FAQs

What is a Reading Group?

Anyone who meets to discuss books with other people is part of a reading group, it is simply a group of people who enjoy reading and discussing the books that they have read. It can be people who enjoyed English at school, college or university, who miss the discussions and are keen to continue these. It can be people who do not read a lot, but who are keen to read more and feel that a group encourages them. It may be a group of people who are collectively reading the books that they always meant to read.

Can I join a Reading Group?

There are a variety of reading groups already in existence in the UK and it is possible that one of these may be just what you are looking for. To find out if there is one in your area contact your local library, college or bookshop, they may have details or even run one.

How do I set up a Reading Group?

If you do not have a local group that is suitable for you, you may want to start your own group. This could be made up of friends that are also interested in setting up a group or with new friends - ask your local library, college or bookshop if you can put up and advert.

As well as members you will need a venue. Once more librarys, colleges and bookshops are a great help as they may have a room where you can hold meetings. If there is not a room available you may want to hold meetings in members' houses, someone may want to volunteer their or home or you could alternate between each others houses.

The Introductory Session

The first session of your group shuld be a general meeting to decide how the group will run. It is a good idea not to try to start a discussion about books at this meeting but instead discuss general issues. Perhaps you could prepare a list of issues that you need to sort out. We suggest you cover the following:

MEMBERS Use this session as a way to involve everyone in the discussion. Start by introducing yourselves. Discuss what everyone wants from the meetings, how often you want to meet and how long the meetings should last.

CHAIRPERSON Do you want to elect a chairperson or general organiser? This person could arrange the dates of meetings, source out any information you may need and keep everyone up-to-date.

BOOKS Do you want to focus on one book per meeting or to revisit a title over several sessions? What type of books do you want ot focus on? Do you want to look at a specific area e.g. fiction or at all different titles? Who will decide which titles to discuss? What about a rota system, each person choosing one title or one person, possibly the chairperson, choosing all the titles to discuss.

Regular meetings

Once all the general details are agreed you will be able to focus upon interesting discussions with other people who love to get the full enjoyment available from books.

Keep us informed

Please keep us up-to-date with your reading group's progress. We would love to know how useful our guides are and any suggestions for future guides. If you are looking for new members for your group please email us your details and we'll pass them onto people who are looking for a group.

Further information

The Random House Readers' Group website provides more detail and up-to-date information for Readers' Groups.

The Radio 4 bookclub provides an extensive resources based largely on live and archive recordings of it's Book Club programmes .

Check out bookgroup.info for help and advice from an established reading group.

Email us at enquiries@randomhouse.co.uk and put 'Reading Guides' in the subject of the email.