A book club needs about eight members – not so big that everyone can’t have a say, but not so small that it collapses when a few people can’t come.

There are some advantages in starting a new group.  It means you don’t have to fit in to someone else’s way of doing things, such as their choice of books.  Your friends or your workmates are obvious places to start recruiting your own group.  Try lending potential members a copy of this guide so they can see what is involved.  Many reading groups also grow out of activities which bring people together for other reasons, such as baby sitting clubs, or sporting clubs or service clubs.  Ask a couple of other members of a group or club that you belong to if they are interested, and if they are, see if they have friends who might also be interested.  You could also put up a notice in the club rooms, or in the group’s newsletter.  If you don’t belong to any groups or clubs you think might yield suitable book club members, think about other activities where you meet people – even talking to other parents when you are picking the children up from school could be a place to start.

The only requirement for membership is that potential members are interested in having a go at making such a group work.  You don’t have to decide before you start recruiting exactly what books you are going to read, but it would help if you had some idea of peoples’ expectations.  It’s not much good having a member who insists on reading War and Peace, when everyone else wants to read crime fiction.  If you decide to use the reading guides outlined below, you could show one of these to potential members, so they can see if it is their sort of thing.  Or you can indicate to potential members how ‘serious’ you expect the level of reading to be, to ensure they are comfortable with it.  Groups don’t have to keep operating at the same level; some may decide after a while that they would like to try more serious writing, where others may at times like some light relief.  Or you could plan for both.  But willingness to try it out, and to share, are far more important than background or education.