Activities for Book Clubs
- Book club activities enrich literary discussionsbooks image by palms from Fotolia.com
While initially organized as literary events, book clubs often evolve into social gatherings as well. Capitalize on the camaraderie of a book club gathering by planning activities, such as themed meals, games, field trips and community service projects to accompany the book club's literary picks. Book club activities enhance the club's literary experiences by providing additional insight into the setting or mood of a book and allowing for further social interaction among group members. - Serving a meal paired to the setting or title of the story helps enrich the book club experience while providing a relaxing evening for book club members. Make the evening easier for the book club host by planning the menu prior to the discussion and asking each member to bring one part of the meal.
For example, create a "Fair Foods" menu for the book "Devil in the White City" by Erik Larsen, which tells a story set during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Food options include roasted peanuts, popcorn, corny dogs and caramel apples.
Feast upon traditional old English fare to accompany the story "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory, a book that takes place in the court of Henry VIII. Serve guests mince pie and trifle for dessert. - Play icebreaker games to help introduce new book club members and spark discussion among existing ones.
Try an "Extreme Makeover" game, which lets guests choose a literary character and invent a life for them in today's society. Madame Bovary from the Flaubert novel might end up a debt-ridden soccer mom driving an ostentatious SUV and wearing designer jeans.
Fill a large paper bag with objects found in well-known novels. Let guests pass around the bag and take turns removing items. Book club members must guess the novel, author and character related to the prop. Give members a point for each correct guess. Award a book as the prize to the member with the most correct guesses. Ideas include a small broomstick for the novel "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire or a book by Russian author Nikolai Gogol for the Jhumpa Lahiri novel "The Namesake." - Add a new dimension to book club discussions by organizing a literary field trip.
A trip to the cinema to watch an adaptation of a recently discussed book can help provoke enlightening discussions, as members talk about the film's accuracy and the appropriateness of the actors chosen. A further twist on this theme might include attending a musical or theatrical adaptation of the book.
Choose a book with a local setting and plan a field trip to the town or area featured in the book. Visiting the landmarks and places featured in the novel can help give members further insight into the setting. - Share the love of reading with others by holding service project events that allow the book club to give back to the local community.
Plan a nostalgic evening in which members bring a copy of their favorite childhood book. Let members share the book and their memories of it with each other. Donate the children's books to a local school or library.
During a regularly scheduled book club evening, ask the group to volunteer at a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Inquire at the shelter about book requests or needs. If the shelter accepts book donations, ask members to bring a gently used book to donate to the shelter. During the next meeting, discuss a book about homelessness or poverty, such as David Shipler's "The Working Poor: Invisible in America" or "The Glass Castle: A Memoir" by Jeannette Walls.
