About a month ago, I was at a small gathering with friends and started sharing about a book I’d been reading.

The book was Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. Ironically, it’s about how many of us these days have a hard time focusing on things we used to enjoy … like reading books!

It’s honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read.

He dissects what’s going on in our society (and no, it’s NOT all from our devices … the problem is even deeper than that!) and what we can begin to do collectively to change it.

I could go on … which I did that night.

My friends shared their own observations on the subject. They also started to share about books they were reading.

Reveling in the joy of talking about books, we all decided that we needed a Book Club.

My partner chimed in and said, “What I don’t like about a Book Club is that I have to read what everyone else wants … can’t I just read the book I want and share about that?”

We all thought this was a great idea and decided to host the first Book Report Club.

Last weekend, ten of us gathered at our house. Each brought a dish and a book. We ate together and then sat around and shared.

All our books from the first Book Report Club … including some packets from an attendee who’s also a local librarian!

This experience filled me up on so many levels:

📕Everyone shared in their own way, some summarizing, some read passages, some reflected on what they read and how it affected their life, one even shared a song they wrote.

📗For over two hours, we all sat and listened to each other. No talking over or interrupting, all engaged, attentive and generally interested in what each brought.

📘I got to share about one of my favorite subjects: focus and time management!

📙It was also a potluck so we started (and ended) with full bellies.

I ended up feeling like I had read 10 books in 1 night!

I know that I’ll never be able to read all the books I want to in my lifetime, so this is a great solution. Plus it's a unique and enriching way to cultivate a conscious community.

Want to host your own Book Report Club? Here’s how to do it:

Pick a time and location.
Tell your friends to bring a book they’ve read. If you want to make it a potluck, then have them bring a dish too.
Lay all the books in the center.
Have one person volunteer to start. When they’re done, they can choose which book they want to hear about next.
Continue until everyone’s had a turn.
Decide on the next time and repeat!

A few notes on sharing:

When sharing, it’s important to allow the person to share without interruptions.
Afterwards, allow time for questions and discussion.
If the group is sizable, decide on how long each person can get to leave time for everyone (5-10 min) and have someone keep a timer, holding up a hand when there’s a minute left.

What books have you read lately that have inspired, entertained, or taught you new things? What would you bring to Book Report Club?

Share in the comments! If you have a question about how to start your own Book Report Club, leave it for me there. I’m happy to answer you.

I was reading Stolen Focus to learn how to better help my clients with overwhelm and procrastination so they can actually make progress in the goals that are important to them.

I’ve been it all in a new offering coming in a few weeks.