Episode Details

What actually makes a book club GOOD? And how do you get people to come back month after month without turning it into homework? 

This week on Book Lounge by Libby, we're going behind the scenes of the book club. Joe is joined by Amy Allen Clark of Book Gang Podcast and book club, Dave McNally, Adult Services Supervisor at Cuyahoga County Public Library, and Meara of (@mearaisreading) to talk about what makes a great book club, how groups choose what to read, the biggest barriers that keep people from joining and what happens when a book club meeting goes completely off the rails. 

We're talking book club tips, discussion drama, choosing books, reading outside your comfort zone, building community and, naturally, some very important book club gossip. 

Whether you're already a devoted book club person, thinking about joining one or wondering if you should finally start your own, this conversation has something for you. 

And yes, we get into the books that brought people together, the ones that divided them and the stories that have become legendary around the book club table. 

If you're watching or listening on Spotify, comment and let us know: If you're part of a book club, tell us about it! How big is your group? How often do you meet? What's the best book you've ever read together? And, perhaps most importantly, what's the book that nearly started a civil war? 

OR come comment on today's post over on Instagram at @bookloungepod. 

Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel! 

Book recommendations: 

• Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte  

• Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut  

• Heart the Lover – Lily King  

• Daughters of Shandong – Eve J. Chung  

• Woodworking – Emily St. James  

• The Rachel Incident – Caroline O’Donoghue  

• Sula – Toni Morrison  

• The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison 

• I See You’ve Called in Dead – John Kenney  

• Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer 

• Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer 

• The Art Thief – Michael Finkel 

• The Final Revival of Opal & Nev – Dawnie Walton 

• Big Swiss – Jen Beagin 

• Death in Her Hands – Ottessa Moshfegh 

• The End of Men – Christina Sweeney-Baird 

• Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom 

• Crime and Punishment –