Book club resources
Setting up your own book club
Information, advice and links to set up and run your own book club (in a safe, socially-distanced way).
Are you part of a book club? Or are you looking to start one? The Guardian stated that a post-COVID, digital-dependent world was the best time to start a book club and a study conducted by Aston University suggests that people were picking up a book more regularly during 2020 as well as using digital platforms to discuss their thoughts with others.
Virtual book clubs are on the increase, and Time Magazine recently published their top 10 online book clubs as well as advice on setting up your own. Apps such as Bookclubz, a free website and mobile app designed for book club management, now have 50,000 members in 12,000 book clubs around the globe and saw an increase of 26% in the first month of lockdown.
Where to start?
Setting up a book club need not be an arduous task. First, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you want to discuss one book at a time, or is your book club about reading in general?
Are you a genre club, interested in only talking about romance novels, or biographies, for example?
How much time do you want to devote to socialising and non-book talk?
What do you want participants to leave each meeting thinking?
What technology should I use? Given the current restrictions, a virtual book club is the way to go – at least for now! This could have many benefits; not least increasing the amount of people who can join who otherwise would not be able to due to work/home and travel commitments.
You will most easily be able to recreate the feel of an in-person book club if you can see the people you are talking to. Video conferencing services such as Zoom, Skype or Microsoft Teams are great and easy to us, but also apps such as FaceTime and Google Hangouts work well and are a great way to connect.
Not so sure about being on camera? Why not use mobile apps such as WhatsApp, Houseparty or Bookcluz to hold your book discussions. These options also work if not all your members can "meet" at the same time – the discussion can continue even if you are not all present, and people can catch up on what has been talked about in their own time.
Once you have your members, and have figured out when and how you will meet, it’s time to choose your first book! Seeing as though you’re here, why not choose The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which continues to be a popular choice for book clubs around the globe.
Author Rebecca Skloot has pulled together some handy hints for book clubs choosing to read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, including discussion questions, a complete timeline of the book as well as some of her own experiences while writing.
Are you a small book club looking for copies? We have a small holding of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to be able to share on a first come, first serve basis to book clubs within the UK. Please email CambridgeFestival@admin.cam.ac.uk for more information.
Borrow a
Scientist
Would you like to know even more about Henrietta's contribution to science and how her cells are being used in cutting-edge research today?
You can ask a researcher to join one of your book club meetings.* They can tell you about their work involving HeLa cells or techniques that were developed from HeLa cells and join you in reflecting on her amazing contribution to the world.
*Limited supply of researchers available, requests will be responded to on a first-come, first-served basis.
Teachers and schools
Not only is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks an incredible story in its own right, it is also an incredibly important educational tool and is currently selected for common reading at more than 150 colleges and universities and is widely used in high schools, medical schools, and professional programs. Author Rebecca Skloot has pulled together a fantastic set of resources, including teaching guides and videos to help enhance your discussion around the book and it’s themes.
Rebecca herself first found out about Henrietta as a teenager in a biology class and is an excellent opportunity to engage and inspire the children of today with Henrietta’s remarkable story.