Book club: Are you in one? If so what does it cost (if anything) and what do you like/dislike about it?

[namechangeaaargh]

I've been in one for a few years but they are changing the format to a monthly direct debit subscription model which is expensive and wouldn't suit me even if I could afford it so I'm out. I understand why they have done it (it's run by a book shop) but the way they have gone about communicating the change has been shoddy - I can't elaborate on this though as it's outing.

I enjoy talking about books and getting ideas about new books to read from others and there are a few people there that I like and/or respect but I dislike some of the other aspects of it, including being in an immensely annoying virtue signalling WhatsApp group for it, books that look awful/I don't want to read winning the vote quite often and also the club being 99% white, 99% middle class and 99% female grates sometimes but I suspect probably all of these factors are common to many book clubs.

I'm pondering whether to try and set up my own small group next year but I'm not sure about the hassle factor.

If you're in one (or more), what does it cost and what do you like/dislike about it?

I joined my local group of Chapter 25 book club. It cost 9.99 a month + the book. I get my books from the library. Every 3 months they send a list of potential genres & we vote for our favourites. We then get told the next three books & what month we will discuss them. We meet once a month in person & there's a chatty WhatsApp group. I really like meeting other readers each month & think it's worth it.

£9.99 plus the cost of a book?

What are you getting for the £9.99?

Ours almost free. We each pay £10 a year for a room in the village hall for 2 hours, once a month. Regular last Wednesday of every month, except December.

The box of books come free from the library readers group. They provide 15 copies so we can't increase our membership to more than 15. I think we are currently running around 12 members.

We get a list of about 50 titles from the library once a year and pick 15 from that list and the library do their best to stick to our choices, but often don't and we get weird random stuff. We don't mind.

I'm in a long standing (4 years) book club. 12 members, and usually 8/9 attend. It's a very local affair as we all live within yards of one another. It doesn't really cost much per se. We meet monthly, at the home of the person who has chosen the book we are discussing. Books are purchased or borrowed from the local library. Next person scheduled to host chooses the next book. The person hosting provides snacks and drinks and these are more or less elaborate, but no-one is competitive about that.

I go to our village one. It's bring your own snacks and drinks, and it's up to each of us to sort out getting hold of a copy of the book for ourselves. I listen to books on audible, so it costs me the monthly subscription for that - others use Kindle, buy from amazon or second hand or borrow from the library. We agree the book list for up to a year at a time so people can take advantage of special offers etc.

I love everything about our book club except the books! They are chosen by voting on a shortlist, and everyone else always votes for really crappy psychological thrillers. If we do one more book which opens with the main character's partner/friend/parent/boss having just mysteriously disappeared I might scream.😩

@namechangeaaargh I suspect we are in the same one. Maybe we could set up an alternative together! I'm not in the whatsapp as I have only been a couple of times and not for the last 2 or 3 months but my friend tells me what the book is and they have been pretty disappointing lately so I'm not going to go back.

Previously I was in one with some parents from my DCs school we set it up on zoom during lockdown, someone posted on the parents FB, we were all from different years and didn't know each other before that. We would agree a theme, a few people would nominate a book and we would vote on it, then have a zoom call once a month (someone had a professional zoom account). There were 6 to 8 of us. We used to talk about the book for maybe half an hour, then move onto other books we'd read or wanted to read, TV, films, podcasts etc and then inevitable a bit of chat about school DCs etc. After lockdown we started doing theatre trips together etc, but the book club itself fizzled out, we were all just too busy. We still have our whatsapp and chat about books and other things from time to time. It was good while it lasted.

I joined one. Based in nearby pub so costs drink plus book -but I get most via the library anyway as we get the list a few months in advance
around 12 of us but no one is particularly friends out of it. Chat is mostly about the book.
I looked at my score for the last 12 months for the annual vote. Highest (excluding my choice!) was 7, a few 6 and most 5 or below. None I would have chosen to read! But luckily I read fast so can get enjoyable fluff in.
I now skip meetings if zero interest in the book. But have gone to 10/12 this year.

I'm in a U3A book group, but we don't actually call it that on the website as we wanted to make it clear that it was different. Group size is about 12 - 15 and we pay room hire in a hall that has a coffee bar for a half time break. We run at 3 week intervals between September and April, and decide on the 12 books for the next year at the last meeting. We don't read anything published more recently than about 20 years ago, so books have to have either stood the test of time (ie classics) or be of particular interest in some way. Each book is introduced by a member, (having circulated questions in advance) who talks briefly about the author, background etc. Everyone comments very briefly on what they thought of the book, and then there is general discussion of the questions. I have been in much more typical book groups before, but really wanted something more challenging. To be fair we are all retired so have more time for reading and preparation!

Yes we also have questions after a general what we thought part. Either make them up yourself or hope someone has done sone online.

A fixed group where the time & place are set each month and the books are set in advance. Also someone to run the meeting & keep things on track. There's also a fair bit of on line extras such as author talks etc. But I find people don't seem to value free book clubs & they fizzle out or get taken over so I personally find it value for money.

I'm in a bookclub, I found it on a local FB group and have been attending for about 4 years. There is no charge and we meet in a local pub every month. For me, it's great to push me to read outside of my comfort zone and venture into genres that don't naturally appeal to me. We are all encouraged to submit recommendations and someone will send a precise of each book, we all then vote for the one that will be our read for the coming month. It's a simple but effective formila and I 'd hate for it to be monetised.

I’m in a library one, which started during lockdown. It is 10% men, but he seems happy enough. We met as complete strangers, which makes it an interesting mix. We did wonder whether we should meet in person, but early evening on Teams gives us time to juggle things and it makes us inclusive to those in need of care/having caring responsibilities.

I think we all have money to spend on audio/print books if the library doesn’t have copies.

