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feat: Update guide-to-book-clubs.md with format and tips #433

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66 changes: 66 additions & 0 deletions coffee-table-groups/guides/guide-to-book-clubs.md
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# Guide to Book Clubs

## Starting a Book Club

Starting a book club at Virtual Coffee is an exciting way to engage with other members. Any member can initiate a book club by suggesting a book in the `#book-club` channel on Slack. It's a good idea to gauge interest before finalizing your choice. Once you have a book in mind, check with the community about a suitable start date, allowing enough time for members to acquire the book. Consider the reading pace that would work for most participants.

As the organizer, you'll be responsible for setting up the discussion board, creating weekly question posts, and moderating discussions. We recommend finding a co-organizer to share these responsibilities. Having a co-organizer can help distribute the workload, provide backup if you're unavailable, and bring new perspectives to the discussion questions. You can ask for a co-organizer in the `#book-club` channel when proposing your book.

Don't worry if you've never led a book club before; the VC community is supportive and will help you along the way.

## Format

- Book clubs are generally asynchronous.
- Optional Zoom meetings can be organized to discuss the book at the end.
- Work at your own pace, but communicate this to other participants.

## Discussion Platform

All discussions take place on the [VC Book Club discussion board](https://github.com/orgs/Virtual-Coffee/discussions/categories/vc-book-club) on GitHub.

## Setting Up the Book Club

1. Create a new post on the discussion board with:

- A brief description of the book
- The discussion question schedule

2. For each set of discussion questions:

- Create a new comment in the main thread
- Include the weekly questions

## Participation Guidelines

- Members should reply to the weekly question post with their answers.
- Answers should be threaded under the relevant question comment.

## Creating Discussion Questions

- Don't stress about writing perfect questions.
- Focus on aspects you found:
- Interesting
- Confusing
- Worth discussing further

## Flexibility and Engagement

- Don't worry if people get too busy to respond regularly. Life happens!
- The questions themselves are valuable for reflection, even if members can't engage.
- Participants can return to the questions and discussions at any time, even after the book club has finished.
- The goal is to provide a framework for thinking about the book, not to create pressure or stress.

We recognize that each Virtual Coffee Book Club is unique and we encourage you to conduct yours how you see fit (and within the bounds of the [Code of Conduct](https://virtualcoffee.io/code-of-conduct)). Below, you'll find some tips and lessons learned from previous Virtual Coffee Book Club leaders in order to help yours be as successful as possible.

## Tips and Lessons Learned

Add them here! Feel free to change the header, include multiple sections, whatever feels best.

### What Went Well

1. **Consistent Scheduling**: Setting a regular cadence for discussions (e.g., weekly) helped maintain momentum.

2. **Flexibility**: Allowing participants to join late or catch up at their own pace increased engagement.

3. **Cross-Promotion**: Mentioning the book club in other VC channels occasionally brought in new participants.

### Things to Do Differently

1. **More Lead Time**: Providing more notice before starting allowed more people to acquire the book and join from the beginning.

2. **Shorter Books or Sections**: Some found that shorter books or focusing on specific sections of longer books maintained higher engagement.

3. **Mid-Point Check-In**: A quick survey or casual check-in halfway through helped adjust the pace or focus if needed.

## Previous Book Clubs

### Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
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