I recently joined some friends on Zoom for our first meeting in a conscious book club. I had such a positive and enlightening experience I thought I would share a little about the book and the power of book clubs. I first read The Four Agreements over 15 years ago and really enjoyed revisiting it again in this way.
I am not new to book clubs. I ran one for about 3 years when I lived in San Francisco. It was pretty awesome for about 2&1/2 of those years, but then as our enthusiasm waned it became more of a potluck and wine club. That was fun too, however I missed being accountable for reading at least one book a month and coming prepared for discussions. Book clubs can be about so much more than just books. It can be a social network, a support group and an accountability partner.
When discussing this book, we broke it down into the 4 parts and allowed each person to share what resonated most with them. We were a small group so there was plenty of time to listen, ask questions and reflect. If you are a bigger group, this might not always be possible, or you could break out into smaller groups.
I usually suggest that one person takes the lead to 'run' the meeting, to give it some structure and keep things on track. I find that most books these days offer book club discussion guides to help with this, so use the google and see what you come up with. I'd love to hear what you are doing in your book club and what books you are reading.
One last thing, I usually love it when everyone comes prepared and ready to share and explore, however everyone is busy these days, so I find ways to include those that didn't get around to reading (or listening) to the whole book, such that they get something from it too.
