help! book club ideas needed

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I'm having a first-time book club meeting for about 15 ladies. Any suggestions on how to select a book and what to serve (something simple)? — Sharmese

At my book club, we each bring book suggestions, along with editorial reviews, and decide as a group what sounds good. We vary the types of books — fiction / nonfiction, classics / new releases, plays / novels / short stories — but some clubs stick to a specific category (like classics, 19th century Brit lit or National Book Award winners). In my old book club, the theme was classics we referenced in conversation but hadn't actually read (like Joseph Heller's Catch-22).

As for food, I tend to choose things I can start preparing the day before, like quiche and baked pasta dishes. Both are easy to make and just reheat before serving, and I pair them with a seasonal salad. The one time I made risotto, I was still stirring and stressing after guests arrived, which was the opposite of fun.

If I'm feeling especially sassy, I'll match the meal with the book, like tapas and sangria for a book set in Spain (I went with a Spanish omelet, spicy shrimp, mixed olives and lots of Manchego cheese). The food definitely helped keep the book talk flowing that night. Or maybe it was the sangria.

Check out our entertaining section for more book club ideas. Hope this helps, Sharmese. Please write back and tell us how it goes!

Hey, book clubbers! Anybody else have ideas for Sharmese? How do you choose your books? What do you like to serve?

Comments

What I wouldn't give to be a member of a book club. I think the card is very inspiring as it is about BOOKS! Keep up the good work.

My main tip is that no matter what you serve, let people load up their plates in advance and/or place small bowls filled with snacks throughout the room so everyone can reach the food easily without having to get up or stretch across someone. No one wants to get up for food or awkwardly try to reach one centrally located table once the conversation starts!

If you want to skip cooking all together, I say order sushi (plus some sides, like edamame and shumai that you can just eat with your fingers) and arrange it on some attractive plates. It's bite-sized and easy to eat, plus almost no one makes it at home, so you don't have to feel guilty about ordering takeout instead of slaving away in the kitchen.

I also love the previous poster's idea of matching the food with the book! If that's too complicated for your tastes, I find a nice selection of fruit, cheese and bread always goes over well. My go-to casual spread is a few types of cheese (brie baked with brown sugar & pecans is a favorite of mine, as is Manchego), a fruit selection including apples, grapes and strawberries, some really good dark chocolate and a big bowl of greek yogurt accompanied by granola and honey on the side. Yum!

As far as choosing a book, the previous poster's method sounds great. I'm also a big fan of shaking things up, so you could decide to pick a well-reviewed book that's completely different from what you'd normally choose. For example, if you normally do Jane Austen, pick up some Haruki Murakami. If you've only done fiction, dive into something by David Sedaris. . . etc!

Have fun and good luck!

The book club I'm in has been going on for 6 years and I have to say, the food is the thing we all look forward to the most (other than the company, of course). Although we have a mix of ladies who like to cook and those that prefer to order, the meal is always somewhat indulgent. It is the one night a month we all know we are going to splurge. I love the idea of matching the food to the book or at least one course (dessert is always easy).

In terms of the group, don't feel pressured to be brilliant. We always start off the conversation with who liked it and who didn't and then it usually flows from there. More than anything, the book usually serves as a jumping off point for discussion.

We've always tried to keep a low pressure attitude, as we all go through periods where we have more or less time to dive into the material. It has always worked for us and in the 6 plus years we've met, there was only one time when a member didn't show up (and she was giving birth, so she was off the hook).

Enjoy!

People still read books?

Another cool idea is a salon style literary café, where everyone (or one person) brings anything they've read and found interesting, and the discussion centers around the ideas or themes in a work, but out of the context of the work. This style definitely needs a skillful moderator. A good food style match would be a tasting menu or potluck.

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Since your group is composed of women, try The Red Tent by Anita Diamante.

Books? What are those? :) I'd much rather get together with friends once a week and discuss the latest issue of Newsweek or Time! :)

I think a great idea would be matching a book title and food. IE Fried Green Tomatoes. Book and menu all in one.

My book club just read a really funny book,
Miss Match: A seriously funny look at dating.
We all wore miss matched clothes, and told our funniest dating story. The authors live in San Diego so they came and spoke. It was great fun.
Check it out...
MissMatchBook.com

I started my book club 3 years ago, very similarly. We wound up capping our membership at 12 ladies, and everyone gets a chance to pick a book once a year.

We have a potluck dinner each month, and the person whose book we are reading is the person who selects our dinner theme. They can make it fit the book, or pick something out of thin air. it's up to them.

That way the pressure is off someone to cook a big meal for all those people, and since we have some people who cannot host the club in their own home, they still are able to participate in cooking and sharing.

i've been a participant in book club for many eyars and just love it! we hold our membership to 12 to 14 (2 for the daughters of our members) and we each pick a book, the food or venue for the month. We have the best discussion around the characters which ultimately leads to some of our life experiences! book club has made us bond in a way we had not imagined! My advice is to keep it simple, it's not the food its the being together that counts! Someone picked a book of poetry one month and the author came and did readings. For another, I sent the books to the author and she was happy to autograph them for us! We also had a presdient of a well known college come as our guest when we read a book she authored! Reading is such a wonderful thing! Someone in the blog wrote..."Books does any one read anymore!" Yes they do and we should never give up the love of books! Yea to all the book clubs out there!

If your book club is made up of 'moms' of any kind, read "The Mommy Wars". It's comprised of 26 essays from mothers as to why they choose to either be a 'stay at home' mom, a full-time working mom or to do a little of both. Some essays are a pain to read, but the rest are good.

Regarding your call for book suggestions - Not sure how serious/intellectual your readers are or whether you have any Shakespeare fans or history buffs ...my mother has written a couple of great historical fiction books.
One Is 'The Secret Love Story in Shakespeare's Sonnets'...a twist to who really wrote them and cryptic messages within. Short and thought provoking w/ sequel in the works.
Also 'Voice of the Vanquished' - a different angle on the relationship between Cortez and his mistress/interpreter.
both by Helen H Gordon - Anacade Intl. - if you order direct she will personally sign the copies!
Have fun, regardless!