Anonymous wrote:Do you know the people outside of book club or is book club separate from the rest of your life?

I am the PP immediately above this and basically 2 friends and I started this book club when we newly moved to Fairfax County and we all invited everyone we knew at the time, who liked to read, and it was 10 people

We have had people move etc and we do replace them.

So my book club will have been meeting for 10 years this coming summer! We used to think 10 was the optimal number but we recently expanded to 12 due to lol turnout LOL and it has been a good expansion.

I prefer about 6 people, 7 tops. The group has to be dedicated so you don't end up with a tiny group. This allows deeper friendships to develop. It's enough for a group conversation or to break out into a couple of smaller conversations.

If you want a more casual, show-up-if-you-feel like it type of group where half the people don't even read the book, then a larger group is better.

I'm in a large one, and when 16-20 people show up, I may only get to say a couple comments. The conversation can get monopolized by a couple people who talk a lot.

16 or so.

Usually 7-9 show up, though a different selection of members each time. I like not feeling guilty if I can't make it because there will be enough people for a good discussion, even if some haven't finished the book.

Anonymous wrote:7 in one and 12 in the other.
They’re so very different.

Exactly. I'm in one group with 6 people and one group with 12-14 people.

The smaller group meets monthly and has been meeting for nearly 10 years. Everybody in this group loves to read (2 are/were librarians), everybody reads the book and has lots of interesting things to say about it. Even if I didn't like the book, I come home and say to DH, "You know, there was a lot more there that I missed. I think I'll re-read this sometime." We've even had great discussions about books that none of us liked. Two of us are good friends outside of book group. The others don't really hang out together, though we've had occasional -- and really fun -- social events over the years.

The larger group is probably 12 -14 people and we meet every other month. At any given meeting, we'll usually get 4-6 people attending and it's likely that about 1/3 of the people there didn't read the book or didn't finish it. We all live in the same neighborhood and these are nice, interesting, smart women, but the group has a different vibe than my smaller group. Only a few of us really love to read and love to talk about books. For a while, I stopped going (silver lining of the pandemic because it gave me an excuse not to go) because I just found it so annoying to bother to read a book that someone else suggested and then go to the meeting and have a predictable and superficial discussion. Our last meeting was better -- 7 people and all but one had read the book. There was less chitchat about real estate and kids (if I want to talk about those things, I can take the dog for a walk and get all the neighborhood dirt as well as exercise for myself and the dog). Oh, well, hope spring eternal (and is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul . . . ), so maybe things will improve with this group.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1, I haven’t been able to find one.

All the ones I’ve tried are just wine-fests, bunko- style. Many members didn’t finish or even begin book but came for camaraderie. Also, I think I am a little bit of a book snob and haven’t met my people.

I’d take one of those.

My current book groups is 4 people which is perfect. Easier to schedule (we never leave without setting next date and book). She share similar tastes and willing to read all genres. We like each other so talk about ourselves as well as our lives.

I’ve been part of books groups that are larger but found those harder.

Anyone here tried public libraries book clubs?

Anonymous wrote:1, I haven’t been able to find one.

All the ones I’ve tried are just wine-fests, bunko- style. Many members didn’t finish or even begin book but came for camaraderie. Also, I think I am a little bit of a book snob and haven’t met my people.

7 in one and 12 in the other.
They’re so very different.

1, I haven’t been able to find one.