How to set up a book club

Welcome to the Methodist Recorder Book Club.

This is new feature in the Methodist Recorder will provide you with all you need to know and do to set up a local book club yourself.

Book clubs offer a great opportunity to meet socially with friends (and possibly the odd stranger too!) By discussing themes in a book, it is also possible to talk about the deep themes of life: love, loss, hope, despair, joy, pain... not to mention the smouldering beauty of Gothic heroes and heroines! Not only will you be able to enjoy book together, you may be surprised by what other people have made of the characters and the plot.

The Methodist Recorder Book Club is designed for use in a new group (there are ideas, hints and tips on the website), or for use in your housegroup, complimenting your programme.

We would love to hear some of your comments, so please feel free to drop me a letter or an email to mrbookclub@methodistchurch.org.uk We will feature some of your responses in each Book Club article, so please do get in contact with us about your group and your opinions on each book.

Getting started
A book club is quite easy to run, especially as the questions will be provided here. All you really need is a quiet space (a cafe, library, bookshop or home is ideal), a few friends and a pot of tea!

The Book Club is not just about reading a book together, although that can be fun in itself. A Book Club is a chance to meet new people, talk about the important things in life, and share hospitality.

There are obviously a few things that you might want to think about before you get started:

1. Who are you going to invite?
It is a good idea to see if any of your friends or family would like to join you in your book club. It is not a huge time commitment – just a promise to read the book and to join in the discussion when you meet. If you have a few people who are interested, then you will be able to grow by inviting others, or even by advertising at a later date.

Don’t forget to keep inviting people!

2. Where are you going to meet?
It may be that your book club works best by meeting in someone’s home – in which case you can share the hosting and the provision of refreshments around the group. It may be that there is a local venue that works just as well, in which case make sure that the owner is happy for you to meet and enjoy their hospitality.

It is important to remember that you are looking to create an environment where everyone is able to contribute. Think about the room layout andtemperature, the number of seats you think you might need, and any background noise which might make conversation more difficult for people to engage with.

Some people find it fun to theme refreshments around the themes of the book. For example, a book set in America may provide the opportunity to bake some American-style cookies. A book about Italy might inspire Mediterranean nibbles. One group we’ve read about even asked people to dress as their favourite character! Don’t feel obliged – a pot of PG Tips’ finest is just as good! But there are lots of creative ways to engage with the text.

3. What time works for everyone?
You know your friends best – when are they available, and willing to meet? A regular time means that people can plan and look forward to meeting with you. It may be that during the day is good, so that people are not travelling in the dark. If your friends work, it may be that an evening or weekend is the best time.

Don’t forget that if anyone cannot get to the book club for any reason, there is always the online community too. If you need help to get online, then ask at your local library for more details of locally available training and help.

4. How will you get hold of the book, so that everyone can read it?
Every two months, there will be a different book for your group to read. Some of these will be new titles, and some of them classic texts.

5. What is the best size of group for a discussion?
An ideal size for a book club is between 8 and 11 people. But that’s just a guideline. If the Book Club is too big, then it can be hard for everyone to contribute. If it is too small, the risk is that conversation doesn’t flow very easily at times.

In all small groups it can be useful to agree a few house rules or guidelines. These are there to help people know what is expected of them. You can create these yourselves, and they could include the expectation that everyone who attends has at least tried to read the book; that a different person each meeting will provide refreshments; that a different person each meeting will lead the discussion; that discussion and debate will always be civil, and that everyone should be given the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas.

The great thing about fiction is that differences of opinion are OK! Expect there to be disagreement, but let these be interesting and stimulating to debate, rather than a danger to relationships!

6. What will be provided by the Methodist Recorder Book Club
Every two months, a new Book Club feature will be printed. This will include:
· Feedback from the previous feature.
· A short synopsis of the next book – this may include ‘spoilers’ or information that pertains to the overall plot of the book. These will be clearly marked, in case you don’t want to know what happens before you’ve read it!
· Questions for discussion in your own book club.

7. Who will lead the discussion each time?
At the end of each meeting, agree who will be leading the next discussion. This person should then let everyone know which book they should read, how they might be able to get hold of it, and where the next meeting will be held (if you are going to change venue each time).

Leading the discussion is not too onerous – the questions for discussion and a short synopsis of the book will be printed here. You should not need any more preparation other than to have read the book, perhaps thought about the questions in case people get a little stuck, and be able to let people share their thoughts and contributions in the group.

You may need to reign in tangential conversation (although some of these might be quite interesting, so it will be your decision as to whether to let these continue or not), or invite quiet people to contribute. It will also be your job to keep everyone to time, and to wrap up the conversation. Don’t feel you have to answer all the questions – the most important thing is that people are able to talk about the content of the book and the ways in which it has affected them (or not!).

8. After the event
Post your cook club comment on the Methodist Recorder Book Club blog, email us mrbookclub@methodistchurch.org.uk or write to us. We would love to hear your feedback on the book, and the highlights of your discussions.

Happy Reading!

Baking Cakes in Kigali

Baking cakes in Kigali
Gaile Parkin

Introduction

Set in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, our heroine, Angel, offers a cake making service to her local community. As her neighbours share their celebrations with commissions for cakes, so Angel enables the community to move on from the memories of the past, and the lingering threats that still haunt them. Over spiced tea and a scrapbook of celebrations gone by, Angel discovers the secret hopes and dreams of friends and strangers.

Each character is introduced through a celebration and a conversation. As such, their lives are marked by the relationship offered by Angel. The community gathers around to celebrate birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, engagements and Independence.

Baking Cakes in Kigali is a delicious novel, inviting the reader to share in the stories, heartache and hopes of a nation all too often reduced to stereotype and headline. Although there are difficult themes contained in the book, the tone of the book means that the reader is compelled by them rather than repelled by them.

Questions

The novel is called 'baking cakes in Kigali'
What is the significance of cake baking in the novel?
How does this metaphor enable the plot to evolve?
Why is the colour of the icing important?

Which character do you most sympathise with, and why?

The novel is about secrets; secrets told and secrets kept.
Which secrets should be kept and why?
Which secrets are revealed (such as the Cardamom mix-up)
What makes Angel good at keeping secrets?

How much of Rwanda's history do you need to know to read this novel?

There are hints in the novel about the ongoing relationship with the UN (p31/1) and with the IMF (p245)
How do you respond to these insights?
How do these compare with the development of the honey co-operative and the entrepreneurial work?
How does the author suggest what the best way for a community to develop might be? Do you agree?

P4-5 Angel polishes her glasses.
Why does she do this?
What does she not want to see throughout the novel?

'The desire to make the world a better place is not in the pocket, but in the heart.' (p32)
What does Angel mean by this?
In light of the themes of this novel, how might you desire to make the world a better place?

What is the role of women in this story?

There are a number of cultural events, religious traditions and fatal illnesses mentioned in this novel.
How did you feel about being faced with their reality?
Which made you feel uncomfortable and why?

'Happiness and sadness change places' (p137)
Where do you see this happening in the novel?
Where have you experienced a similar thing in your own life?

P185 lists three things that wagunzu like, beautiful things, celebration, and safety. What would you add to the list - and what would it replace?

At the end of the novel, we have met several characters over a mug of hot tea and a cupcake.
Which character would you like to hear more about and why?

The novel ends with the song 'Staying Alive' playing in the background.
What is the significance of this piece of music at the end of the novel for Angel?
Having read this novel, what is the significance of this piece of music for you?