How to Start a Mother-Daughter Book Club

by Christine Duval
Have you ever thought about starting a Mother/Daughter book club? Mother/Daughter book clubs are a great way to get your daughter and her friends to begin thinking more critically about what they are reading. They are also just plain fun and a terrific excuse to get together with friends to discuss a shared topic.

Here are some tips for making your Mother/Daughter book club successful. First, you should come up with some ground rules for how you want the club to run. For instance, how will you choose the book (by vote, picking a title out of a hat, or by choosing the featured girlmogul.com book pick). How often will your club meet and where? Some book clubs rotate from house to house, others meet at the library, and still others opt to meet at a local book store. Second, you should make sure that the club is not run by the moms. Let the girls have a say in what food is going to be served, what questions are going to be asked and encourage them to participate in each discussion.

Once you’ve found committed members and have your club rules, get creative. Sure it’s easy to sit around a table talking about what each person liked or didn’t like about a book. But, there are other ways to make the experience more enjoyable. You could serve food that is in keeping with the theme of the book. If the book was made into a movie you could all watch the movie together and then discuss the differences of the two. Another idea is to play a game. Stick the names of characters from the book onto the backs of members as they come in without them being able to see who they are supposed to be. Then encourage everyone to give clues to each other while mingling (you may want to cover up any mirrors for this). The first person who figures out which character they are wins.

There are lots of ways to make a Mother/Daughter book club fun and chances are your daughters will come up with some very clever ideas. And, if you are unable to get enough people to join because of scheduling conflicts or lack of interest, don’t be afraid to form a Mother/Daughter book club between you and your daughter. After all, sharing a book is a great way to stay connected.