How to Have Your Own Awesome Family Book Club

Just the other day, Boy Child was reminding us of when we organized our Family Book Club and I thought, with the beginning of the school year underway – at least for us – that we’d revisit this idea and share with other families so you could host your own! (*Photos are from 2020 when book club was born)

Our initial BC started when Girl Child asked, “What’s that party you have when everyone comes over with food and you guys talk…” What she was referring to was Book Club. After explaining to them that the snacks were secondary to the actual talk of books—which they were not at all convinced of should take priority over snacks—the idea to have the first Family Book Club was born. We decided on a date and, to make it feel really special, put it on our calendar because let’s be real… if it’s not on the calendar are you even really doing it?

Planning FAMILY BOOK CLUB

a few Weeks Out:

We obviously aren’t all going to read The Art of Not Giving a F*ck. It would have to look different than the typical Oprah’s Book Cub where we read the same thing so we’d have to pick our own. Husband is into sci-fi and I’m a nonfiction / self development junkie. (One of the books I read that has become a fixed read on my favorite books list is The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. Strongly recommend!) At the time, Girl Child was reading lots of longer chapter books but this would be a first for the Boy Child so we focused there. Husband helped find a book that was interesting and level appropriate. I’d do nightly check-ins to make sure he was understanding his book (aka actually reading).

(Choosing the book is the most important part. You want kids to like reading and not just because you are having a Family Book Club that includes SNACKS – though that helps – so it’s vital that they find a style of book they like. *I know from experience that not finding the right kinds of book can make you hate reading so pay lots of attention to this step.

Day of:

They were so excited about Family Book Club that they kept the “is it time yet” question on volume 10… all day and since BC was not until dinnertime you could imagine the dizzy-inducing bombardment of the question.

Girl Child decided on layered, yogurt parfaits with granola and grapes and a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries. Boy Child went with a Nutella cups that required no work other than to open the package but, hey, you want to give them ownership. At the last minute, he asked for help making a special drink. Husband made one of his specialty dishes—chorizo nachos—and I made what felt like 400 pounds of chicken fingers… don’t ask.

We set up the snack table and added plates and cutlery and sauces and then we were ready to start. We made our plates and sat in the living room with our books, our full plate of snacks, our specialty drink (I added gin to mine), and, most importantly, the fam. The kids put our names in a hat which is how we choose the order and after their Family Book Club countdown—yes we had a countdown—we began.

WRAP UP:

As an ex-English teacher (and Husband who, of course, is still in education), we asked questions for clarity but, more importantly, questions that were fun and/or that involve connecting the stories to our life. We had a really great conversations about regret and superpowers but our snack-filled evening was more than just a book discussion. It was a reminder that the best part of reading isn’t just finishing the book, but savoring the quirky, wonderful moments we create along the way. It turns out that, much like our Family Book Club, the best stories are the ones we live and share together.

Cheers! To many more chapters of adventure and snack-fueled discussions!

P.S. The passing of time

*I was not a good reader as a kid so I didn’t really read anything until I graduated college and my sister suggested The Count of Monte Cristo. “Read two chapters,” she said. “If you hate it, you don’t have to read the rest.” She’s very clever. I was immediately hooked.