Starting a professional book club

How to start a book club for educators the teaching space. To start a book club, start by finding a small group of people who all love to read, like friends, family members, or coworkers. Many book clubs start when a few friends get together and decide that theyd like to meet to discuss books on a regular basis. Parents can take turns jumpstarting the discussion. Nonprofit, personal development, and business book club ideas 1. First of all, believe that a faculty book club is worthwhile and believe that you can succeed in putting one together. For business professionals, book clubs are an opportunity to develop emotional intelligence, foster relationships and improve as communicators. Here are five benefits of starting an employee book club.

The book club was voluntary and free, with the district providing the meeting place and the books. Book clubs at work can play a number of different roles. Sometimes you might find enough people to start a book club right away. Apr 19, 2011 it takes a major change of pace, like a book club, to break down those walls. Websites like are free to join, easy to use, and allow all the members of your club to post on a communal site. Gather everyone together to discuss the first book option, the permanent meeting location and time, how the book club will be run, and the goals for the book club. This is stepbystep guide to starting your own book club, written by a professional reading group leader who has organized and led groupsfacetoface and even onlinefor over twenty years. Jul 12, 2018 your christian book club is likely to evolve as time goes by, but in starting, its best to keep it organized. Why you should start a book club with your coworkers. You can customize it by addressing it directly to the recipient.

Ive started three book clubs over the years, but i chaired this post longest while working at a family foundation that supported. Ask around the office, playgroups, your church, or civic organizations. Starting your own book club is an endeavor that we applaud. Or the method of forming the common understanding towards soem professional concepts ot ideas. Its not enough to read a lot but are not actively sharing our reading lives. Other times, the focus might be something more general like leadership practices. This would work for someone you know but its timeconsuming. It resonates across personality types and professional roles and fosters a diverse crowd. Here are some reasons to consider starting one with your coworkers. It takes a major change of pace, like a book club, to break down those walls. Take a vote if you would like to have everyone involved in the decision. How to start a christian book club pen and the pad. We started it from the beginning when we were a very small company because i was looking for ways to build a company culture and cohesion among our team at the offset. But if youre planning to manage an office book club, there are a few more considerations like looping in human resources.

A book club can be an affordable, informal way to grow as a leader. If you and several friends are already interested in forming a book club, congratulations. A new year is just around the corner, and people everywhere are looking for ways to make next year better than this one. Want to start a book club, but dont know where to start. One of the best pairings with our wine is a good book club.

Our readers included eight teachers, one staff developer, two media specialists, and two researcherparticipants. Sep 18, 2015 to start a book club online, i believe you need to be seen as an avid reader. Then, decide on a place for your book club to meet, like your house or a local library. Jan 16, 2017 starting a book club sounds like a simple endeavor. To start a book club online, i believe you need to be seen as an avid reader. Before you start looking for prospective members, sit down for a few minutes and ask yourself the following questions. The goodreads choice awards book club, the perks of being a book addict, and youll love this one. Consider starting a blog or an online forum to keep track of the club. If you are looking towards starting a book club, you are left with one option to start from the scratch. Successful groups select good books, have interesting discussions, and foster community. People change, cultures change, markets change but there are some books that stand the test of time. If this sounds all too familiar, then starting a book club with your coworkers can be a.

If you are starting a book club with your friends, then you need to find the perfect name for your club. If you at least start there, then anything can happen. Improve employee experience start a book club at work exacthire. Episode 48 of the teaching space podcast explores the benefits of setting up a book club and how to do so. When prospective members contact you for more information, explain the purpose of the book club and the number of members youre looking for. Even if your members are used to being part of group discussions and are good at listening to each other, it can still be a good idea to have somebody lead the meeting, in part to make sure that everyones voices get heard but also to come prepared with thoughts on what topics would be good to discuss, so if the conversation starts to run dry in one. Lucky for you, early bird books offers free ebooks each month, plus great deals on ebooks every day.

In the last episode 47 how to make time to read more i mentioned setting up a professional development book club at my college. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Benefits of starting a book club at your workplace. Starting a book club sounds like a simple endeavor. How to start an online book club on goodreads reading by. Book clubs at work are a serious employee development opportunity. When the group completes the book, select the next book.

Book club invitation letter with samples sample invitation. May 29, 2019 benefits of starting a book club at your workplace. Work book club success stories the balance careers. Starting a book club at work can be a great way to enrich your workplace experience, but it can be tricky to get past your first meeting. This gives leaders at every level a chance to interact with our senior team. The ultimate guide to starting a book club at work.

Here are 10 actionable tips to ensure your book club runs smoothly. Looking for a fun way to enjoy books and meet new people. Joining a book club can seem impossible, if you dont know where to look. A book discussion group is a forum where readers can come together and talk about books and the reading experience there are adult groups, studentled groups, motherdaughter groups, fatherson groups, and parentchild groups, to name just a few. Your christian book club is likely to evolve as time goes by, but in starting, its best to keep it organized. Here at pi, members of the executive team regularly attend and sometimes host our monthly book club. Starting a bo ok club at work can be a great way to enrich your workplace experience, but it can be tricky to get past your first meeting. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Aug 08, 2019 this is stepbystep guide to starting your own book club, written by a professional reading group leader who has organized and led groupsfacetoface and even onlinefor over twenty years. Chances are that there are other teachers in your building who are just as interested in starting a faculty book club. Mar 29, 2019 while the main point of a business book club is to learn new information and collaborate with other professionals about innovative ideas, starting and leading a business book club can also improve your reputation within the local business community. Jan 14, 2019 give people a framework of what types of books should be expected and which genres would work best for a company book club. Starting a business book club good books challenge.

