First time book club member needs help!

by Tiffany
(Minnesota)

I recently joined my first book club and just started reading next month's selection. However, I'm struggling with the best approach to reading the book, taking notes, and remembering important points. Do you have any suggestions? Are there tools available to help readers be more efficient? Currently I am highlighting important passages and jotting down notes on a pad of paper, but I'm wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Tiffany,
Take a deep breath! You're already using some great strategies to hold your thinking about the book club choice. (Sidenote - would love to know what the book of the month is!)

There are a few ways to approach preparing for your meeting. Some of it will depend on the type of meeting your book club holds. If you are serious readers who are really going to get into the nitty gritty of discussion, then you've got more work to do! If the group meets more for socializing and lightly discussing whether or not you liked the book, there isn't as much to get ready. I'll give you some tips for both types and also some general ideas for any book club.

General Ways to Prepare for Any Style Book Club Meeting

• Place a post-it on any page that has an impact on you in some way. Note your reasons/thoughts/feelings on the post-it so you can remember come meeting time.
  
  
• Choose a favorite line or passage and mark it with a different color post-it to set it apart from your other notes. Make a few notes on why you chose this particular passage.
  
  
• Be prepared to give a definitive answer about whether or not you like the book. Give it a book rating and be sure to have some references as to why you give it this rating.

• Know the list of book club questions and make a few notes about how you might answer each one during your meeting.
  
  
• Check to see if the chosen book has a discussion guide in the back or online. Think about your responses beforehand and go to the meeting prepared to share what you've found and what you think.
  
  
• Find a little something extra to enhance the discussion. If you're reading Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah, do some research about feral children. Take the information with you to spark additional discussion.

• Decide who your favorite character is and why. Find a quote that you think really shows what the character stands for.
  
  
• Focus the discussion more on theme then the specifics of the book. For example, if you're reading Matrimony by Joshua Henkin, discuss infidelity and what drives people to do it. Discuss getting married too young and for the wrong reasons. Discuss what it means to be a true friend.