Making Book Club Selections

Making book club selections can sometimes be challenging.

Even a like-minded group of book club members can have varying tastes in books and strong opinions about what makes for appropriate book club reading.

Some members may lean towards lighter reads while others may only want to read "serious" literature. Some may want to mix in non-fiction, like biographies and histories, in addition to fiction.

Others may absolutely hate non-fiction!

How to Make Your Selections

Here are some tips for navigating the minefield of making book club picks:

• Set up ground rules when you first establish your book club outlining the types of books you will read and how the book club picks will be selected. Find tips for setting ground rules in our starting a book club guide.

• Always follow your ground rules. If you decided on reading one non-fiction book a year, do that. If you decided you will only read one genre, stick with that decision. Playing by the rules maintains a sense of fairness.

• Allow everyone to have a say. This may mean everyone gets to pick one book a year for the group to read. Or, have everyone bring three of four book recommendations and allow the group to vote on which one of their recommendations will make your book club reading list.

• Research your book selections thoroughly. Don't just throw a book on your list. If you pick a book that is not to your club's taste, you'll make everyone suffer through a book they don't like! Check out resources like online reviews and author interviews.

• Think about how the group will get the book. If you pick a new release in hardcover with a long library waiting list, everyone will need to go out and buy the book from the bookstore. On the other hand, many libraries have book club kits that allow you to check out multiple copies of a book at the same time, and online discount book clubs offer good deals on many new releases.

More Information

If you're ready to get started researching book club selections, check out the book club recommendation and book club reading list pages.

Return from Book Club Selections to Book Club Recommendations Page.