Often youll at least recruit some help in completing the rest of the steps. Sometimes, the focus is professional development in a particular area. Crossfunctional book club members for company team building and the crossfunctional viewpoint are preferred in many employee book clubs. Books are the centerpiece for professional development. While the main point of a business book club is to learn new information and collaborate with other professionals about innovative ideas, starting and leading a business book club can also improve your reputation within the local business community. Employee development through reading start a book club. For example, titles about leadership, business, entrepreneurship, professional development and even some selfhelp books are all great options. Starting a book club many book clubs start when a few friends get together and decide that theyd like to meet to discuss books on a regular basis. Of course, some book clubs are purely recreational.

Chances are that there are other teachers in your building who are just as interested in. For example, a mystery book club might name itself after sherlock holmes or baker street. Home book discussion groups libguides at american library. Aug 09, 2017 looking for a fun way to enjoy books and meet new people. Meet at one anothers homes, book a free room at your local library, or gather outside at a park for a bookthemed picnic. How to start a book club that doesnt suck book riot. Theres nothing like sipping on chardonnay, enjoying small bites, and discussing the summers hot read with friends, new and old. To help you make sure your book club is on point, here is a short guide about how to start a book club to help you make yours perfect. Book club is the perfect activity to add to your culture. Professional development book club starting tuesday, march 17th, university human resources will be primarily operating in a remote fashion. Promoting a culture of professional development starting an online book club for teachers at your school can promote professional development and teamwork through introducing new ideas without impacting everyones alreadybusy schedule. Here are 14 book club ideas to encourage your team to continue to professionally and personally develop.

Jul 05, 2014 5 reasons to start a book club at work. The combination of historical fiction, with a touch of fantasy, feminism, and nazis made it one i couldnt put down, and couldnt wait to talk about. I recommend that the founders of the book club select the very first book. I had wanted to start a book club internally for quite awhile, but the timing. Think about what your intentions are for your book club. Browse the following list as a team and vote on a favorite to get started. If you are starting a book club yourself, you may need some ideas for creating a fun group that people will come back to time after time. Jot down questions as you read the book, or do an online search for guided questions.

Get together a core group it is much easier to start a book club with two or three people who already have some connection. How to start a book club online for kids profitableventure. And somehow the experience is not complete until youve shared your thoughts with someone else that has read the book. Aug 28, 2018 starting a book club in your organization forms connections and promotes selfrealization that can make the difference between good and great or failure and success. Its up to you to keep the ball rollingconversation going. Our goal is to minimize disruption and maintain operations as normally as possible. Interview them briefly about the types of books they like to read, and.

Dec 01, 2016 starting a book club at work can be a great way to enrich your workplace experience, but it can be tricky to get past your first meeting. In fact, by putting the word social first they give the impression that this social aspect is possibly even more important than the books. With this in mind, heres some tips and tricks for forming your own literary circle. Sep 14, 2017 a book club can be an affordable, informal way to grow as a leader. Is the purpose of your book club to read or to socialize. Send an email to the company announcing the next book and soliciting members for the next round of the book club. How to start a companywide book club that fosters inclusion. Besides it is not a difficult task to start a book club from the scratch. Research tells us that the best way to remember new ideas and put them into action is to share our thoughts and ideas with. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions.

If you dont have anywhere to meet in person, you can start a virtual book club using social media or video chatting. Lets take for example a real book club named the social book club. We turned to book club expert, kristie mckenna, who moderates a collective membership of more than 34,000 members across three of some the most popular book clubs on goodreads. But there is more to starting a book club than you might think. Possible threats and challenges you will face when starting a book club. Crossfunctional book club members for company team building and the crossfunctional viewpoint are. Sep 08, 2019 to start a book club, start by finding a small group of people who all love to read, like friends, family members, or coworkers. Select groups, then create a group on the upper right side of your screen. This name immediately lets us understand that there is a strong social element to this club.

Bring one or two options for meeting times and the first book. And weve made it easy to do with these tips and resources. Feb 03, 2018 14 online book clubs you can join right now. Often, people choose book club names based on the types of books that they read. Perhaps you want to stick with just one topic historical dramas, productivity books, biographies etc.

Starting a business book club university of michigan. Give people a framework of what types of books should be expected and which genres would work best for a company book club. You can also check out our editors picks for book club books, or turn to oprahs book club for ideas. I should mention that there is an option of sending out handwritten book club invitation letters. We formed the blindfeed book club to cultivate our growth. Thus, if you want to start a group a great place to begin can be with your friends but dont assume that they share your expectations about the sort of books to read or how the club will run. Once youve settled on a platform for your online book club, you just need to figure out what youre reading. Weve read several books where ive tried to incorporate those thoughts. To begin the teacher book club, we mailed a flyer introducing our idea to local teachers. We decided to create a book club at truebridge resources based on several factors.