Our book club is free, apart from the cost of a drink in the pub. We have just celebrated 5 years of being a book club.

I still think £9.99 plus the cost of the book isn't great value for money. It costs nothing to run a meeting or organise a date for the next one. There is no admin. In our club the person who chose the book asks the questions.

Are we in the same one 😂?

I’ve been in a few. Two we hosted in turn, host picked the book and provided snacks. Both ended up as bonded friendship groups where the book was slightly irrelevant!

In another we paid a facilitator who picked the book. She then led the discussion. It was more focused. It was also all women and there were a few people who dominated / kept telling “hilarious” anecdotes about themselves. They did pick good books though.

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I went to that bookclub for the last time tonight. The organiser referred to the new plan but there wasn't really discussion of it. I started to say something but someone else was talking, I wasn't heard and then it was mostly people saying how great it was and how £14 a month is nothing really and I just didn't feel I could say anything. So I'm just not going to subscribe and therefore not go back. I expect others may do the same - it's what women do isn't it? Get pissed off, don't voice it and quietly leave. I'm a bit annoyed with myself for that as I'm normally quite assertive and open but I don't owe them a teaching moment and I think I would have been shut down anyway.

(They do have subsidised places but I'm too proud to ask and that's my issue not theirs). I'm a bit sad about it, been going several years but it's not right for me any more.

I may try and set up my own club next year but my life is a bit of a mess for various reasons and I'm not sure I have the mental bandwidth to take it on.

@Bookclubanon could you mention one of the disappointing books to see if it is the same club? Or give another non outing clue? No worries if you don't feel you can, I'm just curious.

I was in one years ago (I’ve moved to another country since then). No cost, but I think we all must have brought fine wine and bubbly bits as it was at one woman’s house each time. It was just women and we only read female authors. I think we took turns choosing. The women were from quite a broad spectrum that I may never have met otherwise - there was a welder, a political activist, a writer, a businesswoman, a full time mum… I was roped in by a friend. I really enjoyed it.
I’m thinking of starting one in my street but feel a bit shy about it!

This thread's interesting - I've never been in a book club but like the basic idea. (Apart from the repeated statements that other people's book choices aren't ideal.)

Although, please enlighten me, folks. Are ALL book clubs based on reading fiction? Has anyone ever been a member of a group that chose to read non-fiction? (Science, engineering, history, philosophy, history of art, auotobiography, biography, architecture, etc.?) That's what I'd like...

OP how disappointing. I have been in one run by a book club and there was no charge but I know that they did want you to buy the book from their shop and to be fair most people did. It was also a very popular club so it ran about 7 times a week - you did have to commit to one particular time slot so they sold about 200 copies of each book per month plus everyone in my group read a lot and seemed to have lots of money so probably spent a lot more! I had to leave that club as the times changed and I could not fit it in any more.

Now I am in 2 clubs. One is run through my local library and is free with books provided. Some I have not enjoyed but most I have. We meet at the library and mainly discuss the book plus other books we have read.

The other one is an online bookgroup called Birds of a Feather. It is only for women and charges for membership and then you can either buy the books from them or source them yourself. I source myself and either get them from the library or ask for them as gifts. The reading list is given out in November for the following year so everyone knows what to get me for christmas!! Then each month there is a podcast where the book author is interviewed about the book. It is a nation wide book club and there are about 6 thousand members. They also connect local members so I go to the local meet up to talk more about the book. If you want to attend the zoom meeting with the author and ask your own questions you buy an upgraded membership. I adore this bookgroup. I have loved all of the books, the focus is local women authors and hearing what the authors have to say is great.

I hope you are able to find another group that works for you

@CrystalSingerFan our book club often reads non fiction. We've had all sorts. I think the last non fiction book was Empire of Pain, about the Sackler family and the opioid epidemic.

I've just remembered that a colleague is in a "walking" book club. They meet up and walk/talk about the month's chosen book, finishing with flasks of hot drinks (or a pub in the winter). I asked how well that worked, and my colleague thought it was very effective - people chatting in pairs and swapping and changing companions as a five mile walk progresses.

@CrystalSingerFan my late Dh was in a bookshop bookclub that read nonfiction only for a bit. A friend of mine is in a U3A science fiction bookclub - I’m sure other people would be interested if you stick out a notice.

The bookclub I’m in was originally set up at the community centre by a local woman and was a nice mixture. It lasted a few years but has morphed to 6 of us meeting in houses. No cost except the book, our only rule is that it has to be out in paperback. We read nonfiction sometimes, probably about once a year. I would choose nonfiction a bit more often but to be fair originally joined in order to read more fiction.

@namechangeaaargh well mine is also Weds eves (I didn't go), there was a book back in the summer about a young girl growing up on an island in Sweden or Finland.

We did read one non fiction book (salt path). But now clearly that was fiction!
ours just have to be under 500 pages and in paperback.
i actually think I have read less since joining a book club, as I know 2 weeks in a month I have to focus on this book I don’t enjoy so tend to not read other stuff then.

@Bookclubanon yes my book club read that book in the summer, so I think it could well be the same club. Feel free to message me if you want to chat.

@Icecreamisthebest your online club sounds great but I think it's Australian - do they accept people from overseas?

Regarding non fiction my club has read a few non fiction books over the years but we usually read fiction. I found out last week that there is a non fiction book club attached to a local Waterstones. I'm pondering whether to join their fiction club but I don't know whether it's contingent on buying the book from them every time and I more like the sound of the informal friendship/neighbour/colleague type groups people are mentioning here.

We read some non-fiction - biographies and autobiographies.

Groups are so different, it's fascinating to read about the variations. It's a shame that in some groups people have to buy a copy of the book, that automatically excludes people on the basis of finances and preferences in how you read (audio book, kindle etc).