Template
Book club meeting template
A book club evening that gets past “did you like it?” — with a turn for everybody and the next book chosen before people leave.
The agenda, with a time for each part
- Arrivals and catching up10 min
- Who finished it — honestly?
- First reactions, one each10 min
- In a sentence: what will you remember about this book?
- The questions25 min
- Which character did you change your mind about, and when?
- What would you ask the author?
- A passage worth reading out5 min
- Which page did you mark?
- Marks out of ten3 min
- Would you give it to a friend?
- The next book, the date and the host7 min
- What are we reading next, and whose turn is it?
How the notes read afterwards
A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.
Finished it. Six of eight.
First reactions. “The mother is the real main character.”
Best argument of the night. Whether the ending was earned.
Marks. 7.5 out of ten on average; from 4 to 9.
Next. A short novel chosen by Noah; the 14th, at Maya's.
Running it well
- Bring five questions and expect to use three. The best ones start with “why” or “what would you have done”.
- Go round the room once at the start, so the quiet ones have spoken before the loud ones get going.
- People who did not finish are welcome. Agree at the start whether the ending may be spoiled.
Ways to change it
When to skip it. When most people have not read it. Move the date a fortnight, not the book.
Questions
How do you run a book club meeting?
Open with one reaction from each person, work through a few prepared questions, read out a favourite passage, give it a mark, and choose the next book and host.
What are good book club questions?
Ones with no right answer: which character you changed your mind about, what you would have done, whether the ending was earned.
How long should a book club meeting last?
About an hour of talking about the book, plus whatever time your group likes for catching up.
What happens in the room
Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.
More templates
Try Meetful
Meetings that take their own notes
Free video meetings in the browser: every line of the transcript under the name of who said it, and the summary and action items when you hang up. Nothing to install — guests just open the link.