Could pubs be the perfect place to host book clubs?
If you love nothing more than burying your nose in a novel, there's no need to wait for the annual National Book Lovers Day to come around to join, or start, a book club. If it's been on your mind for a while, then no more excuses, it's always a good day to find a good book club venue near you. Your local pub can offer a friendly and relaxed space to hold a book club where the food and drinks are on tap, literally!
Looking for the perfect setting for your book club? Then don't overlook your local pub, as it could actually be the ideal book club venue to host your meetings.
Benefits of book clubs
A space to share your love of books with other like-minded people, book clubs offer a great way to socialise and make friends. Regular group meetings mean something to look forward to as well as helping to combat loneliness by bringing people together. Bookworms rejoice as you will probably read a lot more too! Apart from having a book to read by the next club meeting, you'll find yourself sharing novels and burying your nose into new recommendations.
Book clubs are a sure-fire way to discover new books and expand your reading horizons. Hello new authors you might never have heard of. We all judge a book by its cover right? So hearing from someone who has actually read it, might encourage you to go beyond the blurb.
What exactly happens in a book club?
Generally, book clubs are a weekly or monthly meeting where book lovers catch up to discuss a pre-selected book. Everyone shares their thoughts on the chosen prose, what they loved and loathed about the theme, plot or the characters and then listen to how others interpreted the story. The idea is to spark discussion about the text and see where the conversation leads. Tasty snacks, treats and drinks to enjoy during the sessions always help too.
How to host a book club?
- First things first, find a good book club venue, then choose a date and time within opening hours. You need to decide how regularly the book club will meet, just remember that people have busy lives, so monthly can be a good starting place.
- Tell people about your book club, the more, the merrier! You can always split down people into smaller discussion groups later down the line.
- On the day, decide how everyone will introduce themselves and let book club commence. You could start with some snacks and drinks then go round the circle, so each person gets a turn to share their thoughts on the book. Book clubs work well when the sessions have some structure, so have some discussion points in mind, but don't worry about being too rigid and sticking to them. Just go with the flow and enjoy.
- If it's the very first session, you'll have needed to share a book suggestion with everyone beforehand and given them enough time to read it. Wrap up the discussion with rating the book and then choose your next book to move onto or put it to the vote.
Top tip! It can be useful to have some talking points in mind in case conversation dries up. Some good starters for ten could be what did people like/not like about the book, what did they think about the lead character or were there any plot twists that surprised them?
Why the pub makes the perfect book club venue
No hosting required! Zero pressure. Just turn up and talk all things books. Sound good? Here are just a few reasons why your local pub can be a great place to host book clubs.
- No cleaning: Unlike holding a book club at home, there's no need to tidy up beforehand or clean away afterwards. Your local Greene King pub is a ready-made book club venue with cosy interiors and comfy seating, you could even take the book club outdoors in summer at one of our pubs with beer gardens.
- No catering: Forget prepping snacks or providing refreshments, we'll take care of that for you with plenty of tasty food and refreshing drinks on the menu to cater to everyone.
- Open to all: You might find more people come along when a book club is held on 'neutral' ground, plenty of people won't feel comfortable about turning up at a stranger's house, but a laid-back local pub? Perfect.
Join one of our Greene King pub book clubs
Ready for books, beer and banter then head to a Greene King pub and create your ultimate book club venue. Here are just a couple of pub book clubs already running that you could join if they are local to you.
Dive into a new book (and donate your old ones) in Doncaster
The Tut N Shive welcomes literary lovers in every Monday for an exciting book swap session where you're invited to bring a book or two that you've enjoyed and are ready to pass on. In exchange, at the end of a lovely evening chatting with like-minded readers, you can take a new book home to refresh your reading shelf. Swing by this historic pub at 5pm on Mondays, right in the heart of Doncaster and with the train station on the doorstep, it couldn't be easier to reach.
Bond over books in Berkshire
Amanda and Evelyn host a friendly book club at the Pond House in Maidenhead. A sociable session open to all where you can meet new friends and share your passion for reading. Come along every other Wednesday 11:45am to 1:15pm, then stay for lunch and enjoy some tasty British pub classics!
Or why not host your own book club in a pub near you?
Pop down your phone and set away your screen. Don’t wait for National Books Lovers Day on the 9th August to be the sign you need to start up your own book club! Greene King pubs are built around community, conversation and connection, just the ingredients needed for any good book club. From Leeds to London, Edinburgh to Cornwall, there are 100s of Greene King pubs offering cosy nooks and outdoor spaces to meet and talk all things books.
Find a local pub for a book club
Looking to start your own book club? Why not use our handy little finder to see your nearest potential pub book club venue.