After recruiting members to the club, they should meet and lay down the guidelines that will govern the club. These rules include how long the members will have to read the book, how often they will meet and where the meeting will be held. They should also state clearly how many chapters will be read in a week and who will lead the discussions. The members should set the time frame for discussion meetings and emphasize that everybody must keep to the schedule. Members should decide whether to bring notes gathered from reading a certain chapter or discuss the book extemporaneously. These rules prevent conflicts and time wastage during meetings.
Members select the book they will be reading. The genre of the book is usually determined by the type of reading club. For example, if a book club has members drawn from friends who enjoy reading fictional books, they can list their favorite authors and use the list in selecting the books for the club. All members must agree on the book selected for reading after thorough discussion and input from all members. It is essential that the book selected covers broad themes and is socially and culturally sensitive to all members. Each member is provided with a copy of the selected book to avoid wasting time by sharing.
Most clubs meet after reading a single chapter of the book and a member is selected to lead the discussion, although this leadership is rotational during different meetings. Members discuss in detail each of the themes portrayed in the chapter, as well as the events in the chapter. A white board and markers may be provided during the discussion, where the leader writes the main points. Every member should contribute to the discussions of the chapter under analysis, as this shows they read the book. Members can raise any questions relating to the chapter as this helps members gain deeper understanding of the text from insights by the group.
After finishing a book, the club may send invitations for more members to join, preventing the group from turning into an elite clique. The members can select another book to be read by the group and the club will continue expanding with recruitment of new members and retaining of the old ones.