’ve found it really good to try books that I would never normally read, one or two have been duds & if we are not enjoying it none of us forces ourselves to read it.

It is worth agreeing to only choose books that are available in your local library .. I don’t want to buy a new book that I might not like (but maybe that is me being frugal). We generally have a list of the next three or four books so that we can also look out for them in charity shops.

We take turns to choose and the person whose book it is brings questions and snacks (it's usually at my house). We mostly have books from the library - we have a reading group card and they loan sets of 10 books from a list of about 200. No restrictions on genre but sometimes people choose not to read it if it's a topic they really can't cope with. Having questions which we pick from a bowl really helps you think about what and why you liked/didn't like something.

I think a neutral venue like a pub is better if you want to keep to the topic of the book. My sister’s BC meet in a back room in a pub. They have a little bit of chit chat but tbh it’s all about the book. She’s only friends with one of them IRL outside the BC, the others she only sees there.

Whereas my BC has been going for 20+ yrs, with nearly 15 members (many of whom have moved away but still keep in touch) and everyone socialises outside the monthly meetings. We even organise a yearly weekend away. Dinner is potluck and as much energy goes into the meal / wine selection as the book discussion :-) so TBH the book is important but it’s the people that really matter.