If you host book club in the evening, what do you serve?

[Hannah]

We have a once a month book club that starts at 7:30 pm and ends at around 10pm.  I'd like some new ideas on what to serve 10 people.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Hannah
added amount of guests.

[Hannah]

We generally start with drinks (wine or non-alcoholic) and savory snacks and end with tea/coffee and something sweet.  I'm really not very creative in the food department (at all!).

[KungFuPanda]

We always pull our food themes from the book. Most books tell you what to eat. One member does signature cocktails for every book. Currently we’re reading Hana Khan Carries on. We’re gonna need Biryani and Poutine at this next book club. Last month we made EVERY food mentioned in the book. It was a fantasy novel set in a coffee shop so that was fun. I’ll admit that my group is over the top with the food and beverages. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by KungFuPanda

[QueenCat]

Lots of finger foods and wine. Sometimes, other drinks that are inspired by the book. 

[whitestavern]

Most of the time drinks, heavy apps (hot and cold) and a dessert. 

[Hannah]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

We always pull our food themes from the book.

Wow, that looks amazing!

[Amethyst]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

We always pull our food themes from the book. Most books tell you what to eat. One member does signature cocktails for every book. Currently we’re reading Hana Khan Carries on. We’re gonna need Biryani and Poutine at this next book club. Last month we made EVERY food mentioned in the book. It was a fantasy novel set in a coffee shop so that was fun. I’ll admit that my group is over the top with the food and beverages. 

How can I join?!  LOL. This sounds and looks amazing!

[Amethyst]

2 hours ago, Hannah said:

We have a once a month book club that starts at 7:30 pm and ends at around 10pm.  I'd like some new ideas on what to serve 10 people.

What do people usually serve? By 7:30, I would have already eaten dinner. So personally I would be interested in dessert. So what are your favorite desserts to make? (Maybe I’d serve fruit platter and/or veggie platter if I felt like I needed more.) 

[Ali in OR]

We're down to just 4 people, we all work, and we meet on a Tuesday, so nothing too fancy. Typically it's cookies, sometimes homemade, more often something from Trader Joe's or something on the nicer end from the grocery store. Drink options are usually hot tea or ice water, maybe lemonade in the summer. My parents' book club always did dinner for 12 inspired by the book.

[Kareni]

My local book group does a potluck. Some people bring items such as hummus and crackers or items from a deli while others make soups, salads, or main courses. Generally we have a good assortment of foods and occasionally someone does make something book related. There is always wine and generally something non-alcoholic to drink.

Regards,

Kareni

[Carol in Cal.]

Ours is complicated by restrictions.  One member is strictly kosher, another is allergic or sensitive to an ever changing variety of things such as gluten, lactose, alliums, and spicy foods.

I usually have two homemade cookies and one store bought gluten free type, several teas and coffees available (I have a Nespresso so people make their decaf coffee cup by cup), and berries for the ‘sweet’.  For the savory, I always have unusual crudite veggies with at least two dips—a mild hummus or guacamole, and yogurt with shallots and mint.  And then also gluten free and kosher crackers, a hard cheese (less lactose) and a soft one, and sometimes a little something hot like pork buns or spinach artichoke dip or Mexican hot bean dip or cocktail meatballs.

[MagistraKennedy]

appetizers, wine, tea

The hostess generally serves something, but many folks bring things as well. 

[QueenCat]

1 hour ago, Amethyst said:

What do people usually serve? By 7:30, I would have already eaten dinner. So personally I would be interested in dessert. So what are your favorite desserts to make? (Maybe I’d serve fruit platter and/or veggie platter if I felt like I needed more.) 

Our group starts earlier (6:15). People definitely don't eat before they come. I would have a hard time not starting until 7:30 both due to a late eating time and the fact that my group meets for about three hours. 10:30 would be too late to be done.

[QueenCat]

I will add that in my group, the hostess has 2-3 food items, 2-3 bottles of wine, and typically a pitcher of water. Most people bring a finger food and/or a bottle of wine. Thankfully, most of us can walk to each other's houses. Our husbands call it the Wine Club.

[Hannah]

Thanks everyone!

[KungFuPanda]

My book club is only three people. We meet on a Saturday, spend half the day cooking, and skip lunch before we go because we are serious about the menu. Our families fend for themselves that day unless we double our bookclub recipe and share with them. We start at 6 and go until around 11 🤣 Our bartender is a genius and sometimes there is dry ice. I tasted my first absinthe at this book club because we read Hemingway. The Stepford Wives drink involved first squirting lavender water into our mouths from a perfume bottle. One had a cotton candy cloud that melted into the drink when dry ice was added. I love my OTT book club. 

[Carol in Cal.]

OH NO I FORGOT TO MENTION MY MOST IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO OUR BOOK CLUB MENU!  And that is, Rombauer Zinfandel.  I was the one who introduced everyone to it, and now several others serve it every time, just like me.  It’s so good that even dedicated white wine lovers switch for ‘that one time’, so I don’t even put out a white wine anymore.

