How To Start A Book Club
(Photo: iStock)
When I think about small things that have brought me a surprising amount of joy, joining a book club tops the list.
Since 2022, I’ve spent the first Thursday evening of every month discussing a book—over wine and snacks—with a group of smart and thoughtful women (and the occasional man, hi Rob!). I can think of few better ways to spend an evening.
In the past three years, I’ve made new friends and read many amazing books that I might not have picked up on my own, like The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr and Passing by Nella Larsen.
I’ve also learned that not-so-great books can result in fantastic discussions. (I won't name names here, but don’t worry if the book you’ve chosen turns out to be a dud—I guarantee it will give you a lot to talk about.)
Above all, I’ve learned that a successful book club does not organize itself! I asked Nadine Mohammed, chief organizer of our club—which has been around for 14 years and has read 160 books to date—for her best advice for starting one of your own. Here’s what she told me.
Have A General Structure In Place
Aside from very rare exceptions, our club meets on the first Thursday of every month. Nadine is so organized that she typically schedules three or four months’ worth of book clubs at a time. For instance, I knew in August that I would be hosting this upcoming December and that we’d be reading All Fours (more on that in a minute).
The host nominates three books they’d like to discuss—the only criteria being that all books must be easily accessible at the public library. In other words, if a book has a bazillion holds on it, we save it for next year.
We vote for the book we want to read via Google Forms, and then the host prepares questions in advance, provides the spread and moderates the conversation.
“This structure can change over time if you don’t like it,” says Nadine. “But it’s important to have one because then all the members know what’s expected and how things will run.”
While people have joined and left the club over the past 14 years, we typically aim for 12 members so that no one has to host more than once a year. But if reading a book a month seems daunting, consider bi-monthly meetings. (This is your book club! You make the rules.)
And when it comes to finding members, cast a wide net. A book club is a perfect way to get to know someone better, whether it’s a neighbour or co-worker. Bonus points for inviting people whose literary tastes are completely different than yours.
Encourage Everyone To Come—Even If They Haven’t Finished The Book
“You can still have a great conversation and listen and learn from others,” says Nadine. (I agree! I still haven't finished our January book—L.M Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, but I enjoyed hearing what other people had to say about it.)
Don’t Be Judgy About Other Peoples’ Picks
“I look forward to book club because I read books I might not have known about or chosen for myself, and then I get to hear other peoples’ perspectives,” says Nadine. “If you go into a book club with a very narrow mindset, you will likely be disappointed.”
6 Books Guaranteed to Generate Great Discussions
All Fours by Miranda July
I have been dying to talk about this novel. In a nutshell, it follows a married performance artist (and mom) who blows up her life in her mid-40s in the most spectacular fashion. I found it equal parts anxiety-inducing and empowering, and it also contains an absolutely ~wild~ sex scene that is unlike anything I’ve ever read before.
Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
This dystopian coming-of-age novel follows Elamina, a Sossi child who is plucked from her Gutter home and adopted by a Mainland woman as part of a failed social experiment. After her mother dies, a teenage Elamina makes her way in a world where Gutter people are forced to work menial jobs for Mainlanders so they can make financial reparations for an ancestral war. With its myriad parallels to colonialism, racism, slavery and the Sixties Scoop, this book gave our group a lot to talk about.
None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
This twisty thriller—my introduction to the genius of Lisa Jewell—follows Alix, a popular podcaster who randomly meets Josie at a London pub while they’re both celebrating their 45th birthdays. This chance encounter unleashes a series of events that forever changes both of their lives. “It was creepy and chaotic,” says Nadine, “and fuelled a great discussion.” (I also loved Jewell's latest release, Don't Let Him In.)
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
Kim Jiyoung is a young South Korean mother who begins speaking in the voices of other women, including her own mother and a friend who died in childbirth. This slim novel—which ignited a feminist firestorm in South Korea when it was published in 2016—recounts the misogyny she has experienced since birth, at home and in the world at large, as recounted to her psychiatrist during her therapy sessions.
Liars by Sarah Manguso
Liars is most often described as “blistering” and “searing” with good reason: it’s a take-no-prisoners account of one woman’s marriage and subsequent divorce; fiction, but based on Manguso’s own experience. You will be left with a million questions, including what the hell Jane—albeit an unreliable narrator—saw in John in the first place. There will be even more to discuss if anyone in your group has gone through a divorce.
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
As he lays in a hospice bed, Saul Indian Horse relives his past, from the horrors of residential school to the brief glory of hockey stardom to a difficult adulthood shaped by trauma, racism and alcoholism. “Indian Horse is heartbreaking and beautiful, and it was great to analyze and learn from it together,” says Nadine. “It’s one of my top-10 books of all time.”
Want more book recommendations? From big, buzzy memoirs to an absolutely wild novel about women who can turn bunnies into men (and back again!), these are my favourite books for fall 2025.
A version of this post originally appeared in our new newsletter, Group Chat. Sign up for Group Chat and receive weekly dispatches straight from our editors.
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Maureen Halushak is the editor-in-chief of Chatelaine. Outside of work she's an avid runner, writer, reader and dog walker.
