CHOOSING BOOK CLUB MEMBERS
In NovelReaders, the members are women who share a passion for reading. We don't necessarily enjoy the same kinds of books, or the same authors. What we have in common is a desire to discuss books, and to experience books we might not otherwise have selected for ourselves.

When the original NovelReaders group dropped down to six members in our early, lean years, we re-grouped and emerged with 11 members! While the added depth in our discussions is a definite plus, it's also more difficult to keep just ONE discussion going. Invariably, we have two or sometimes three smaller group conversations taking place at the same time. Frustrating! But we have learned to speak up, and either ask each other to focus on topic, or just get up and move to whichever corner of the room sounds most interesting!

We're now at 10 members and holding.

WHEN SHOULD BOOK CLUB MEET?
NovelReaders meets once a month, every third Tuesday. We try to stick to the schedule, but we're also flexible if looks like holidays or other busy times in the year will reduce our attendance too drastically.

However! Sarah is in a different book club in another city. Her advice is this: "Don't schedule the meetings less than six weeks apart. Members in my book club can't get much read in less time."

WHERE DOES BOOK CLUB MEET?
Each month NovelReaders meets in the home of a different member. With 10 members, we typically only host once a year. The advantage is that the host member gets final choice on our book selection for the following month! Plus, by not meeting in restaurants we save ourselves the cost of dinner and the agony of trying to have a discussion in the midst of restaurant activity. The exception has been during December, when sometimes we do meet in a restaurant for more of a holiday celebration than a book discussion. We read a light book (or none at all), and have a (paperback) book exchange. It's appropriately festive, and who has time to read something deep in December anyway??

HOW IS THE BOOK SELECTION MADE?
While NovelReaders set out to make our host member responsible for the book selection, more often than not the choice is made by consensus. The host member usually has two or three choices in mind, and tosses them out for reaction. Amazingly, one of the three emerges as the clear choice among members. However, if the host member feels strongly about reading a particular book, other members respect her selection without proffering further suggestions. 

As a sidenote: The member who selects the book is also encouraged to bring reviews, reading guides, articles, or other pertinent info that will help us discuss the book. Other members are welcome to do likewise, but ... we don't count on it!

WHAT IF YOU DON'T READ THE BOOK?
The following quote from Terri sums up the NovelReaders response to this question: "The best policy for a book club is not to kick anyone out because they haven't read a book!"

One of us (okay, it was Janet) tried to get tougher on this issue. It didn't work, and in fact, she became one of the worst offenders shortly thereafter! Bottom line: Give everyone some space to breathe. Some months are going to be better than others. Just respect the host member's thoughtful selection and do your utmost to get it read before the next meeting. What more can we ask of each other?