[Hannah]

I went with this charcuterie board (what we call a platter) with the wine /cold drinks and a finger cakes board with the coffee/tea.

Eta: only 7 could make it.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Hannah

[catz]

On 5/14/2023 at 7:33 AM, Hannah said:

We generally start with drinks (wine or non-alcoholic) and savory snacks and end with tea/coffee and something sweet.  I'm really not very creative in the food department (at all!).

This sounds a lot like our book club!  Savory snacks might be charcuterie, crackers, nice bread, hummus, olive tapenade, fresh veggies with dip, fruit, nuts, olives, guacamole and chips, etc.  Desserts are sometimes creative.

I used to help run a youth book club at a variety of ages.  We always tried to do food related to the book we were reading.  I might have to think about that when it's my turn to host.  

[KungFuPanda]

On 5/16/2023 at 4:41 PM, Hannah said:

I went with this charcuterie board (what we call a platter) with the wine /cold drinks and a finger cakes board with the coffee/tea.

Eta: only 7 could make it.

I could eat that every day and be blissfully happy. It looks wonderful. 

[Grace Hopper]

On 5/14/2023 at 8:01 AM, KungFuPanda said:

We always pull our food themes from the book. Most books tell you what to eat. One member does signature cocktails for every book. Currently we’re reading Hana Khan Carries on. We’re gonna need Biryani and Poutine at this next book club. Last month we made EVERY food mentioned in the book. It was a fantasy novel set in a coffee shop so that was fun. I’ll admit that my group is over the top with the food and beverages. 

I want to join your book club!!!

On 5/16/2023 at 3:41 PM, Hannah said:

I went with this charcuterie board (what we call a platter) with the wine /cold drinks and a finger cakes board with the coffee/tea.

Eta: only 7 could make it.

That looks terrific! So pretty and appetizing!

 

Side question: how did each of you find your book clubs? I really want to join one but don’t know where/how to gather my people. Most of the people I am acquainted with would prefer a non-fiction book study, but I’m looking for a fun group to have a meal and discuss novels with. 

[Hannah]

1 hour ago, Grace Hopper said:

Side question: how did each of you find your book clubs? I really want to join one but don’t know where/how to gather my people. Most of the people I am acquainted with would prefer a non-fiction book study, but I’m looking for a fun group to have a meal and discuss novels with. 

Ours is more a 'travelling private library club' than a traditional book club.  It grew out of the fact that new books are very expensive here and our library has zero funds.  We each buy the books we like, then contribute them to the book club.  On book-club evening we tell the other members about the books that were contributed and the other members choose the ones they want to borrow for the next month.  Each month a few of the older books get culled and given back to the owner.  Ours goes by word of month.  

When she moved, my sister in the UK posted on her village's group to ask whether there were any book clubs she could join.  She also put out an ad asking if there were any people that would like to form a book club with her.  She was invited to one that meets at the local pub and she did get a few people to join hers, so now she's in two book clubs.  Both are the 'read a book and discuss' type.

For the one she wanted to form, she listed a few to illustrate the types of books she'd like to discuss. We talked about it and I think hers were Lessons in Chemistry, The Dutch House, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World, The Rose Code, Where the Crawdads Sing, etc. 

[Eos]

On 5/14/2023 at 9:01 AM, KungFuPanda said:

I’ll admit that my group is over the top with the food and beverages. 

I love this.

[QueenCat]

7 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

Side question: how did each of you find your book clubs? I really want to join one but don’t know where/how to gather my people. Most of the people I am acquainted with would prefer a non-fiction book study, but I’m looking for a fun group to have a meal and discuss novels with. 

I posted in our neighborhood FB group asking if there was one and had a couple of people invite me to the same group. They are now among my closest friends.

[wintermom]

On 5/14/2023 at 9:01 AM, KungFuPanda said:

We always pull our food themes from the book. Most books tell you what to eat. One member does signature cocktails for every book. Currently we’re reading Hana Khan Carries on. We’re gonna need Biryani and Poutine at this next book club. Last month we made EVERY food mentioned in the book. It was a fantasy novel set in a coffee shop so that was fun. I’ll admit that my group is over the top with the food and beverages. 

I see a huge benefit in having all these finger foods. It prevents people from being tempted to open up their copy of the book to find exact quotes as they'll have sticky fingers. Just keep the book discussions light and fluffy, please! 😅

Edited May 18, 2023 by wintermom

[KungFuPanda]

11 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

I want to join your book club!!!

That looks terrific! So pretty and appetizing!

 

Side question: how did each of you find your book clubs? I really want to join one but don’t know where/how to gather my people. Most of the people I am acquainted with would prefer a non-fiction book study, but I’m looking for a fun group to have a meal and discuss novels with. 

