Writing Sample–Five Tips to Make Your Book Club a Success.

Whether you are joining a book club in the New Year's, or looking to start your own, it pays off to find ways to keep things interesting. I've been on the book club game for a while, and today I bring you a few ways I've found to make meetings more memorable—while keeping the heart of the club in the right place.

Not a newsletter, not a distribution channel, and not an Instagram page (though have one of those as well, it’s great for finding new members!). Instead, create a dedicated group chat space for everyone in the club.

A group chat will help with streamlining the admin process (choosing the book of the month? Send a poll and ask everyone to vote. Not sure of where to meet? Ask members to link their favorite coffee shops). It's also the best way to spark excitement about upcoming meetings. Share progress updates, and give your commentary as you read along ( be careful with spoilers, though).

The group chat is also ideal for last-minute announcements (e.g. “PSA: We’ve changed the meeting time from 5:30 to 7:30 PM!”). And to stay in touch even if you can’t make that month’s meeting.

Finding a regular place to meet can be a bit of work, but don’t fret. There’s a perfect spot for your book club, and you will find it.

A good way to find a place is by inviting fellow club members to weigh in on their preferences. If your group is the adventurous type, you may enjoy switching sceneries often. You can hop between coffee houses and try a new experience with every meeting.

A lot of these places offer reservations ahead of time. Reach out and plan accordingly to guarantee everyone has a seat at the table on the day of your meeting.

If your group enjoys the outdoors (and the weather is nice), you can plan for a picnic-type meeting. You can host your event in a park, a city landmark, or even the beach.

In my book club, we'd planned to try different cafeterias downtown, but quickly found ourselves going back to the same restaurant every time. Inadvertently, we'd found our haven.

These days we call ahead to secure a private room to host our meetings, and the staff is gracious enough that we even have a designated waiter who--by now--knows some of our regular orders by heart.

This development may come later in your book club's lifespan, but it's worth it. As you grow closer with club members, look for engaging activities to do together outside of regular meetings.

Sometimes a single meeting isn't enough time. Meeting halfway through the month (virtually or in person) is a great way to check in with your club and muse about your book impression thus far.

Make these meetings optional even for members who may not find the time. But make it enticing enough that they will want to carve out a few hours to join.

The concept of a book club is straightforward enough that folks know what to expect. But that doesn't mean you can't get creative and make your meetings more memorable.

Bring out some trivia questions to test your book knowledge; play a game of "Guess Who?" but only give personality traits about the characters. You can also put together some arts and crafts, discussing the book while making art related to the story (no art skills required!).

Certain sagas already have whole universes built around them. Explore those worlds with your club and do the quizzes, watch the videos, and play the games together. You will be doing much more than talking about the book. You'll be bringing it to life.

As time goes by and you become closer with your fellow club members, you might begin to meet outside of strict "book club activities". Why not plan a dinner party with the group? You can still talk about books (if you wanna), but you can also catch up with each other over a few drinks and call it a day. These people are your friends now, and you can build memories with them that go beyond the few hours spent together on a Saturday afternoon.

We host a Christmas party in December, even though we don't officially "meet" for book club. We dress up nicely and bring something to share (food, drinks, games, the karaoke machine...). For our party last year we wound up staying until 4 in the morning, blasting Taylor Swift, choreos and all.

I would recommend holding these events at someone's house to make it more comfortable (and to, y'know, avoid getting kicked out before the last call). Plan to make sure everyone brings something different, that way you don't end up with five plates of guac and chips and no soda.

You don't have to wait till Christmas to make an occasion out of it. As I mentioned earlier, other activities such as going for hikes and visiting museums also make great outings for your club.

You joined a book club for the experience of connecting with fellow readers who share your interests. But that is only the seed for a community. With a little energy, your book club will bloom into a vibrant space for intellectual and soul-nourishing experiences.