Invite an Expert to Your Mother-Daughter Book Club Meeting
Have you ever thought of inviting someone other than the author of the book you read to your book club meeting? When you think about the topics covered in your book and who may be able to give you more information about them, you open up a world of possibilities for guests to invite. For instance, when the members of a mother-daughter book club near Chicago read the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, they invited a naturalist from a nearby forest preserve to attend their discussion. He brought a real, live owl, and was able to talk about owl habits and habitats.
Why would you want to bring in an expert? One reason is to learn more about a topic you found interesting when reading your book. It’s also a way to liven up your normal routine every now and then as well as keep your book club meetings dynamic. And there are typically many more experts to be found who can address a topic from your book than there are authors you can get in touch with.
A club in Arizona found that to be true when they read The New York Stories of Edith Wharton. Wharton died in 1937, but her words continue to inspire readers in many ways. The book club moms and girls took a topic from the book, formal manners popular in the late 1800s, and turned it into an opportunity to invite someone to their meeting who was an expert on manners. At their group meeting the girls and moms organized a formal tea party, and their guest had them play games that helped them learn manners, including how to set a formal table and how to introduce one another properly. Everyone in the group loved the meeting, and it brought more depth to the stories they had read.
Here are a few ideas for other book/expert match ups to help you get started on your own brainstorming exercise:
- Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce—the curator of a local art museum
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George—someone who can teach wilderness survival skills
- Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang—a history teacher who can talk about China’s Cultural Revolution
More ideas for how to find experts and invite them to your meetings can be found in Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs.
Cindy Hudson, author of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs
We had a book club meeting and invited a local author, Mitali Perkins, to speak about the Rickshaw Girl and how she conceived the book, etc. It took a few months to pull this off and we included the same grade boys’ book club to join this one special book club. I have to say that Mitali Perkins was UNBELIEVABLE! She’s so lovely and gracious. The kids hung on her every word as she described how her first book was published within months but her second book took nearly 12 years to get published. Also, the Rickshaw Girl started off as a picture book about a rickshaw boy and turned into this novel perfect for grades 2-5. She also talked about Bengladesh, the novel’s setting, where she was born and how it is different (both in good ways and bad) from living in the U.S. She talked about micro loans which is currently changing the local economy and the boys’ group club were fascinated by this.
I highly, highly recommend bringing in an author to your book club; it makes books more “real” and may inspire someone in your child’s book club that he or she might someday become a writer!
Pragmatic Mom
What a great idea. We haven’t really done anything except discuss the book so far in our group. I’d love to take it to the next level with an idea like this! Thanks for the post!
I think your are wonderful. I am currently in 2 book clubs with both my daughters. Though we collect dues they are nominal ($10.00) per meeting. My older group has about seven girls and the younger only 4. How can we invite an author or an expert with such a small budget. Do some authors and expert volunteer their time? Do the groups have to be registered or something like that for an author or expert to come to a meeting?
It’s interesting that you collect dues. I haven’t heard of clubs that do that before. I would be interested to know what you use the funds for.
If authors live in the area, they usually don’t charge to attend your book club meeting. Also, if they happen to be traveling to your area, they may also be willing to get together without pay. If you’re looking for an expert, you may find that someone in your group knows an expert who would be a good guest. Some companies and nonprofits also have community outreach activities, and they may be willing to send someone to your meeting without charge. I’ve got more ideas in my guidebook, Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs. Have you checked with your library to see if it has a copy?