I started mine accidentally.  I read a book but had never seen the movie.  When I mentioned this to my friends one suggested we watch the movie together.  The inevitable book vs. movie discussion led us to musing about a book club.  I had a very specific series I wanted to get my friends hooked on so we started the book club and read a book from that series a year later.  I play the long game 🙂  This was a Pandemic book club. Things happened in all that isolation that might not have otherwise happened.  We've done fiction and nonfiction.  There are only three of us.  The benefit of a small group is that you can go nuts with the food and you can plan a meeting that everyone can attend.  Any larger and you eventually have a meeting that someone misses. We take turns suggesting books.  The first year we used a scavenger hunt template to choosing titles.  It led us to read things we never would have chosen otherwise.  "A book from the year you were born" was why we read Stepford Wives, and since I read faster I also read Rosemary's Baby and Son of Rosemary.  I don't think I'd enjoy a genre-specific book club or one that was into a lot of self-help books.  I do like being nudged out of my own choices.  

1 hour ago, wintermom said:

I see a huge benefit in having all these finger foods. It prevents people from being tempted to open up their copy of the book to find exact quotes as they'll have sticky fingers. Just keep the book discussions light and fluffy, please! 😅

We just get stuff sticky.  One person usually does audio, one prefers paper, and I like to read on my ipad.  The mix is awesome because there are often spelling or pronunciation questions another member can answer for you.  I love highlighting and bookmarking a few quotes and we generally go chapter by chapter and listen to each others' notes.  There are only three of us, so we're up for it.  

[Kareni]

22 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

Side question: how did each of you find your book clubs?

I'm in two groups.

One started in about 1994. A friend saw a notice that someone had posted at an independent bookstore, and we joined together.  I moved away in 2002 but kept in touch with that same friend. A silver lining of the pandemic is that the group started meeting on line, and two of us who had left the area were invited to join in. There are six of us in the group.

My second group is a local one; it's a spin-off from an already existing group that I joined after moving here in 2002. It was a group of women who had children at an alternative school that my daughter attended for a year. That group ultimately failed after some ten years since it became a low priority for a number of members. The current group was founded in 2014 with just two of us from that former group plus friends and acquaintances. We've had as many as 12 members but currently number eight. (Eight is actually a good size as one or two or three members can miss yet there still be a good number in attendance.)

I hope you'll find a convivial group, @Grace Hopper. I would ask everyone you can think of if they know of a group accepting members. Or ask if they have acquaintances who might join you.

Regards,

Kareni

[regentrude]

Our book club tries to use book themed foods. So whatever the book is determines what is served. Foods that are mentioned in the book, foods related to the culture in the book, foods that play on the book title.
Master and Margarita was deviled something and, of course, margaritas.
I was stumped when we did Roadside Picnic because there is no single food item mentioned in the entire book. However, the protagonists hang out at a bar called Borscht. So I served a big pot of Borscht.
 

 

[Grace Hopper]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

Our book club tries to use book themed foods. So whatever the book is determines what is served. Foods that are mentioned in the book, foods related to the culture in the book, foods that play on the book title.
Master and Margarita was deviled something and, of course, margaritas.
I was stumped when we did Roadside Picnic because there is no single food item mentioned in the entire book. However, the protagonists hang out at a bar called Borscht. So I served a big pot of Borscht.
 

 

That’s fantastic! I have only tried a spoonful of Borscht once in my life as a teen - having it at book club would have been a great culinary experience on top of a literary one. 

[katilac]

On 5/17/2023 at 10:48 PM, Grace Hopper said:

 Side question: how did each of you find your book clubs? I really want to join one but don’t know where/how to gather my people. Most of the people I am acquainted with would prefer a non-fiction book study, but I’m looking for a fun group to have a meal and discuss novels with. 

In my area, there are book club Meetups (meetup.com) and a lot of them do involve food, lol. 

Our library hosts several, and it's something you could create a Facebook event for as well. 

On 5/18/2023 at 12:40 AM, Hannah said:

Ours is more a 'travelling private library club' than a traditional book club.  It grew out of the fact that new books are very expensive here and our library has zero funds.  We each buy the books we like, then contribute them to the book club.  On book-club evening we tell the other members about the books that were contributed and the other members choose the ones they want to borrow for the next month.  Each month a few of the older books get culled and given back to the owner.  Ours goes by word of month.  

When she moved, my sister in the UK posted on her village's group to ask whether there were any book clubs she could join.  She also put out an ad asking if there were any people that would like to form a book club with her.  She was invited to one that meets at the local pub and she did get a few people to join hers, so now she's in two book clubs.  Both are the 'read a book and discuss' type.

For the one she wanted to form, she listed a few to illustrate the types of books she'd like to discuss. We talked about it and I think hers were Lessons in Chemistry, The Dutch House, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World, The Rose Code, Where the Crawdads Sing, etc. 

I love the library club idea! We did the 'stealing gifts' game with with used books with my husband's fam for several years. It was a lot of fun but I love the idea of talking about the book you bring (which occasionally did happen after the fact, but not often, as it was such a busy day).