A shift in how our group picks books for the year

In my experience, our club used to vote on a new book each month, which often led to rushed choices. About six months ago, we switched to planning the whole year in one sitting with a shared list of 12 titles. The change came after three members missed meetings because they didn't like the last-minute picks. Now we spend one evening in December with snacks and everyone brings two suggestions. It lets us balance genres and check if books are easy to get from the library. Has your group ever tried planning a full year ahead, or does that feel too rigid?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopher_roberts2920d ago

Honestly, my old book club tried the full year plan and it fell apart by March. Tbh, life happens and people's moods change, so locking in twelve books felt too strict for us. What works now is picking three books at a time, every three months. It gives some structure but also room to swap something out if a new must read comes up. We still use that suggestion night with snacks though, that part is key for getting everyone invested.

noah88020d ago

A full year plan falling apart just means the commitment wasn't there to begin with. Locking in twelve books creates a real shared goal and stops the endless debates about what to read next. Letting moods dictate the schedule sounds like a quick way to end up reading nothing at all. That suggestion night with snacks is just a fancy way to delay actually picking up a book.

the_emery13d ago

Only three books at a time? I could never keep the group focused like that, we'd just end up talking about the snacks for the whole meeting.