The Beginner's Guide to Running a Virtual Book Club on Video Calls

Starting a book club sounds like the easy part: choose a book, pick a night, open the wine. Then eight faces appear on your screen, one microphone is echoing, two people haven't finished and nobody can remember who nominated the novel in the first place. Almost every problem a virtual book club runs into is logistical rather than literary, and logistics can be planned for. Here is how to set one up from scratch and keep it going well past the third meeting.

Decide What Kind of Club You Are Running

A little definition now saves a lot of confusion later. Before you invite anyone, settle four things:

• Size. Six to ten people is comfortable on a video call. Beyond a dozen, voices get lost and the host spends the hour managing rather than discussing.
• Scope. A club that reads "anything" often ends up reading nothing, because nobody wants to nominate. A loose theme — translated fiction, prize shortlists, books under 250 pages — gives people a frame without turning it into homework.
• Rhythm. Monthly or six-weekly. Monthly is easier to remember; six-weekly suits longer books.
• Choice. Either a rotating chooser or a theme everyone picks from. Rotating is simpler and shares the effort.

Decide too whether finishing the book is expected. Be honest: in most clubs, around half the group will have finished. Say that out loud at the start and reassure people that arriving at chapter ten is allowed. Fewer readers drop out that way.

Choose Your Platform and Set It Up Once

Almost any video calling tool will do, so pick one the least confident member can use without help. Check two things before you commit: whether the free tier limits group calls to a set length, and whether the platform lets you keep the same recurring link for every meeting. A link that changes forces you to re-send invitations, and someone always misses it.

Then get the boring details right:

• Create one recurring meeting link and put it in a calendar invitation with the date and time.
• Ask everyone to join with headphones if they can. It removes most of the echo.
• Set new arrivals to muted by default. Nothing derails a discussion faster than a kitchen blender.
• Test your own sound five minutes early, every single time.

If someone's connection is poor, suggest they turn off video and keep audio on. Ask before recording anything, and take a no without argument.

Scheduling That Doesn't Eat a Week

Time zones are the usual snag. State the time in two zones when you invite people — "8pm London, 3pm New York" — and use a scheduling poll if the group spans more than three.

After that, stick to a pattern. A recurring slot, such as the first Tuesday of the month, removes a dozen emails from your life. Set the next date while everyone is still on the call, rather than chasing people afterwards.

One rule is worth adopting early: never postpone for one person. If you wait for the night when everyone can attend, you will meet in March and again in November. Meet with whoever turns up, and send a short summary to those who missed it. A reminder two days before the meeting lifts attendance more reliably than anything else you can do.

The Host's Run Sheet

Hosting a good discussion is mostly a matter of having a shape in mind. Try this sequence:

1. Open the room ten minutes early and greet people as they arrive.
2. Spend two or three minutes on general chat, then move on.
3. Open with a question everyone can answer, finished or not: one word for how the book made you feel, or which scene you'd cut.
4. Move into the main discussion, keeping half an eye on the clock.
5. With ten minutes left, ask for closing thoughts and give everyone a chance to weigh in.
6. Announce the next book and date, thank people, and close on time.

Close on time even when the conversation is flying. People plan their evenings around an end point, and running over makes them hesitate to come back next month.

Questions That Keep a Discussion Alive

"Did you like it?" kills a room. It invites a yes or a no, then silence. Ask about specifics instead:

• Which scene has stayed with you since you finished?
• Which character would you least like to sit beside at dinner, and why?
• What did the writer choose to leave off the page?
• Did your view of anyone change between the first fifty pages and the last?

Allow a few seconds of silence after you ask. New hosts panic and fill it; that pause is usually where the good answer is forming.

Structured rounds work well with quieter groups. Everyone gets a turn, passing is fine, and nobody is interrupted. With larger groups, send people into pairs or threes for ten minutes and bring them back — shy members often say far more in a small room.

Treat disagreement as your best material. A book that half the club disliked will produce a better hour than one everybody found perfectly pleasant. Agree the spoiler boundary at the start of the session, and say whether you are discussing the ending or stopping at a particular chapter.

Making It Inclusive Without Making a Fuss

A few small habits make the difference between a club people return to and one they quietly stop attending.

• Offer formats. Audiobook, ebook, large print, library copy — reading is reading, and nobody should feel they joined the wrong club because they listened rather than read.
• Use the chat. Some people think better in writing and will type a thought they would never say aloud.
• Invite by name. "Sam, you mentioned unreliable narrators earlier — did this one work for you?" Naming someone isn't pressure; most people are waiting for a door to open.
• Turn on captions where the platform provides them, and remind everyone to speak one at a time and not talk over each other.
• Welcome newcomers with a short orientation: what the club reads, how long meetings run, and that not finishing is allowed.
• If someone hasn't spoken all evening, don't put them on the spot in the final two minutes. Ask their view early, when there's time to answer.

Books sometimes touch on heavy material. It helps to say at the start if a title covers something difficult, and to let people step away without comment. If a book raises questions about health, money or the law, keep the discussion to the reading itself rather than advice.

After the Call, and Keeping It Going

Send a short message within a day or two: the next date, the next title, and one line about something that came up. That's all. Grand newsletters are the first thing to fall by the wayside.

Rotate the hosting. One person running everything will eventually resent it, and different hosts ask different questions, which keeps the meetings fresh.

If numbers start to slip, change one thing at a time: a shorter book, a different night, a tighter ninety minutes, a season of themed reads. Don't add rules; add reasons to turn up.

And keep the bar low. A club that meets six times a year and enjoys itself is worth more than a perfect club that never gets past the planning stage. Choose a book, send a link, and hold the first meeting before you have finished designing the ideal version.

Photo: Diva Plavalaguna / Pexels