8 Simple Ways to Beat the Heat & Stay Connected All Summer
Summer should be relaxing, but often, it’s the busiest time of the year. If you want to keep your book club members turning the page, it’s important to remember that not everyone will be able to meet up due to vacation plans, visiting relatives or other obligations with friends and family. Here are eight simple ideas to streamline your summer reading experience while keeping your club connected no matter where your members travel.
1. Show and Tell
Show and tell is a popular strategy for informal book clubs and reading groups. Instead of assigning a single book that everyone might struggle to finish between meet-ups, host a literary show-and-tell where each member shares what they’re reading right now. Members bring a copy of whatever they’re reading and provide a short summary of what they love or don’t love about the book. This is a great way to find more titles to add to your TBR list. Need more ideas?
- Have everyone bring their favorite reading accessory, such as a cool bookmark or reading light.
- Swap recipes for an entree, snack, beverage or side related to your latest read.
- Showcase an artifact or item that relates to the book, such as a teacup, flower, hat or map.
- Have members share a nostalgic book that ignited their passion for reading.
2. The Free Choice Challenge
Give your members more flexibility by choosing a theme rather than a specific title for your monthly reading. You can be as general or specific as you like. Possible themes include genres, subgenres or tropes, such as opposites attract, forbidden romance, coastal reads or books set on an island. Then, everyone can choose their own book within that theme. When you meet up, you can discuss how each author approached or interpreted the subject in different ways. Here are a few more ideas.
- Pick a book by its cover without reading the synopsis or peeking inside.
- Have everyone read a book that’s the same color, such as green, for example.
- Read the book that’s been lingering on your bookshelf untouched.
- Have each person read a book from a different decade.
- Choose a book from a local author or one that’s set in your home state.
- Pick a genre that’s new to you or one that you might normally avoid.
3. Postcard Check-Ins
If members of your group are traveling out of state or internationally this summer, take your meeting offline by exchanging postcards instead of scheduling a Zoom meeting. Members can write a short note discussing their latest read and send it to a point person who usually organizes your meetings, or each member can send a postcard to another person in the group, round-robin style. When everyone is back in town, compare notes. There are plenty of other ways to use postcards in your reading group.
- Write a postcard pitching an upcoming book for everyone to vote on.
- Choose a favorite quote or line from your latest read.
- Exchange notes by role-playing a specific character from the book.
- Use a postcard to follow up on characters and imagine where they are now.
- Create a blind-date book review describing the title’s vibe, personality and overall rating.
4. No-Cook Recipes & Potlucks
On summer days, it’s sometimes too hot to cook on the stove or crank up the oven. Let’s face it, nobody wants to spend hours in a hot kitchen preparing food, no matter how special your group is. To keep your hosting duties stress-free and sweat-free, consider planning a no-cook potluck. Members can bring charcuterie boards, chilled soups, fresh fruit or caprese salad. Here are a few more ideas.
- Spring rolls or lettuce wraps
- Pasta salad, sesame noodles or orzo
- Hummus, pitas and veggies
- Gazpacho or cucumber soup
- Watermelon salad with mint and feta
1. The Best Summer Drinks: 500 Incredible Cocktail and Appetizer Recipes by Ray Foley
2. The Complete Summer Cookbook: Beat the Heat with 500 Recipes That Make the Most of Summer's Bounty by America's Test Kitchen
3. Some Assembly Required: Fresh and Easy No-Cook Recipes by Julia Rutland
5. Podcast Discussions
If sitting down with a 500-page novel feels too daunting between work, weekend trips and back to school, swap the book for a podcast episode or mini-series. There are a few ways this could work. Everyone can listen to the same episode or mini-series, or each member can share something that they listened to recently. In a pinch, you can even listen to the recording at 1.5X to save time.
- If your group enjoys mysteries and thrillers, try a serialized podcast by an investigative journalist.
- Fans of historical fiction or nonfiction may enjoy deep-dives into lesser-known people and places.
- Interview-style shows with authors, celebrities or industry experts are ideal for readers who enjoy memoirs and essays.
- Fiction podcasts with full voice casts and sound effects cater to those who enjoy drama, sci-fi, fantasy and big productions.
6. Outdoor Meetings
Summer is a fine time to take your book club outdoors. Ditch the living room or cafe, and take full advantage of the gorgeous weather (as long as it’s not too hot.) Consider meeting at a local park, garden, lake or state forest. Bring blankets, folding chairs, sunglasses, picnic supplies and something cold to drink. The casual, open-air environment helps keep the discussion relaxed. And if kids or pets need to tag along, there's plenty of room for everyone. Even sitting outside on the patio is a great way to change the pace of your summer book club meet-ups. Need more ideas?
- Backyard bonfire and s’mores
- Sunset meet-up at a scenic overlook
- Lanterns, fairy lights or tiki torches after dark
7. Early Morning Meet-ups
Summer evenings are frequently booked with impromptu barbecues, outdoor concerts, sports games and patio happy hours. Beat the heat and avoid potential scheduling conflicts by switching up the time of day. Your group might be free on a Saturday morning for brunch at a member’s house or a meeting at a local coffee shop or bakery. It's easy to get folks to commit when you can discuss your latest read over iced drinks and sweet treats. Here are a few more ideas:
- Early morning walk and talk
- Lunchtime meet-up
- Weekday power breakfast
8. Short Stories or Novellas
If time is an issue (when isn't it?), keep commitment levels low by pivoting a novella or a collection of short stories. Novellas are typically 150 pages or less (up to 40,000 words), which makes them easy to read on the plane, after work or while lounging by the pool. This reduces the pressure that some members may feel trying to scramble to finish a longer book the day of the meeting or even minutes before. Shorter reads ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute to the discussion. Here are a few suggested picks:
1. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
2. Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles
3. It Will Come Back to You: Collected Stories by Sigrid Nunez
4. Passing by Nella Larsen
5. Foster by Claire Keegan
6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
8. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell
Summer book club isn't about rigid deadlines or perfect attendance. The most important thing is staying connected through a shared love of reading, no matter how busy things get or how sticky the weather. By embracing flexibility and trying new ideas, your group can get through the summer slump and head into autumn stronger than ever. If you haven't already, sign up for your email newsletter to receive more reading guides and book club ideas delivered straight to your inbox.